Dead Stick Takeoff, flight and landing.

[thydusk666]

I almost applauded at the end! What a video! :)

[taildrgfun]

The Highlander has a pretty decent glide ratio. I am using up a lot of that altitude on the actual take off. I have to roll a long way down that hill from a dead stop with no thrust. After I finally lift off I lose more altitude very quickly by keeping the nose down to pick up enough speed to glide safely.

[Nick300wm]

2 miles and 2,000 feet drop, that's only a 5.3:1 glide ratio; well achievable in most light singles. It sounds and looks worse than it is. The Jabiru I fly has a better than 15:1 glide ratio so in a 2,000 ft drop will glide 5.6 miles.

[slippymitc]

@Nick300wm yeah, but from a dead stop? not so much, nick.

[Nick300wm]

2 miles and 2,000 feet drop, that's only a 5.3:1 glide ration; well achievable in most light singles, it sounds and looks worse than it is. The Jabiru I fly has a better than 15:1 glide ratio so in a 2,000 ft drop will glide 5.6 miles.

[TheOtherEddie]

Steve, I'm glad to you vids back on YT! See ya! Johnny C!

[francdaavloox]

Nicely done! You have a good understanding of your, and the ac capabillities. Well done and fly safe!

[davismurray256]

Dude, I talked to someone who said he knew you, and told me you got fined for making this video haha.. you are awesome.

[1pdigit]

i bet you have to walk bow legged

[djsnapsmix]

this way u get the best mpg on no gallons!!! lol

[crashinaluscombe]

ditto shanehammac! This, and the mesa landings you did is a MUST study on energy management and well, just plain plane fun! You demonstrate what every pilot should be aware of and skillful in... the aircraft performance charts, V speeds, gliding parameters, short field landing and takeoffs...love it! If they had an American Idol for this sort of skill display you would win! Looks like you play in the Colorado River area between Kingman and Havasu City.

[crashinaluscombe]

ditto shanehammac! This, and the mesa landings you did is a MUST study on energy management and well, just plain plane fun! You demonstrate what every pilot should be aware of and skillful in... the aircraft performance charts, V speeds, gliding parameters, short field landing and takeoffs...love it! If they had an American Idol for this sort of skill display you would win!

[crashinaluscombe]

ditto shanehammac!

[simontist]

Balls

[zenji1]

You are awesome

[Flienlow]

You Win! I will burn my Pilots license tonight

[rumpel4skinOU]

Wow. He did not miss that cluster of rocks by very much of a margin.



[beeroosterm]

Looks like you're taking very big chances in order to...what? To see how far you can go before you make a deadly mistake? Make certain your widow or fatherless child posts the last one for others to use as an example of what can happen when you keep upping the ante for stupidity. And don't tell me about your experience, etc. Some little stupid thing is going to trip you up. Do yourself and your family a favor: stop. There - that's better...

[taogilliam]

@beeroosterm Be scared of death or be afraid to live, choose only one. if you are scared to live, then just stop breathing. :) As humans, we can do some really stupid stuff on the ground too.

[beeroosterm]

@taogilliam Don't give me that shit. Surely you know the old saw about Old/Bold pilots? There are 20 things I can think of right off the bat that can go wrong with your little stunt. Dead-stick landings? No problem. Dead stick takeoff from a steep, unprepared, rocky hillside cliff? Hope your on-board camera is protected, because I want to see/hear your grunts, cries, and horror-filled last seconds of life as you figure out that your broken, windmilling plane is about to splatter your ass...

[taogilliam]

@beeroosterm i want you to take a minute and just sit right there and think about how i became the prince of a town called belair. the way you yell back at a good-natured person such as myself is like an old fart yelling at the kids going past his lawn(not even on his lawn haha) that the young whippersnappers better stop playing on them new fangled roller shoes! now seriously, do i need a frickin 10 foot wide smiley face or something?

[beeroosterm]

@taogilliam I'm afraid you misunderstand my motives. I am not the old fart who has nothing better to do. What I see is someone who is pushing the boundaries of stupidity and then showing everybody how much you should be lauded for it. Not only do you make the dead-stick takeoff from the hillside - you then show us in person how steep and rocky it truly is in an attempt to further display your awesome piloting skills. But really, you're just displaying your stupidity. Shame you can't see it...

[taogilliam]

@beeroosterm also, im not a pilot. im a ford focus driver with a mean automatic transmission ;)

[beeroosterm]

@taogilliam OK - you're excused (except for the car you drive)

[beeroosterm]

@taogilliam Most famous last words of all time? "Here - watch this..." Actually, the coolest flying feat I ever saw was a video on the Speedvision channel. It was of an aerobatic plane (Sukhoi, I think) that basically just stalled his plane and then just fell straight from the sky with wings level. He landed with almost no forward motion, and to this day I do not know how he did it - and I cannot locate the video. It was absurd...

[AndrewtheATC]

Where are you in this clip??

[11Sparky111]

@AndrewtheATC In the plane? :/

[AndrewtheATC]

@11Sparky111 no i mean like what is the location you're flying out of?

[11Sparky111]

@AndrewtheATC Ahh, well. Thats probably his secret. ;D

[Riggro]

that machine is muuuuuch more fun than a bike or any other motor vehicle haha

[TheJatojr]

Steve... you rock..  I don't know how many times I've seen this but it's still fun!

[shanehammac]

Hands down, you have the best flying videos on Youtube. Looks like you have an absolute blast, and catch the true spirit of why flying is so great. Thanks for sharing, and please keep posting!

[tenminutetaxi]

That puckered my butt just watching it! Nicely done and great vid!

[thejasoncoley]

well that was ballsy. do you log stopwatch time instead of hobbs? hehe

[mdmbkr]

That rock landed in the passenger seat of my car!

[Avi8orKeith]

Dude, you are my hero. The Just Aircraft Company should have you on the payroll for sure.

[spencermel]

No one realizes how NUTS this is.You are legend.Plus this vid disappeared a while ago.why did you remove then repost?

[LowEarthOrbitPilot]

Nice job!

[mlwinnig]

Now that's what I call CHEAP flying!

[mectechman1]

I seem to return to this clip now and then and can't stop being amazed how well you executed this and how well the Highlander performs. Can you tell me the trade of in hight for the distance you glide in this Highlander?

I also wonder which engine you have installed?

Thanks for the great clips you are sharing with us.

/mtm

[taildrgfun]

@mectechman1 I normally lose about 600' per mile when I'm gliding. I have a Rotax 912uls with an IVO prop.

The last couple hundred hrs I've had an Iron Design tailwheel on and it is awesome!! It works perfectly!

[2007TypeR]

@taildrgfun Do you just take off and land wherever you want? Looks like a great hobby!

[taildrgfun]

@2007TypeR I always try to be sure to land in legal places, but I sure do enjoy a good challenge for a landing spot.

[skyyguyy]

Now that's a really different aviation-challenge! Amazing!

[humboldtwings]

wow......super good

[pabobfin]

Amazing. Have fun and be safe.

[whiskeyportal]

Thanks for reposting, this is easily one of my favorite vids.

[junkinmycar]

thank-you for re-posting this video you are very talented aswell you give a good comentary on what you are doing THANK-YOU great videos i really liked (fun in my highlander) that was awsome aswell.

[kitfoxjunky]

Thanks for the repost. Missed this one.

[ILOVEBEECHCRAFT]

yeee hawwwww man!!!!!!

[halfadollarsuck]

Could you adjust teh camera to your tailrudder for a video?

[halfadollarsuck]

awesome... ^^