Bearhawk in the backcountry

[Battson]

Another weekend venture to a riverbed, this was probably the narrowest spot I've landed so far. It's definitely great fun finding challenges.

[Battson]

Checked out another couple of spots this weekend.

Reasonably short and steep uphill airstrip, the pad on the top looks quite small at 60kts. Had to get the braking just right:

​

Gradually building up to bigger rocks, still at 14psi with bead lockers (no slippage).
Managed to catch a flying stone with the trailing edge of the rudder and elevator, two in one! So that'll be another small patch job.
​

[marcusofcotton]

Beautiful. Is that sheep ranching primarily? I sure enjoy your posts for both the scenery and the details of how the Bearhawk is doing!

Mark J

[Battson]

Thanks Mark,

Yes, that is a sheep farm.
Historically, most of NZ has been sheep farming (in the 1980's there were over 35 sheep for every person, now down to about 17pp )
Recently deer and now dairy conversions are very popular. The dairy is mostly on the flat land, with mostly sheep remaining on the hill country.

Jonathan

[Battson]

The adventures continue.

Sorry about the random photo sizes, sometimes all I have is a phone for a camera.

[Battson]

Funny how the forum only allows 4 photos per post...

This is a neat little spot, there was some animal damage at the halfway mark of the airstrip - so I rolled the wheels over it, and decided the land on the western 300ft to ensure we didn't get any trouble from the rough surface.

The surface looks great from the air, but you can see the depth of the "bumps" where the port side tire has disappeared into a 10" deep hole where I turned around and got a little off to one side... it took 2000 RPM to pull it out of said hole.

[Mark Goldberg]

You know Jonathan - the kind of flying you do off airport makes you a good candidate for the 31" or 35" Bushwheels. The 26" Goodyears are nice, but the bigger tires really are the best for off airport. They also protect the airframe quite a bit because of the added shock absorption. Mark

[Battson]

We might get there one day Mark. At this stage, I need to balance between airspeed and off airport cushioning factor, and I have to land on the tarmac at my home airport when they close the grass over winter.

[Battson]

[Battson]

Just dropping the off airport video in here too, so I don't lose it in the general discussion section.

[Battson]

Short landing

[Battson]

Here's a shot from my last hunting trip into the backcountry. I should have taken some video of the landing as this was a real doozey of a spot to land in.


The ground was rough and uneven with some brush to roll through. There are a couple of very large mounds, which made the plane hard to keep under control. The surroundings were "unforgiving" if I had ventured off track by more than a few feet, because the "good bit" of the strip is slightly narrower than the Bearhawk's landing gear.
It took me 7 passes and 3 drags to get confident that I had the room and safety margins I wanted, before I applied the brakes and landing it. The slope is downhill which prolonged the arduous roll out.

[mswain]

I've never done any "backcountry" flying....what exactly are your options if you should happen to break something and can't do a field repair? Do you carry a satellite phone or have some other kind of contingency?

Love your pictures! Looks good in the 2015 calendar too.

[Battson]

I've never done any "backcountry" flying....what exactly are your options if you should happen to break something and can't do a field repair? Do you carry a satellite phone or have some other kind of contingency?

Love your pictures! Looks good in the 2015 calendar too.

We carry a selection of ELB / EPIRB devices, flares, a satellite phone for long range trips, and sometimes a handheld backup radio too. If I don't have a life-threatening emergency we wont use the beacon. So say we had no sat phone, the option is to walk out and seek assistance, which would be a long walk in some cases, else wait until someone comes looking. We always bring good gear and fly in hiking boots.

[Battson]

Well despite the spring weather, we have managed to get out and about a few times. Here are a couple of shots from a new spot in the weekend:

[Battson]

I was lucky enough to do some filming with a French crew, who are running a new "360" camera which films in every direction at once. Picture a globe made of camera lens', and then stitching the films together so the viewer has full control of where they look, while the video is playing.

I am still waiting for permission to share it, but I can say initial edits of the results are pretty damn awesome!! Mounted on the wing, it makes for a whole new perspective on a take-off, or cruising through the mountains. Another Bearhawk-first!

[Battson]

Here are a few more snaps from recent flights. The last 25hrs has gone pretty quickly, wish I had a few more action shots to show for it....

Out fishing with family.




Joy-riding and stopping in for a paddle on a hot summer's day.


Scenic flights with a mountain valley landing. Wet grass means sledging the tires the whole way down the airstrip on a dewy morning!

[Battson]

Flying in for a quick hunting trip at last light.