Closure...

[smokyray]

"Snake One, Bandit nose ten miles tracking West, 1000 Knots closure! "Snake One flight, Hud, power flares, Tally one...engaged! Right to right pass, get ready for G's, Pull, arrrrgggg (9 G sound) "Fox 2 kill, Snake one flight Snap West. "One Terminate"

Well. that's one generic sample of the comm involved in a Head-On, fighter to fighter (or anything else) engagement in close to head on aerial combat. 1000 knots closure equates to roughly 18 miles a minute or 30 seconds at 10 miles. Roughly the time it takes to read.

Why did I bring all this up?

This morning early, I decided to fly to my nearby uncontrolled public airport (I live on my own strip out in the sticks)to get some recently reduced price 100LL to augment the unleaded Non-ethanol Mogas in my tanks. Takeoff from home, 5 minutes of acro and 3 minutes enroute were uneventful.

As I approached the airport I made the standard calls in the blind. Normally the drop zone jump plane and some traffic are almost always the case. Today was the exception, crickets chirping notwithstanding. 45, downwind and base still eerily quiet, sun just reaching the trees, Alaskan civil twilight in FL!
As I rolled out on final I practiced my usual touch on "brick one" and 1000' turnoff. Just as I feel the chirp of the wheels landing I notice just descending out of the haze at the departure end, a twin on short final.
My fighter mind immediately told me: 5000 foot runway, 180 knots closure, 3 miles a minute, 20 seconds to impact. I keyed the mike: "twin on final to XXX, go around, aircraft on runway!". No reaction. 5 seconds gone by. I lower the tail and the twin touches down on the opposite end rolling towards me. 500 feet to the turnoff. "twin on runway zero four at XXX, aircraft on runway!" 10 seconds to impact, looks like this buffoon is a touch and go. 5 seconds to turn off. Slight right rudder and I'm clear.
I turn onto the paralel and the Apache zips by opposite direction. No reaction, silent. I hear a Delta wing trike pipe in on the CTAF, yes, my radio works. I warn him of the wayward Apache and taxi to the pumps.

Was it dangerous, sure. Perilous, well, maybe, depending on what you've experienced. For me enough high speed adventures and stuff thrown in the air at me has maybe numbed me a bit, but still an attention getter. What can we learn?
First, the NTSB statistics show more Mid-Air collisions at uncontrolled airports than not. Even with all the traffic clearing, radio calls and procedures, it happens. Why?
I think it is a number of reasons not the least of which is discipline. Sure, radios are optional at uncontrolled fields and see and avoid is the rule. Is it smart? Clearing the pattern, avoiding straight-in's and turning on lights in low light conditions helps. Mainly, it's vigilance.
For the Apache pilot, it was clearly indifference, or inexperience or both. For us, the lesson learned is reaction. What would you have done? For me, hip pocket numbers for closure and mid air avoidance are always there.

Maybe now for you too...

Smokey

[AX-O]

Smokey,
glad you guys did not trade paint. A had a similar encounter with a cop car yesterday at an uncontrol airfield. We made all the calls. On downwind we saw a car on the taxi way (not moving). Surely he has a radio and can hear us. On final the cop gets on the gas comes across the holdshort line and was driving right at us (on the runway opposite direction). He got about half way down the runway before he saw us and stopped. By that time we were on a go-around.

[Wingnut]

Winds were light but the sock was clearly indicating runway 5. I made multiple radio calls before taxiing onto the runway. As I start my takeoff roll I see a high performance low wing on the other end of the runway (not an RV!). He isn't moving and hasn't made any announcements over the radio. I am still on the ground accelerating when he begins his roll with no announcement or acknowledgement of my presence. I pull the power, get on the brakes and move as far as possible to edge of the runway. He continued his take off and departed the area. Thankfully the old 150 isn't a speed demon or we would have had a meeting of the minds.

[Kyle Boatright]

This is why we have eyes and are trained to use 'em. A couple of years ago I found myself in a head-on pass with a NORDO Cub that was landing in the opposite direction. Obviously, neither of us saw the other until we were both on short final. Actually, I"m not sure he ever saw me.

I went around.

[RVG8tor]

Like most of you I have had this sort of close call. Doing touch and goes and making all reacquired radio calls for several landings, on one touch and go notice airplane getting airborne from the intersecting runway. He never made a radio call or my guess made the calls but never had switched to the CTAF frequency.

Check Six, they are out to get you!

[MNForrest]

While making an unscheduled "gross weight reduction" stop in Jackson, MN, on my way to a contest in my Pitt's, I was cut-off and nearly run though by not one but three ag planes in a row. They all made straight in, low, fast approaches onto the single runway. I went around two of the three times as I caught them rocketing out from beneath me. Luckily, the Pitt's is good at avoiding other aircraft.

I was pretty freaked out the first time. Next time around, when I saw a second steak of yellow come out from under me, on final, I figured I was maybe going crazy. Around again. I got in well ahead of the third guy, who was the only one that ever saw me in flight, and was taxiing right on my tail as I pulled up to the FBO.

All three lined up on the ramp as an attendant fueled them with turbines still spinning, then leapt back into the air downwind on the humped runway (you couldn't see one end from the other). They obviously had radios, as they coordinated well with each other, but made no calls on the CTAF whatsoever. You'd think they owned the place or something. Not judging all ag pilots, just these three.

Forrest

[N8RV]

Dang, Smoky ... you had enough speed to catch an Apache. I think -- correction, I KNOW -- I would've just fallen in trail and followed him and shared with him my personal opinion about his radio protocol, or lack thereof.

Glad your training kicked in and you stayed safe. You know that little button on the Viper throttle that says "DOGFIGHT"? :-)

[klovning]

Is there any point in getting someone's tail number and writing them a letter?

[PropellerHead]

I'd taxi over to were he's going and ask him if it was him or his Seeing Eye Dog as PIC.

[leaker311]

Originally Posted by N8RV

Glad your training kicked in and you stayed safe. You know that little button on the Viper throttle that says "DOGFIGHT"? :-)

It's not a button it's a switch