PIREP: Angel McGrath to Rohn

The dispatch office had assigned me a flight I have mixed emotions about. It was s straw delivery to Rohn. small field surrounded by hills all over with an iffy go around. Not the best place to get behind your aircraft.

I had just left the 182 that kindly took Connie and I to McGrath. The other C208B was already being loaded as I watched over and started to preflight while Connie made herself useful and got us both a cup of coffee. The plane wasn't loaded to max but it wasn't light either. I told Connie that this was going to require some serious flying so she shouldn't expect much talking from me and just to try not to yell when she felt the need to since it breaks my concentration. That certainly got her attention.

We took off IFR and climbed high to 9000ft to get over the mountains. As we got close enough ATC descended us to 5000ft and I felt close enough to cancel IFR and fly the rest solely on the GPS. Rohn was just a few miles away..but not in sight!

Finally we crossed the last mountain, and there it was...almost 4000 below us nested in between high peaks.. so I set power to flight idle and made a steep..steep descent. It was all terrain on the windshield as Connie grabbed on to whatever she could and silenced a yelp. She had be holding her camera taking pictures but she didn't took any more until later.. much later.

In spite of the steep descent I was still too high when we got to the field..so I circled around once twice three more times.. each time comming a couple of hundred feet lower and evaluation how much lower I could go. Connie was certainly not enjoying this flight but didn't say a word until after we got down.

On the last pass I was decided this would be it. I snatch some branches from tress across the river from Ronh , the noise of which distracted me for a second but I pressed on. Touched down one wheel first and then the other two as usual. skidded off the field to the right and stop with body spun across now facing 90 to the left. A tipical Rohn landing.

Connie had been holding well up to now. But on the ground she let herself go. She got off..walked a couple of feet to some trash cans and puked her guts out. I would've done the same, except I had an empty stomach.

Later on she would tell me that Rohn make her thing that bush pilots were braver than she could ever imagine. It was hard enough to land in a remote field , even harder on one that was carved right out in a hole between mountains and a river. I told her I didn't like it much but it was always a good challenge. She was happy that I passed that challenge!

Once unloaded (good unload so a six pack was on top the last bale I left there for the vols), we turned the plane around and faced the mountains again. Connie say "this behind the scenes stuff is really too real sometimes. DOn't tell me we are flying straight ahead?" I told her, no we are flying straight ahead until we clear the tree the we bank left to clear the mountains by a bit and then we climb as best we can or circle around until we are over the mountains. Then we head back to Mcgrath. So as we cleared the tres and the mountains she just realized she hadn't taken any more pictures since we did the steep descent. I told her I had taken a few on the ground for her. I didn't tell her some where of her bowing over the trash can.

The return flight was pretty quiet as I was relaxed and enjoying the view and Connie was just happy to be alive and heading to a paved runway.

Times...I forgot but snowboss has thems.
Picture?? didn't I tell you she drop the camera.. o hell..i'll the pictures for you. I think I managed a couple with the Instant Replay.
Aircraft: branch decorated Cessna 208B 'workhorse' Grand Caravan.

Later

Angel