2S2

2S2/Beaver Marsh

Beaver Marsh is 4,500 of soft sand. The airport is right next to Highway 97 and very easy to find and land in. Taxiing around and getting off the ground are very difficult due to the very loose sand. Just moving required almost full power and full back on the elevator. Still the nose wheel acted like a sod-busters plow so speed was gained very slowly. Plowing down the runway raised a great cloud of dust behind me and I am sure the laundry hung out to dry in the small village next to the runway was thoroughly dusted. To the residents of Beaver Marsh I appologize for the mess, but getting off the ground was a higher priority. I estimate using half the runway before the nose wheel stopped pitching in to the sand. Now I needed to get enough speed to raise in to ground effect and that took another 1,000 feet. In ground effect the plane started to behave normally, except for the ever growing cloud of dust behind. Once on downwind a glance out the window showed the village enveloped in my dust cloud.

If you want to know if you and your plane can really handle a SOFT field, then check out this field, otherwise pass on by.

Airnav - 2S2
ODA - 2S2

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