Texas Beach Landings

[PilotMikeTX]

Alright Texas pilots, sound off! Any of you folks ever land on the beach down on the gulf? Where's the best place if you don't want to end up upside down or get a ticket? I know it's legal to land on roads in Texas unless prohibited by local muni law, and somewhere I read that the beaches are roadways (albeit with a 15mph speed limit). I know a lot of it is protected natural area and there's the national seashore on Padre Island, but there's got to be some place to land a plane, pitch a tent, build a driftwood fire and not get hassled by The Man.

[GAHorn]

Texas beaches are NOT open landing zones. Texas state roads may be designated a landing zone by a county commissioner... but they are NOT simply open landing zones. (The rule allowing a co. commissioner to declare a state road a landing zone was for the purpose of accomodating cropdusters. It was not for accomodating regular aircraft operations. Before utilizing a road for a landing zone the co. commissioner must be notified, he must approve the operation, and the county sheriff must agree.) I was a pilot for the state of Texas for over ten years and I got that info straight from the "horse's mouth"...the guy who introduced and sponsored that legistaltion, speaker of the house, Pete Laney.

[flyguy]

SILI TEXICANS............. THEY OUTS TU GITEMSELFS OVER TU NEBRASKY ER KANSYS ER SOME UV THEM OTHER SMART STAETS THAT COINSIDER PLANE PILUTS SMARTY NUF TO NOE WHAR TU LAN ER KNOT............

[GAHorn]

I should have further explained the purpose of the legislation.... that cropdusters could avoid long flights back to their own landing strip if they could re-fill the hopper on a road adjacent to the field.

[PilotMikeTX]

%$#^&**(%$#, you're right!

I just looked up the vehicle code. If I'm not mistaken, somewhere else it says "Unless otherwise prohibited..." and then goes on to say that an aircraft can land on any texas roadway except highways. A-hole lawmakers. I guess they figured they needed a law to curb the rampant influx of people landing airplanes in front of the Super Wally World.

[GAHorn]

In the mid-70's I landed a rented 172 on Matagorda Island, at the mouth of the Colorado River. The landing-strip was grass and ended at the Quintana OIl company beach-house. The strip was probably built by Quintana in the '60's.
That house was at the west end of a long row of beach houses, and my family vacationed there from time to time. My parents later bought a beach house at the far east end of that row of houses, on the mouth of the river, across the state hwy 2031. An oyster-shell road passed down the row of houses to hwy 2031, and my folks house was the first one directly across the hwy. It 's an isolated area.
So I landed at the strip, taxied down the shell road, looked both ways, and crossed the hwy, parking the airplane in the yard.
About an hour later a deputy sheriff pulled up and asked to speak to the pilot. (His name, no kidding, was Pat Garrett. Easy name to remember.) Anyway, when I introduced myself, he said that a "woman" had called in that an airplane was runnng up and down the state hwy, and he was sent to check on it. "Did you operate that airplane on the highway?"
I admitted to crossing the hwy only to get to our yard, but otherwise had operated only on the grass strip and down the oyster shell road. He had to drive down to the beach to obtain better radio-reception in order to discuss it with his sheriff, and when he returned he said that the sheriff's department decided not to take any action. But he cautioned me that operating on that shell road was no problem, but taxying across a state hwy was actually an offense.
I"ve often wondered what the difference would be between taxying an airplane and driving a farm tractor, which is allowed. I suppose we'd need a large, triangle on the tail-cone.

[GAHorn]

%$#^&**(%$#, you're right!

I just looked up the vehicle code. If I'm not mistaken, somewhere else it says "Unless otherwise prohibited..." and then goes on to say that an aircraft can land on any texas roadway except highways. A-hole lawmakers. I guess they figured they needed a law to curb the rampant influx of people landing airplanes in front of the Super Wally World.

The applicable law is not for the purpose of prohibiting aircraft, but is in reference to licensing vehicles on public roads. If a vehicle "other than agricultural equipment" is operated on public roads in Texas, It must be registered with the Dept. of Public Safety and display registration plates on the front and rear. It must be inspected in accordance with state vehicle inspection requirements and display a sticker in the windshield. If an automobile, to pass the safety inspection, it must have DUAL HEADLIGHTS. (See Del Lehmann, Mountain Airframe Aircraft Services, Mena, AR 479-437-3333 )

[jrenwick]

They'll probably have to make a special law for these:

Transition_FirstFlight.gif

[Bruce Fenstermacher]

Ya know George, every time you post that picture I say to myself, "dam that's a nice looking 170 on the left"

After you posted that triangle it all of a sudden hit what I liked so much about it.

Spoof.jpg

To bad the owners going to screw it up with a resto paint job.

[GAHorn]

I was just back in Mena* this last week and saw Richard's airplane in Del's shop. It's amazing that these things fly as well as they do with what some owners do to them and so much to go wrong with them. Richard's plane is coming along beautifully, and Del has been a valuable "go to" resource.

*separate thread upcoming

[blueldr]

Hey John,
Is that roadable airplane in the picture a prototype full size airplane or is a model? Someboy told me about it and said it had a 100 HP Rotax Engine. From the picture there it looks to be way too much airplane and drag for a Rotax.

[jrenwick]

Hey John,
Is that roadable airplane in the picture a prototype full size airplane or is a model? Someboy told me about it and said it had a 100 HP Rotax Engine. From the picture there it looks to be way too much airplane and drag for a Rotax.

It's a full size prototype, and yes, it has a Rotax 912S. They just announced their first flight, which was down the runway centerline and not very high. Details and videos here: http://www.terrafugia.com/

John

[PilotMikeTX]

[quote="PilotMikeTXThe applicable law is not for the purpose of prohibiting aircraft, but is in reference to licensing vehicles on public roads. If a vehicle "other than agricultural equipment" is operated on public roads in Texas,

There's my alibi. I'll carry a bag of bermuda seed in the back. Instant ag plane. And if that doesn't work, I'll also carry a dozen donuts.

[DKent]

George, are you saying that there was once a bridge from the mainland to Matagorda Island ?? or did the sheriff have an office there ?

[hilltop170]

Ya know George, every time you post that picture I say to myself, "dam that's a nice looking 170 on the left"

After you posted that triangle it all of a sudden hit what I liked so much about it.


To bad the owners going to screw it up with a resto paint job.

Hopefully I won't need that "slow equipment" sign anymore since Del has straightened out the wings.