Wind Direction equipment, High dreams, and mountain tops

AKA~Naked Jailer

AKA~Naked Jailer

Filing Flight Plan
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Feb 22, 2022
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Another random Day
Ok.. So I have 160 acres on top of a mountain. It is only 25 miles from our reginal airport, and a 3 hour drive away on very bumpy roads.... This is a no brainer... I am working on my sport pilot license, and within the year, hope to purchase a plane to land on my mountain top, short walk to the cabin. Great plan, I know! So, There is a "flat" spot about 1400ft long, may (will) need some dozer work to smooth it out.

My questions

1. Does anyone know of a device I can set on top and leave for a month or two to measure wind speed and direction patterns? I would like to smooth the area out in the most prominent wind direction. No power, so battery, or solar. It will need to store data.

2. What plane do you suggest?

Curranty I am getting my hours (up to 4.7) in a 172, but will need to get serious with it soon, find someone with a sport plane to start training in.

Thank you for your time.
 
I would start with a wind sock and a Flag to look at while you are there or flying over.

maybe a helicopter might be better?
 
Might need to install a solar panel and enclosure to house a mini PC or laptop for data logging. Even that might be a challenge; everything seems to be “cloud” oriented, meaning no facility for local logging. If you’re technically inclined you could put something together with a Raspberry Pi or something, but it’s not a job for the faint of heart.
 
Gary Ward said:
I would start with a wind sock and a Flag to look at while you are there or flying over.

maybe a helicopter might be better?
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Yes.. Maybe a helicopter, But I did a test fight in a Heli, and I liked the Fixed wing better. I will put a wind sock up there, but I'm only there for a few hours at a time, every other month, so I would like to gave solid data before I retire and take on goofing off on my dreams full time. Thank you for the reply
 
DaleB said:
Might need to install a solar panel and enclosure to house a mini PC or laptop for data logging. Even that might be a challenge; everything seems to be “cloud” oriented, meaning no facility for local logging. If you’re technically inclined you could put something together with a Raspberry Pi or something, but it’s not a job for the faint of heart.
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I have some old phones... that's an Idea, I will look for some off line apps, and solar phone chargers.

Thank you for the reply.
 
AKA~Naked Jailer said:
I have some old phones... that's an Idea, I will look for some off line apps, and solar phone chargers.

Thank you for the reply.
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Amazon has little weather stations, just got to get it above any trees you’re going to clear so the mechanical turbulence doesn’t distort the results.

Is there a nearby weather station?


https://skyvector.com/

Airplane wise, not enough info to say, slope? surface? Obstacles?
 
We had the same need for the old RC airplane club I belonged to. Easy enough to get a solar powered weather station - lots are on Amazon. But you need WiFi. Using cellular data 24/7 to hot spot will definitely need an unlimited data plan.

BTW - you might run into difficulty finding a LSA to rent. I know I did, and switched to PPL because of that.

You can never join too many pilot boards. Here is a nice one dedicated to Sport you should try out.

https://sportpilottalk.com/
 
With 1400' available you have a lot of options depending on what the approaches look like. Almost any small plane can land on 1400' with a clean approach but 1400' with tall trees or other mountains around is a different story. Density altitude is a big factor, too.

If you don't need speed the current crop of experimental bushplanes (Kitfox, experimental Cubs, etc.) can get into some impressively tight places.
 
WDD said:
We had the same need for the old RC airplane club I belonged to. Easy enough to get a solar powered weather station - lots are on Amazon. But you need WiFi. Using cellular data 24/7 to hot spot will definitely need an unlimited data plan.

BTW - you might run into difficulty finding a LSA to rent. I know I did, and switched to PPL because of that.

You can never join too many pilot boards. Here is a nice one dedicated to Sport you should try out.

https://sportpilottalk.com/
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Save to SD, let it sit for a while and collect and analyze?
 
Jackk said:
Amazon has little weather stations, just got to get it above any trees you’re going to clear so the mechanical turbulence doesn’t distort the results.

Is there a nearby weather station?


https://skyvector.com/

Airplane wise, not enough info to say, slope? surface? Obstacles?
Click to expand...

I've seen some cool one's on line, just not something that looks like I can leave it for a month, and come back and collect the data

yes, the reginal airport (25 miles away) has a weather station, I have found general information, I was hoping to get some hard data on site, just because that's me over thinking everything.

Nothing but sagebrush and rocks on the top, too rough for landing now, but some work would do it good.

45.321084,-118.80169,

I would probably be looking for something that is landing/take off less than 900, just to be safe, Something like the Czech sportcruiser.. Or Cessna 152
 
AKA~Naked Jailer said:
I've seen some cool one's on line, just not something that looks like I can leave it for a month, and come back and collect the data

yes, the reginal airport (25 miles away) has a weather station, I have found general information, I was hoping to get some hard data on site, just because that's me over thinking everything.

Nothing but sagebrush and rocks on the top, too rough for landing now, but some work would do it good.

45.321084,-118.80169,

I would probably be looking for something that is landing/take off less than 900, just to be safe, Something like the Czech sportcruiser.. Or Cessna 152
Click to expand...

Look at maules, PA18, etc.

