I heard that many places in Alaska, there are no roads and the only way you can get home is via a small single-engine airplane. Well, my gosh, the Alaskans have figured out how to land on rocks in just a couple feet! And also take-off within just couple feet, this is simply amazing and don’t forget that they even have STOL (Short Take Off Landing) competition every year.
The key seems pretty simple enough, just attach some four-wheeler wheels to your single-engine airplane then deflate your tires to absorb more of the impact from landing and land short.
Pretty amazing when you think about it and how useful is this?
Watch this amazing video of an airplane pretty much converted into a helicopter (almost).
I’ve always wanted to be a pilot, this is going to be useful and I might have to try this one day when I am a pilot.
At the STOL competition in Valdez, takeoffs and landings are measured in tens of feet. Pilots pull up to a line and try to get off the ground with as little ground roll as possible. They also try to touch down as soon as they pass a line on the ground in the shortest possible distance.
For many years Alaskan bush pilots with thousands of hours of flight time in Piper Super Cubs and similar planes have dominated the competition. But this year a teenager who isn’t even Alaskan could give them a run for the money. Cooler still, Bobby Breeden is a student pilot.
