N941WR
Legacy Member
Near miss #1:
Saturday I took the family for a flight out to our favorite BBQ restaurant located at 5NC3.
Post lunch we launched and during climb out I flew by a buzzard and while watching that one, I noticed another one that I was able to avoid it by doing a quick roll to the left.
Near miss #2:
After dropping the family off at home, I had some errands to run and shortly after departure a black 172 flown by one of the local flight schools was circling off the departure end of our runway. WTF?
Down on the stick and I sailed right under them. About that time I think they noticed me because they rolled wings level and flew away.
Near miss #3:
While entering the downwind for a local county airport I noticed a Cherokee holding short on one end of the runway. I keyed the mic and asked his intentions as it was obvious to me that he was going to take off down wind. I also informed him that I was going to land the other way, into the wind. He said he was going to depart, which was fine with me and I called downwind for the other runway. After liftoff he said he was going to depart the area to the north (which should have been a left turn for him) and rather than turning north, he turned south, right towards me, as if he was going to do another circuit. I called him up before he could finish his left turn and he quickly reversed directions.
Near miss #4:
With all of my errands finished for the day, I was heading home. “Home” is now a private grass strip / airpark. The airport is shown on the sectional but as is typical for private strips, the airpark’s frequency (122.75) is not listed. As I turned from downwind to base, I flew right over the top of a South Carolina State Police helicopter, by , maybe 100’. Again, WTF? He wasn’t over the center of the runway and was in a position that I never thought to look for traffic; below me and coming the other way. When I make the downwind to base turn I’m always looking for incoming traffic on a long final. I dialed up 121.5 and tried to call him up but he didn’t answer and I was busy landing.
Had I been taking off from the other runway, I probably would have hit him.
Moral of the story:
Keep your eyes open at all times! You never know what craziness is out there! The buzzard saw me as did the black Skyhawk and both took evasive maneuvers. The Cherokee pilot sounded inexperienced and since he was taking off downwind, I wasn’t too surprised when he turned towards me and I was ready for it. The State Trooper in the SC helicopter caught me totally by surprise and I’m sure he didn’t even know I was there.
Saturday I took the family for a flight out to our favorite BBQ restaurant located at 5NC3.
Post lunch we launched and during climb out I flew by a buzzard and while watching that one, I noticed another one that I was able to avoid it by doing a quick roll to the left.
Near miss #2:
After dropping the family off at home, I had some errands to run and shortly after departure a black 172 flown by one of the local flight schools was circling off the departure end of our runway. WTF?
Down on the stick and I sailed right under them. About that time I think they noticed me because they rolled wings level and flew away.
Near miss #3:
While entering the downwind for a local county airport I noticed a Cherokee holding short on one end of the runway. I keyed the mic and asked his intentions as it was obvious to me that he was going to take off down wind. I also informed him that I was going to land the other way, into the wind. He said he was going to depart, which was fine with me and I called downwind for the other runway. After liftoff he said he was going to depart the area to the north (which should have been a left turn for him) and rather than turning north, he turned south, right towards me, as if he was going to do another circuit. I called him up before he could finish his left turn and he quickly reversed directions.
Near miss #4:
With all of my errands finished for the day, I was heading home. “Home” is now a private grass strip / airpark. The airport is shown on the sectional but as is typical for private strips, the airpark’s frequency (122.75) is not listed. As I turned from downwind to base, I flew right over the top of a South Carolina State Police helicopter, by , maybe 100’. Again, WTF? He wasn’t over the center of the runway and was in a position that I never thought to look for traffic; below me and coming the other way. When I make the downwind to base turn I’m always looking for incoming traffic on a long final. I dialed up 121.5 and tried to call him up but he didn’t answer and I was busy landing.
Had I been taking off from the other runway, I probably would have hit him.
Moral of the story:
Keep your eyes open at all times! You never know what craziness is out there! The buzzard saw me as did the black Skyhawk and both took evasive maneuvers. The Cherokee pilot sounded inexperienced and since he was taking off downwind, I wasn’t too surprised when he turned towards me and I was ready for it. The State Trooper in the SC helicopter caught me totally by surprise and I’m sure he didn’t even know I was there.
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