Mr. Magoo Now Flies a Piper

wanttaja

wanttaja

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Ron Wanttaja
Well, it happened to me again. I saw the Arrow on the run-up pad as I made a position call on downwind (uncontrolled field). When I called base, he was just leaving the run-up area and heading towards the hold-short line. And, as I turned final and getting ready to make the call, he announced he was taking off and crossed onto the runway with me about a quarter-mile out.

I called the go-around, went to full power, and pulled right a bit. I zipped past the guy a couple hundred feet to the side as he was still on the runway, then watched him slowly catch up and pass me as we were both climbing out.

Even so, I don't know if he saw me. The guy was obviously fixated on looking straight ahead, and he would have to had looked up and to the right to see me climbing out. I kept a close eye on HIM, I'll tell you....

I'm taking the radio out, I had fewer close calls in my NORDO days...:)

Ron Wanttaja
 
This weekend I took my dad up for some dual (his first since 1975).

It was a nice day so the hay harvesters were doing their thing on the side, across, and along the runway.

At least twice in 1.5 hours the not-so-bright kid in the Pickup waited until we were -- ohh, 100' AGL on short final -- to roar across the runway.

Made for some good go-around practice.
 
wanttaja said:
Well, it happened to me again. I saw the Arrow on the run-up pad as I made a position call on downwind (uncontrolled field). When I called base, he was just leaving the run-up area and heading towards the hold-short line. And, as I turned final and getting ready to make the call, he announced he was taking off and crossed onto the runway with me about a quarter-mile out.

I called the go-around, went to full power, and pulled right a bit. I zipped past the guy a couple hundred feet to the side as he was still on the runway, then watched him slowly catch up and pass me as we were both climbing out.

Even so, I don't know if he saw me. The guy was obviously fixated on looking straight ahead, and he would have to had looked up and to the right to see me climbing out. I kept a close eye on HIM, I'll tell you....

I'm taking the radio out, I had fewer close calls in my NORDO days...:)

Ron Wanttaja
Click to expand...
Ok he should have been looking, but are you also sure your radio is working?
 
wanttaja said:
Well, it happened to me again. I saw the Arrow on the run-up pad as I made a position call on downwind (uncontrolled field). When I called base, he was just leaving the run-up area and heading towards the hold-short line. And, as I turned final and getting ready to make the call, he announced he was taking off and crossed onto the runway with me about a quarter-mile out.
Click to expand...

Apparently the receive portion of Ron's radio was working...


-Rich
 
I would guess that either the other guy had his radio volume completely down. Or Ron was transmitting on the wrong radio. I know I've done both.
 
jesse said:
I would guess that either the other guy had his radio volume completely down. Or Ron was transmitting on the wrong radio. I know I've done both.
Click to expand...

On our way to a family reunion, I was going into this uncontrolled field. Did all the traffic announcements and got no return calls. Was about half a mile out on final, everything down and dirty, running at 1.3 (about 115 in my plane) when this little cub cut in front of me. The guy was below my stall speed so there was no option. As I was cleaning up for the go-around, I keyed the yoke button and said, "Thanks a lot, Piper Cub". Jaunty as you please the guy came back with, "Anytime". Luckily, I couldn't find him after I landed. :mad:
 
That kind of gives me a chuckle. There was an old pilot who flew a Warrior at Wings. He passed away at 91 about a year ago and died within 8 or so months of giving up flying.

This guy was a real fixture. Couldn't see for Shinola. When ever he'd fly he always landed on 6 eventhough wind was favoring 24 90% of the time reason being he didn't want to land into the sun.

His radio calls went something like this:

Take off: Warrior 123X rolling Wings. No runway just rolling.

Landing: Warrior 123X landing 32 uh 24 uh 6 uh Warrior landing Wings.


Anyway everytime he went up the line crew would put a little Mr. MaGoo doll out on thier counter. It was thier way of letting the locals know he was flying and to keep an eye out.
 
1. No way to verify if the aircraft radio was working properly on THAT flight, but it did on the previous one (departure from Arlington fly-in, two-way conversations with both Ramp Control and Ground).
2. Radio is ICOM ICA5, powered by the aircraft electrical system, connected to the aircraft antenna.
3. Didn't change frequencies after previous flight.
4. Airport was home field, name was reading out on the ICOM display.
5. On first takeoff, was behind another Piper from the same flight school. Heard his call for takeoff, and verified his N-Number (don't know why...bored, I guess :-).

Certainly there could be low-probability events involved (radio could have been transmitting and receiving on different frequencies, all my radio calls could have been stepped on, one or the other of our antenna patterns could have been nulled out with every call).

But Occam's Razor says that the guy just didn't bother to look for traffic prior to taxiing onto the runway. I should have been perfectly visible out his left-side window.

The scary thing is, I'm not sure if the guy *ever* saw me. i pulled ahead, to the right, and above of him on my go-around, but he kept climbing straight out on the centerline. If he stared straight forward on takeoff (like he apparently did when taxiing onto the runway), he never knew I was there....

Ron Wanttaja
 
Hey, it wasn't me. I haven't flown the club's Arrow in almost a year. :P Which airport is your home?
 
Ghery said:
Hey, it wasn't me. I haven't flown the club's Arrow in almost a year. :P Which airport is your home?
Click to expand...
Auburn! Been based out of there for over twenty years. I'm in one of the city-owned closed hangars in the north end. Since moving in to these fancier hangars, I've paid about twice the value of my airplane in hangar rent....but it *is* nice to be able to store tools with the airplane, and/or leave the airplane partially assembled when I work on it.

Ron
 
Then it doubly wasn't me. I took my checkride out of S50 in April 2001, but I haven't flown there since. Those power lines off the north end sure get your attention on short final. :yes:
 
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