You guys are too good!!!
185 - Say hi to Chris when you see him next!
Beachy - Story??? Don't hold back!
Well...I'll be buggered if I could pick that strip as Narran!
When I was last there, the timber hadn't been pulled and the mulga was quite thick and high alongside the strip.
Yes....I well remember the trip into the Narran strip that C185 and I did after the 1994 flood. Chris and his family had been exiled from Narran for a couple of weeks, and were quite keen to get home to check on pets/livestock etc. The only way in was by plane.
IIRC, C185 had his 182 loaded to the max with groceries, and I had Chris and his family, the rest of the groceries (and a 40 inch TV) in the 210.
We had a pretty close look at the strip prior to landing, and it looked OK, except for the far western end.
C185 landed first without incident and advised that it all looked good! My touchdown was pretty uneventful until we slowed down to about 30 knots. At this point the left main broke through the crust and into the bottomless soup that is typical of Red Sandalwood country, and the plane tried to do an immediate sharp left-hand turn.
As I felt it break through, I rapidly applied full noise, and with full flap still on, the 210 rose out and up onto the hard stuff. We were very lucky to get away with it, and I may well have soiled myself.
C185 was able to avoid the situation completely due to his awesomeness,and the fact that he had a fair bit lighter aircraft.
This happened when we were both green young fellas starting to learn what it was all about!
If I had been in my Bonanza, it wouldn't have happened at all. I'm sure the only reason that the C210 managed to get out was because the ground repelled it due the inherent ugliness of Cessnas!
To those not familiar with Red Sandalwood country, the photo that Rats had posted is a very good example of the type. After large amounts of rain, this type of soil is totally bottomless after you break through the top crust.
Livestock transport operators out this way won't go near these properties for months, for fear of getting bogged or roll-over. When they do decide to venture out, they take a crow-bar with them, and drive it into the ground to ascertain what lies underneath. Stories have been told of the crow-bar going into the ground so quickly, that it is reefed from your hands and disappear feet below the surface, never to be seen again.
A Mate once went to load 4 decks of cattle (road train) on one of these properties, and came across a closed gate. After driving through, he walked back and closed the gate... only to observe the stationary unloaded dog (rear) trailer break through the surface and roll onto it's side. Nasty stuff.