automan1223
Active Member
- Joined
- Nov 3, 2003
- Messages
- 3,760
- Location
- Oriental, North Carolina
- Aircraft
- 2p Tandem Air Command "Big Red"
- Total Flight Time
- 250
Flight.
Flight.
I took to the skies yesterday afternoon to do another long cross country. As usual the hunters were scurrying around the fields like mad men chasing their dogs and driving to and fro on the dusty back country roads.
Word is out, signs are posted and many hunters are on alert for the "cops" in the air. We do have marine and wildlife police that patrol but I have not seen them but a few times in 10 years. I tried to make for as much altitude early in the flight for I dont want to be anyones target. I made my 80 NM flight landing at KEWN and a private field HOOD. My flight back was memorable as the sun was not set but a thick layer of clouds had moved in from the west and obscured the remaining daylight to a large degree. I flew north of new bern and was cautious of traffic landing at kewn.
The active was 22 and weekend traffic was full of aircraft taking advantage of light and variable. A lot of FW's did not want to use their positional or nav lights. I called up atc, just to let them know where I was, having spotted a few high wings pass to the north. I let atc know I HAD traffic in sight but no one had their lights on. No matter how many times I say "experimental gyroplane" in my initial callups to atc they always make me a "gyrocopter"...
So the traffic I was worried about saw me and landed at kewn, it was funny to hear him get yelled at by atc for not having any lights ! I was like DUH, I said that earlier. So now my tinted visor is away and its not so dark but the sun is still behind the cloud deck. My lights have been on at least 30 mins by the time I am to my restricted airspace I am decending to 750' which seems to take forever and then my eyes realize the ground is coming up like its 300' and my altimeter is stuck. I fly back up to a visual reference of 5-600 ' knowing that the corridor is 750. I settle back down and just fly the route by see and feel and I realize my spotlight on the nose gear is casting a noticable beam on the ground from 500'. I am playing chopper command and fly the entry corridor into our restricted airspace right down hwy 55..
I peel off to head south to our grass field. The first open field I come to I notice a hunters pickup in the middle of the field and he sees me and runs..... shuts his lights off, all I see is a plume of dirt flying from behind the truck. I get to the next open field and the same thing. I finally get to the the large open field before the strip and position my spotlight over the first truck I come to. They all thought the end of the world was coming. Trucks flying this way and that. It was a proverbial ""fire drill. I flew over the owners house shining my spot right over his lawn.
I landed and was later greeted by the owner who was in stitches laughing. I had know idea a little gyro with a single spot could have such effect. What were they doing ? I asked. W. continued that they word had gotten out and that LE would step up patrols as a result of the vandalism. They even had an apb out for 2 suspects. I told W. I did not want to imposter the police but he said the resulting firedrill was priceless, even though most of the hunters were legal, they just tore off like they were all in trouble. W. said that when the spot came over the front lawn he knew what I was doing and why all the trucks were flyin about. I told him I was just checking out the beam from 400' and did not know why everyone was running mad. He said I should do that more often because he has had to keep his young ones indoors with all the bullets flying about.
A flight to remember.
Jonathan
Flight.
I took to the skies yesterday afternoon to do another long cross country. As usual the hunters were scurrying around the fields like mad men chasing their dogs and driving to and fro on the dusty back country roads.
Word is out, signs are posted and many hunters are on alert for the "cops" in the air. We do have marine and wildlife police that patrol but I have not seen them but a few times in 10 years. I tried to make for as much altitude early in the flight for I dont want to be anyones target. I made my 80 NM flight landing at KEWN and a private field HOOD. My flight back was memorable as the sun was not set but a thick layer of clouds had moved in from the west and obscured the remaining daylight to a large degree. I flew north of new bern and was cautious of traffic landing at kewn.
The active was 22 and weekend traffic was full of aircraft taking advantage of light and variable. A lot of FW's did not want to use their positional or nav lights. I called up atc, just to let them know where I was, having spotted a few high wings pass to the north. I let atc know I HAD traffic in sight but no one had their lights on. No matter how many times I say "experimental gyroplane" in my initial callups to atc they always make me a "gyrocopter"...
So the traffic I was worried about saw me and landed at kewn, it was funny to hear him get yelled at by atc for not having any lights ! I was like DUH, I said that earlier. So now my tinted visor is away and its not so dark but the sun is still behind the cloud deck. My lights have been on at least 30 mins by the time I am to my restricted airspace I am decending to 750' which seems to take forever and then my eyes realize the ground is coming up like its 300' and my altimeter is stuck. I fly back up to a visual reference of 5-600 ' knowing that the corridor is 750. I settle back down and just fly the route by see and feel and I realize my spotlight on the nose gear is casting a noticable beam on the ground from 500'. I am playing chopper command and fly the entry corridor into our restricted airspace right down hwy 55..
I peel off to head south to our grass field. The first open field I come to I notice a hunters pickup in the middle of the field and he sees me and runs..... shuts his lights off, all I see is a plume of dirt flying from behind the truck. I get to the next open field and the same thing. I finally get to the the large open field before the strip and position my spotlight over the first truck I come to. They all thought the end of the world was coming. Trucks flying this way and that. It was a proverbial ""fire drill. I flew over the owners house shining my spot right over his lawn.
I landed and was later greeted by the owner who was in stitches laughing. I had know idea a little gyro with a single spot could have such effect. What were they doing ? I asked. W. continued that they word had gotten out and that LE would step up patrols as a result of the vandalism. They even had an apb out for 2 suspects. I told W. I did not want to imposter the police but he said the resulting firedrill was priceless, even though most of the hunters were legal, they just tore off like they were all in trouble. W. said that when the spot came over the front lawn he knew what I was doing and why all the trucks were flyin about. I told him I was just checking out the beam from 400' and did not know why everyone was running mad. He said I should do that more often because he has had to keep his young ones indoors with all the bullets flying about.
A flight to remember.
Jonathan
