Adventures in BC, part 1

[GDL]

In my album is a picture of my Rans S6S, dated 2001, only its tail showing amongst the trees. An interesting tail (pun intended).

 

About 10 years ago myself and another pilot in his Cessna 170 went over to visit a little (or no) used strip on the south-east corner of Texada Island called Cox Landing or Cox Strip. I thought I knew most of the small (mostly logging) strips in the area, but this one I had not heard of before. Texada has a nice ~1000 meter asphalt strip on the other side of the island that I had visited many times.

 

Cox Strip is about 300 meters long, 25-30 meters wide, with a 100 meter level stretch to the north, and the rest sloping down at about 3-4 degrees. Plus it narrows as it slopes down. It also sits on the east side of the spine of the island, the leeward side. And it was blowing hard that day.

 

The wind didn't favor landing up the slope, so both of us landed on the flat section and stopped on the slope. My friend went in first, backtracked and parked at the top. When I touched down, I slowed but got onto the down slope and then found my brakes had failed. There wasn't enough time to get back into the air, so I turned off the engine, swung to my left and parked it between 2 trees. Hardly a bump as it stopped between the trees, the nosewheel sitting in a small dip in the ground.

 

Turns out my drum brakes had slipped a cable sometime between taking off from my home airport and landing at Cox's. We pulled the plane out, quickly fixed the brakes and left the scene (that was an adventure in itself with downdrafts & crosswinds & narrow strips - and tense).

 

I hear now that the strip is probably usable. Alder trees grow quickly in our climate. Very quickly. And I replaced those brakes soon after with discs.

 

 

[Guernsey]

"All de trees" grow quickly in Australia also.

 

Alan Marriette.