Adventure Pilot article – Oct 20, 2005

Now, I suppose if you’re a Bonanza pilot, “Let’s go to the beach” means a quick zip down and another quick zip back to the airport. Or perhaps the highlight might be a $100 hamburger at some inland airport, and the beach was just a detour.

To truly enjoy the beach, to relish the experience, to see what there is to see, you have to go low and slow, so that calls out for a light-sport aircraft or an ultralight. You won’t see that Bonanza pilot landing on the beach, either, but I do it regularly in my small experimental. So, when I think of going to the beach in my plane, I think of walking around getting the sand between my toes, and hunting for seashells on deserted stretches. No, you Bonanza pilots are not going to have nearly as much fun!

If you don’t count the inlets, bays, and so forth, there is a linear distance from the Louisiana border to the Mexico border of about 350 miles. I’m quite familiar with a 200 mile stretch starting near High Island (about 60 miles SE of Houston), down to Mustang Beach on North Padre Island. For most of that stretch, there is a beach wide enough on which to land a slow-flying LSA or ultralight.

The sand looks somewhat “dirty” (more than a normal amount of silt and clay mixed in) in the Houston/Galveston/Freeport area, but once you get further south, it starts to look a lot whiter (less silty). Most of the time, the sand is fairly hard, sometimes rock hard.  Occasionally there will be a short stretch of dry, deep sand, what I like to call “fluffy.” That can mean trouble, but it’s usually not hard to spot. What’s more important is to find a level stretch, as the wave action tends to make small “valleys” and “hills” along the beach. These can make for a very stressful landing, for both the aircraft and the pilot. The angle of the sun, cloud cover, homogeneity of the sand, and other factors can make spotting these hills and valleys difficult or easy. Typically, though, if you’re at 20 feet and you look down the beach at the waves, and they seem to all come ashore at about the same time, and not bunched up, then you’re probably okay.

Aside from the legal questions, the actual process of landing on a beach can be problematic. Having a long “runway” is best, of course, and it should go without saying that driftwood looks good sculpted on tables, but not on the
“runway.” The Texas coastal beaches are not very steep, as a rule, so there’s no need to be too concerned about a slope, but you can expect one wheel to touchdown first, so be prepared. Also, be very aware of any dunes that might be close to the water, and make sure your wings will easily clear them. It would ruin your day, and many other things, if you clipped a dune! Some stretches have lots of seashells and they, like gravel, can cause problems if one gets kicked up by a wheel and thrown into the prop.

Naturally, you should be sure your landing spot is long enough for your take off roll. More than once a friend of mine would have to walk down the beach and move a piece of driftwood out of the way because they landed okay, but later realized they needed a bit more room to take off!

And don’t forget to watch the tide! The last thing you want is for your runway to disappear on you! It’s always a good idea before you leave to look at a tide table to know if it’s coming in or going out for the time period involved.

Like any skill learned while piloting your aircraft, all these issues are things you can learn to deal with. The end result is a “day at the beach” you won’t likely forget. You’ll have the unique opportunity to find your own remote place to settle down on to, get out, stretch your legs, hunt for seashells, have a drink and a snack (if you thought ahead and brought them!), and even camp overnight. Many of my friends have done overnight campouts on parcels of sand that you couldn’t get to any other way (except by boat, and even then it’d be a long boat ride!).

I’ve often flown my aircraft down the beach and enjoyed the unique attributes of that setting. The wind along the Texas coast almost always blows from the Southeast. So, assuming I’m flying back from Mustang Island, the wind will hit be me from the front starboard quarter. I can then crab into the wind, and have a “front seat”, looking down the beach out my port-side window with nothing in front of me. That’s always a real joy! Another joy is that the constant wind is absent any thermals, since the wind is coming right off the water. So it’s smooth sailing, even in the middle of the day. That is certainly worth the cost of admission!

That steady 30 degree crosswind makes for a great opportunity to perfect my slipping skills. It didn’t take many trips down the beach for me to be able to slip my plane so well, I could keep just a single wheel on the ground.  Then I learned how to flip the slip and put the other wheel on the ground, too. I always laughed thinking about someone who might find this single tire track in the sand, going for hundreds of yards. Would they think it was a unicycle with a very wide tire? And where did it come from, and where did it go? That big grin you get because you’re flying just gets bigger because you’re having even more fun!

To make sure it’s all fun, you should do a little checking, first. Some states, like Texas, make their beaches open to the public by default. So, as long as I stay on the beach, and that I keep away from people, cars, buildings, and other structures, I typically won’t run into any legal trouble. However, some individual counties might have their own rules about landing an aircraft anywhere except at an airport. Almost all of the law enforcement types I’ve encountered have been very friendly, stopping to chat about the plane, but occasionally you get someone that’s had a bad day. In those cases, I try to plead ignorance, and so far I’ve been “let off” as long as I didn’t do it again. Generally, though, common sense should keep you out of trouble, as long as you don’t do anything dangerous and or anything that someone might complain about.

You should always stay at 2000 feet above a National Seashore, and a bare minimum of 500 feet away from any people, houses, etc. But even at 500 feet, it’s close enough to see the expression on people’s faces, and it’s fun to wave at them. 99.9% of the time, they wave back. You should also keep a pretty sharp lookout ahead of you, in case there’s another pilot enjoying the scenery, but heading your way! Oh, and, if you’re flying over salt water as I do, then be sure to give your aircraft a good bath after your return to your home airport!

Going to the beach is a whole new way to enjoy your aircraft. What could be better than flying at 20 feet, watching the waves break on the beach, enjoy the smooth air, waving at people, seeing more of the beach, dunes, tidal flats, etc. that you would miss if you were just driving on the beach. Expand your horizons even more, and enjoy a day at the beach!

[End]