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Anybody ever land, or take off in a cave?

DaV8or

By DaV8or
in Miscellaneous Aviation Talk

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DaV8or Grand Master

DaV8or

Posted
Posted

OK, we've all seen it in the movies. The evil bad organization has a secret landing strip concealed inside a mountain, the door opens up and the plane either flies out of the cave, or it lands into it. My question is, has anyone ever done this in real life? Has there ever been an airstrip inside a cave?

aviatoreb Grand Master

aviatoreb

Posted
Posted
8 hours ago, DaV8or said:

OK, we've all seen it in the movies. The evil bad organization has a secret landing strip concealed inside a mountain, the door opens up and the plane either flies out of the cave, or it lands into it. My question is, has anyone ever done this in real life? Has there ever been an airstrip inside a cave?

No I haven't.  Not yet.

Oldguy Veteran

Oldguy

Posted
Posted

Yes, have had a Swiss fighter take off over my head when they had traffic stopped going up into the Alps. Asked the guy traveling with me, a Swiss citizen, and he told me they keep some planes inside the mountains.

Just could not tell me how they got there....

Awful_Charlie Mentor

Awful_Charlie

Posted
Posted (edited)

The Swiss air force is reducing in size, and Meiringen is the one operational airport left with daily use of the caverns. There is a long taxiway from the runway into the cavern (crossing a public road!), and inside they have cranes to move the smaller aircraft around - I don't think they can take off (or land!) directly out of the cavern.

More info (in German/French/Italian) at http://www.lw.admin.ch/internet/luftwaffe/de/home/verbaende/einsatz_lw/flpl_kdo_mei.html or the map/aerial view at https://www.google.ch/maps/@46.7393801,8.1092805,1921m/data=!3m1!1e3

Edited by Awful_Charlie
PTK Grand Master

PTK

Posted
Posted
21 hours ago, DaV8or said:

...The evil bad organization has a secret landing strip concealed inside a mountain, the door opens up and the plane either flies out of the cave, or it lands into it...

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  • Like 3
HRM Grand Master

HRM

Posted
Posted
23 hours ago, DaV8or said:

My question is, has anyone ever done this in real life? Has there ever been an airstrip inside a cave?

Sort of. I fired up my E one time after having forgotten to close my hangar door. 

Blew shit all over the place...not recommended.

568b3bf5b4873_Pilotcave.jpg.b9777f18db03

mpg Community Regular

mpg

Posted
Posted

Read Richard Bach, A Gift of Wings,,,   page 135, a story called, School for Perfection..

Hank Grand Master

Hank

Posted
Posted
 

If there was it would be the only runway that is not bidirectional.

Nah, there are many if those. There's one just a few miles west if KCRW; land toward the mountain, take off away from it. Once you turn final, there are no go arounds. Oh, it's also pretty short, with a right dogleg and a circle at the hillside to turn around after back-taxiing. People park planes between the hangars and the runway, too, and there's no room for a taxiway. I'll probably remember the name later tonight. At least it's paved . . .

kpaul Mentor

kpaul

Posted
Posted

 

Here you go...a M20J going into Courchevel France.  One way in, one way out.

17px-WMA_button2b.png WikiMiniAtlas

Courchevel's airport has a certain degree of infamy in aviation as having a very short and steeply sloped runway, with a length of 1,722 ft. and a gradient of 18.5% at 5,732 ft. MSL. The airport has a dangerous approach through deep valleys, which can only be performed by specially certified pilots. On landing there is no go-around procedure, as most of the world's airports have; there is merely a very steep hill which has seen a few accidents since the airport first opened.

NotarPilot Veteran

NotarPilot

Posted
Posted (edited)

Believe it or not the North Koreans have several military air bases that have runways going into tunnels carved in mountains. I had no knowledge of this until a Marine F/A-18 pilot I know who deployed to South Korea told me about it. A quick Google search quickly confirmed it. There are sat photos of these things. Pretty amazing. Seems like an easy way to ground a lot of their planes by just blowing up the entrance to the tunnel with a JDAM.

Edited by NotarPilot
DaV8or Grand Master

DaV8or

Posted
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Posted
 

Believe it or not the North Koreans have several military air bases that have runways going into tunnels carved in mountains. I had no knowledge of this until a Marine F/A-18 pilot I know who deployed to South Korea told me about it. A quick Google search quickly confirmed it. There are sat photos of these things. Pretty amazing. Seems like an easy way to ground a lot of their planes by just blowing up the entrance to the tunnel with a JDAM.

 

Yes, this North Korean airfield was pointed out to me on another pilot board where I posted the same topic. It does appear to be the closest thing in the world to a runway in a cave. Not the sort of thing depicted in fiction, but close. I am assuming that they start their takeoff roll in the cave and finish their landing roll in the cave. This arrangement does seem to allow for a potential go around. I would love to see operational photos or videos, but I imagine they are pretty scarce.

As to the whole JDAM thing, it's not as dumb as it seems. Sure, a couple of well placed JDAMs could trap the planes inside, but they would still have the planes. It has been proven over and over again in combat arenas that runways can be repaired and debris can be removed pretty rapidly, particularly if they are prepared for that possibility. If you think of a traditional airfield and the use of JDAMs, then you can see that you would lose the airfield and the airplanes and it's the airplanes that are harder to replace.

carusoam Grand Master

carusoam

Posted
Posted

Trying to find the details.  I believe...

SpeedMooney...aka Gilles

Had posted some details about flying into the one way runway...

This guy...

 

post in progress...

-a-

DaV8or Grand Master

DaV8or

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  • Author
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I'm on short final dropping 500fpm now where's that damn tunnel?

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Trust your feelings Luke. Use the Force... it flows through us and guides us.

  • Like 2
Hank Grand Master

Hank

Posted
Posted (edited)
 

I'm on short final dropping 500fpm now where's that damn tunnel?

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Looks like the base leg for 26 at KHTW . . . Except your cowling has a lot more screws in it than my C has.

Edited by Hank
bonal Grand Master

bonal

Posted
Posted
 

Looks like the base leg for 26 at KHTW . . . Except your cowling has a lot more screws in it than my C has.

Hank I have some extras if your missing some let me know

Hank Grand Master

Hank

Posted
Posted
 

Hank I have some extras if your missing some let me know

I don't have a photo with my entire cowl in it, so I'll have to do it in halves. Don't know where my screws went, but they aren't missing . . . Although it has been alleged many times that some are loose. :P

 

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