ELK CITY, ID

Todd Peterson visited Elk City in the Spring of 2014 in his King Katmai. Todd loves to "land on the curve" and Elk City is made to order. See more at katmai-260se dotcom slash elk city dothtml.

This is Elk City, ID, and it is surrounded by trees, dirt/grass/gravel, sloped, and curved! It is unusual to land downhill on a sloped runway (It is normal to land uphill for safety). But, sometimes it is acceptable, depending on the circumstance, to land downhill on a sloped runway. The problem is that I am trying to descend to the ground, and the ground is continually falling away. Notice how I hover an inch or so off the ground as I am trying to touchdown.

Landing over the Trees at Elk City to take the curve out of the runway.

On a sloped runway, it is usually preferred to land uphill for better performance. On this curved runway, I follow the curve of the runway as I land uphill. In a curved landing, it is better for the airplane to touch the inside wheel first (in this case the right wheel). Also, notice the road a hundred feet or so before the runway begins--this is my abort point. Once I cross this road, I am committed to land no matter what, because there are no good options to go-around after the road--the terrain climbs faster than the airplane can.