Pilot lands on golf course to get son to lesson

[PWK_Pilot]

Greetings from a newbie here,

Just wanted to say briefly how much I enjoy reading all of your comments/stories on here- I have my PPL and will soon be working on my inst/comm ratings etc.... and plan on someday flying for a regional or corporate. I don't want to be just flying smaller GA planes around[as a hobby] all my life and not get paid for it!! Flying is my LIFE I LOVE it SO much and I visit this site quite frequently but have been too busy recently to post a thread until now...

http://cbs2chicago.com/local/golf.co....2.668950.html

This happened just a few hours before I took off for MSN and is located a couple miles north of PWK.
File under "macho" and "anti-authority"- I'm surprised he didn't hurt or kill anyone on the ground and having to make SEVERAL attempts to land it AND then say that it wasn't an emerg. landing. This pilot's license needs to be yanked from him forever!!
I'll save some other comments I had about this but I really want to hear yours now........

Peter

PS- any other pilot's that fly out of PWK here drop me a line sometime!!

[Speed Pilot]

Wow. Nothing in there about the Country Club being mad about their lawn either.

[JA Yawd Bwoy]

Wow, interesting. Oh and welcome lol, this site is such a great source for your pilot career. See ya around

[Kristie]

I'm sure at some point, the guys license will be yanked.

[Matt13C]

That is crazy. That guy needs to have his license stripped.

[milski]

Besides careless and wreckless, I'm not sure what else they can go after him for. Well, maybe the leaking fuel tanks but that's not really related to where he landed. Technically, there's nothing in the FARs which determines where you can land, it's up to the owner of the land. But that still does not make what he did a wonderful idea, it does not take a rocket scientist to figure that the golf club does not want him landing there.

[NickH]

If he had permission from the landowner, then what's the problem?

If not, then he's trespassing, but without other incident, that's it!

[bhh1128]

Originally Posted by PWK_Pilot

PS- any other pilot's that fly out of PWK here drop me a line sometime!!

Not exactly PWK, but not too far up the road either - I teach out of Waukegan.

[mojo6911]

I would have claimed an emergency of some sort.

[Toonces]

Originally Posted by mojo6911

I would have claimed an emergency of some sort.

I was thinking the same thing. I thought I smelled smoke would do nicely.

[Tram]

Originally Posted by milski

Besides careless and wreckless...

Just curious - what exactly was careless and wreckless about what he did?

I don't see what some of you guys are getting soo extremely upset about..

He landed at a golf course - COVERED - in snow.. I'm sure the fairways were FULL at the time.. It's a freakin Piper Clipper..

A nice golf fairway covered in snow is as good a grass strip as any..

In today's age with all you safety nuts, yeh, his actions were obviously foolish - only due to exactly what is happening.. You guys are all freaking out..

His license stripped? Give me a break.. You guys need to go out and actually have some FUN flying...

[ElyJs]

What he did maybe trespassing and he will have to deal with those consequences, I am not sure what the FAA would have the right to do. I was looking at putting straight skis on a 172, my big concern would be snow drifts? Any ski pilots care to enlighten me?

BTW we land on a dry lake bed in the area on a fairly consistent basis. Doesn't seem like this was any more dangerous than that. If you have only ever landed a plane on asphalt or concrete you are missing out on a major part of flying.

Emergency for sure!

There is a part of me that wishes I was flying in the golden age of aviation. Reading stories about Charles Lindbergh losing his clipboard with data for the Spirit of St Louis, following it down, landing in the field and then taking off makes me jealous. It is higher risk for sure tho.

-Jason

[PGT]

or in 'One Six Right' they talk about buzzing locomotives...

[Tram]

Yeh, the ability to have a good time in an airplane is becoming an extinct possibility due to all the safety nazi's..

[Minuteman]

Looks like he landed on the 7th green: http://www.craneslandinggolf.com/vie...=126&page=1834

Looks like a long fairway, about 350 yd? ... 1050 feet with lots of trees on the course? I wouldn't do it.

To my mind, landing on the course without permission is equivalent to cutting across the course for a shortcut, and seems like a poor decision.

Still, I wonder if there would be as much uproar if it were a helicopter instead.

[ElyJs]

I have heard some crazy hangar flying stories from talking to guys at the airport, but a public forum probably isn't the place. I had started to write a few of them but I guess you will have to go to your local airport to hear them!

Truth is the airlines don't care about any of your fun flying stories. It can only hurt your career, but you do have to have a certain amount of fun.

-Jason

[Tram]

Originally Posted by ElyJs

I have heard some crazy hangar flying stories from talking to guys at the airport, but a public forum probably isn't the place. I had started to write a few of them but I guess you will have to go to your local airport to hear them!

Truth is the airlines don't care about any of your fun flying stories. It can only hurt your career, but you do have to have a certain amount of fun.

Did you get into flying to have "Fun flying stories" or to be an "airline pilot.."

I can tell you which one attracted me to flying... It wasn't the epaulets....

[Tram]

Originally Posted by Minuteman

Looks like a long fairway, about 350 yd? ... 1050 feet with lots of trees on the course? I wouldn't do it..

Doesn't look like too many trees to me.. No trees at either end.. Plenty of "places to go."

Is it the distance you don't like?

[milski]

Originally Posted by Tram

Just curious - what exactly was careless and wreckless about what he did?

I guess it came out wrong - I was just saying that whoever is arguing to pull his ticket does not have much to stand on. The careless and reckless is probably the only thing that can be argued and as you say it's not exactly an easy argument.

Whoever owns the land can still go after him for trespassing though, if they did not agree about him using the golf course. Also, some towns around here have found a way to prohibit helicopter owners from landing in their backyards - I don't know exactly how a town can forbid you from doing what you want on your land but it's certainly possible.

Anyway, everything in the second paragraph above is not FAA related and should not affect his pilot certificate.

[tonyw]

Not exactly something I would do, but I'm not sure if he violated any regs. Seriously, with the long fairway, it's pretty much just another grass strip as far as the airplane is concerned!

[SpiraMirabilis]

He should get points for getting his son to the lesson on time. The only downside is that I guess someone couldn't play through while taking off or landing but then again its snowing so I doubt any people are playing anyway! It's a Clipper for chrissakes.

[Tram]

Originally Posted by tonyw

Seriously, with the long fairway, it's pretty much just another grass strip as far as the airplane is concerned!

I would be willing to $$$ down that says less than 30% of the people who post on this thread have actually landed an airplane on the grass..

[Minuteman]

Originally Posted by Tram

I would be willing to $$$ down that says less than 30% of the people who post on this thread have actually landed an airplane on the grass..

Nope, I haven't. Snow either.

But given the average power to weight ratio of GA aircraft, most can't climb past 50 ft in 350 yards. I wonder if he'd ever been to that golf course before.

[Tram]

Originally Posted by Minuteman

But given the average power to weight ratio of GA aircraft, most can't climb past 50 ft in 350 yards.

You are not flying the right GA aircraft..

[PGT]

Yep I was fortunate enough to have my instructor be a part of a local flying club that owns a grass strip. Flew into it a few times during my PPL training, it's good stuff.

Nothing like trying to take off on a 2000ft grass strip in the summer with high humidity flying a piper cherokee 140 with 2 people. Oh did I mention there is an interstate 200-300 feet from the end?