Invisible Monsters and Devils in the mist, they ARE out there....

barnstorm2

Platinum Member
Joined
Nov 1, 2003
Messages
14,573
Location
Cincinnati, Ohio
Aircraft
2-place Air Command CLT SxS (project), & Twinstarr Autogyro
Total Flight Time
750+hrs and climbing
3 years ago I was flying in the back seat of my gyro and Connie was in the front seat. She was new to flying and like any passenger watching the scenery below.

After a while of flying on a straight GPS course cross country I happened to spy some movement under the gyro and my heart skipped a beat.

I was looking down over an antenna that I did not see approach. If I were 100 feet lower I might have been into it.

People think that antennas would be easy to spot but sometimes they are not, especally in certain lighting conditions they can seem invisible.

If you watch the NTSB reports towers and wires seem to get a good percentage of rotorcraft pilots.

I am lucky. I was able to afford to get a used Garmin 396 with terrain avoidance alarms. Still, you can't depend on any technology.

On the way home from Mentone these demons appeared out of the mist and reminded me what fate awaits the non-diligent pilot.

(the first photo is just of the country side conditions)

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You can't see them in the photos, but both had guy wires spanning WAY out around the towers.

Fly Safe.
 
Wow, Now they scare me much more than the mountain flying I'm used to.

Yes always fly over the pole guys. Same with forced landings over telephone poles, look for the poles and fly over the top no wires there!

I was taught that our brains don't see horizontal thing as well as vertical and the wires are just much smaller so when a forced landing on a road look for polls and fence polls too not the wires.

Once you find the poles it much easier to make a runway out of a road, you just got to think there is a wire crossing the road at every pole too and duck quickly in between those and the wire running alone the side of the road too.
PS:
This advice as helped me in more than one forced landing, well one real forced landing and a romantic picnic whit my wife where the boarder patrol wanted to know why I landed on the road. It was engine overheating officer and were dining while it cools down. That's my story and I'm sticking to it just in case there reading this! I could have shown them by just leaning it out too.
 
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Yes Tim a great pic to drive home a good point. Hazy conditions can hide these and it is always a sensible idea to have an idea if there are any of these along one's route of flight, and when they might be popping up.

When I was bush flying always stuck masts in as timed check points so I was aware and looking out for them. Just in case weather closed in or I was scud running to get into Nairobi we had a few big ones around and it was good to know when one was getting close.

Brings new meaning to 'There be Dragons...'
 
This is another reason to carry a sectional chart, and to know exactly where you are on it at any given time, so that you can take advantage of all the tower markings they provide.
 
This is another reason to carry a sectional chart, and to know exactly where you are on it at any given time, so that you can take advantage of all the tower markings they provide.

Flying in haze is dangerous enough when you think you know where you are. Flying in haze in new territory is foolish. Carry and STUDY that sectional. You may not need to file a VFR flight plan for the FAA, but you should certainly file a flight plan with your self. And they consider ME crazy.....
 
Studying the sectional is essential, but just because it's not on the sectional doesn't mean it's not out there. They are building towers so fast that the chart makers can't keep up. Don't know how to deal with that. Mark One, Mod Zero eyeball, I guess, and a little bit of luck.

Dr. Rob
 
Studying the sectional is essential, but just because it's not on the sectional doesn't mean it's not out there. ... Mark One, Mod Zero eyeball, I guess, and a little bit of luck.
Dr. Rob

MK I Mod 0 eyeballs, a bit of luck and familiarity with the latest Sectional does help but all it takes is just one moment of inattention, just one moment - and that'll do it!

ejb
 
Studying the sectional is essential, but just because it's not on the sectional doesn't mean it's not out there. They are building towers so fast that the chart makers can't keep up. Don't know how to deal with that. Mark One, Mod Zero eyeball, I guess, and a little bit of luck.

Dr. Rob

I have also found some towers that were not in my GPS terrain avoidance database.

Keep a keen eye out!!

.
 
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