Those are two planes I’d not want, unless it was a 150/150
 
I built my landing strips a few years ago, there is a lot more to it than just a Dozer. Amazon has weather stations that record everything for months internally. They only seem to last a couple of years, change memory cards when you visit. Also there are thousands of agricultural weather stations all over the country you can monitor off the internet, do not know where the strip will be, I have linked an example for Georgia.
http://weather.uga.edu/?variable=CC&site=SASSER
this is the one that I use and the station is less than a mile from me on a farm.
Are you thinking about grass or dirt? soil type means a lot.

Ken Andrew
 
If you’re going to get a Sport Pilot ticket, forget about the 150 and 152. Ditto Super Cubs, Maules, and so on.
 
ksandrew said:
I built my landing strips a few years ago, there is a lot more to it than just a Dozer. Amazon has weather stations that record everything for months internally. They only seem to last a couple of years, change memory cards when you visit. Also there are thousands of agricultural weather stations all over the country you can monitor off the internet, do not know where the strip will be, I have linked an example for Georgia.
http://weather.uga.edu/?variable=CC&site=SASSER
this is the one that I use and the station is less than a mile from me on a farm.
Are you thinking about grass or dirt? soil type means a lot.

Ken Andrew
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Depends on what you are operating
 
Rv 12. Lots of support, would be ok on grass, take off distance 700 feet.
 
WDD said:
Rv 12. Lots of support, would be ok on grass, take off distance 700 feet.
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I've been looking at those, I would have to get the landing area well groomed....

Thanks for your reply
 
AKA~Naked Jailer said:
That's sweet... My budget will be more in the 80 range, I can dream, but I have to be realistic for my budget. I don't think they are that negotiable :)
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Something along these lines


https://www.barnstormers.com/listing.php?userid=228886

medium_image_1727905_1_1648429302.jpeg
 
You might have a chat with @FastEddieB . He flys a Sky Arrow LSA off a grass strip in TN. That plane might be a decent option for you.
 
I see there is a data logger for the Davis cabled stations that can collect information for later download to a Windows PC over USB.
 
1) if this is for planning which direction the runway should be I think the suitability of the land, trees, approach, etc. would take precidence.

2) Do you live at the cabin full time? If not, then maybe a wi fi remote readable is what you need so you can see what weather is before you fly there or drive to the cabin to take the plane out.
 
Altitude of the mountain top? Summertime temps?
 
AKA~Naked Jailer said:
I would probably be looking for something that is landing/take off less than 900, just to be safe, Something like the Czech sportcruiser.. Or Cessna 152
Click to expand...

A C-206 can work comfortably out of a 1400 foot strip, barring field elevation and density altitude. And carry the kitchen sink. But I understand you are looking for a light sport.

Does the plane have to be a nose wheel plane?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SkyReach_BushCat
 
AKA~Naked Jailer said:
Nothing but sagebrush and rocks on the top, too rough for landing now, but some work would do it good.

45.321084,-118.80169,
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That is at around 5,000' MSL. I'm not sure there are any LS planes that will handle that altitude for that runway length.
 
Domenick said:
Lieutenant John W. Hodgkin, U.S. Air Force, lands his ski-equipped Piper Cub on top of Mount Rainier on April 12, 1951: https://www.historylink.org/file/8469
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While an interesting story, it doesn't have any relevance to the OP's question. I landed my 182 with a ~100 ft ground roll once, landing into a 40 kt headwind.
 
5000 feet is going to be tough for a 1400’ strip. Any way to get twice as long?
 
WDD said:
5000 feet is going to be tough for a 1400’ strip. Any way to get twice as long?
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Very aircraft dependent.
He wasn't shopping Lear jets.
Part of the reason I am contemplating a Maule, is 1400' at 5k density altitude is a lot of runway.
 
I had a project for my employer back in the dark ages that involved laying out T.O. and landing areas. I found that the National Weather Svc had archived climatic data, including prevailing winds for the US. Gave them a location and they fixed me up.
 
Unless there is some major source of mechanical turbulence, you can get a good idea of prevailing wind from any weather source with historical data within a 50 mile or so radius. Weather Underground used to have this before they got bought out.
 
I used to take care of a ranch, I had 1700’ of usable but unimproved hay girl. 8040’ elevation with rising terrain all directions except a narrow gap. Beyond that gap were high tension lines, about 1/2 mile from takeoff location.
I landed my 180 there numerous times, even hot afternoons with full fuel. I also took off with full fuel and passenger and camping gear. Many planes can readily handle 1400’ at 5000’. My CGS hawk was based at that field at 8000’. It was a huge runway for that.
 
Jeff Oslick said:
That is at around 5,000' MSL. I'm not sure there are any LS planes that will handle that altitude for that runway length.
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Jeff Oslick said:
While an interesting story, it doesn't have any relevance to the OP's question. I landed my 182 with a ~100 ft ground roll once, landing into a 40 kt headwind.
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The relevance was the observation that Lieutenant Hodgkin landed a light sport aircraft at 14,410 MSL, "stopping almost immediately" thanks to a 30 mph headwind. I don't know precisely what "almost immediately" means and how much a 30 mph headwind reduces landing distance for a J-3, but I'll bet in calm winds, he could have done it in less than 1400 feet.

Not that I could personally match it, but my Piper Warrior's POH shows a landing roll at 5000 MSL under STP conditions of about 700 feet. A light sport should do much better.
 
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