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Thought I'd put a spin on the wingy quiz thing.

Can you name this airport?



I got this pic several years ago, and I've never figured out what airport it is. So maybe one of you guys could help me out.

Looks like somewhere in the Blue Ridge Parkway. Possibly an old road turned into a short landing strip? I sure wouldn't want to fly off or onto that!

HOLY COW!
A "Dog-leg right" runway!
lolol

Swope Farm (WV11), Fan Rock, WV

37.57 North / 81.62 West (West of Roanoke, VA)

This private airfield is remarkable for a short runway which is both sharply curved, and steeply sloped.

Its sole Runway 7/25 is extremely short (only 1,250'),

but also slopes sharply downhill: dropping from 1,800' elevation to 1,665' - a grade of 11%!



The airfield was built & operated by W.O. Swope, an avid flyer since 1947.

He purchased the land for the airfield in 1963,

and immediately began planning & construction for an extremely unusual runway,

given the very unaccommodating topography.



Swope based & flew a twin-engine Beechcraft Baron (!) and a helicopter from the airfield,

until passing away in 2001, at age 86.

He logged a total of 3,000 takeoffs & landings into the Swope Farm airfield.

Swope only had one eye.



Takeoffs were made downhill, and landings were made uphill.

The helicopter could only be landed at the very top of the runway,

as the lower portion of the runway was too steep.



The hangar was originally located at the bottom of the runway.

However, it was moved to the top of the runway after an unfortunate incident

in which Swope's brakes overheated going downhill,

and he had to dump the plane in the brush to avoid hitting the hangar.



Swope's son plans to keep the airfield in operation.



On recent aeronautical charts, the airfield was labeled "Swope (Hazardous)".

It was not depicted at all on recent USGS topo maps.

Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields

WOWWW!!!!!

Not only an unusual and interesting airfield, but a GREAT story!!!

Friggin' Twin Beech??!!! Holy CRIPES!!!

Great thread - nice research too!!!!

ONE EYE AND 1/2 A RUNWAY DANG!!

WOW !!

great find ExcalibuR and also Thankx for the great story Exos !!

I feel an add-on scenery for fs9 coming up by some well known caracters round here !!


fled

- JG300-1Bullet

ONE EYE AND 1/2 A RUNWAY DANG!!

1/2 an UPHILL/DOWNHILL runway!! In a twin!!!

3,000 takeoffs and landings!!!!!

Up to the age of 86!!!!!

Even purposefully dumps the plane in the bush going downhill....I can see this guy jumping out the door, hitting the ground and doing a half-roll, then just getting up and brushing himself off....no big thing, we'll get a tow strap and get that baby out, then just take off on what's left of the remaining runway!

Aviation Hall of Famer, dontcha think???


It's amazing, and so cool, to hear about individuals like this that just stand out so much by their own ballsy, impressive personal accomplishments that go unnoticed by the rest of the mainstream world.

Ever hear of a guy named Jeff Clark? Of course not. But he single-handedly discovered and surfed, alone, for FIVE YEARS, the single largest surf spot on the US west coast - Maverick's, up at Half Moon Bay CA. Occasionally, other big-wave surfers would go to the point with him, see the monster 40-to-50 (sometimes 60) foot break, the huge razor-sharp rocks waiting to slice them up on the inside break, and the ice-cold, brain-freezing water, and drive off in their cars as fast as they could. No one would go out there with him so he just shrugged it off and went anyway, by himself for five freakin years! Nobody watching from the beach, no coast gaurd, no lifeguard shacks, no helicopters with movie cameras, no babes or magazine photographers, just him and whatever seals were nuts enough to be out there with him. Today it's finally recognized - and used - as THE West Coast big-wave competition spot, even eclipsing Hawaii's famed Waimea Bay. Because of one determined guy who sought no fame nor attention, but just went for it!

Respects, and tailwinds, to the MIGHTY W.O. SWOPE!!!!!!

Freakin' GREAT story - XCalibeR and EXOS!!!

I somehow doubt that he only had one eye, that sounds like some urban (I guess rural would be more appropriate) legend. There is almost no chance that a one eyed fixed wing pilot could get their medical, and even if he did, he would most certianly not have been able to land a helicoptor without depth perception.

Although it does make a good story, and taking off from the airport, one eye or two, would take more guts than I've got!

Actually, the one-eyed depth perception thing is somethign that doctors definitely believe in, but is questionable based on real-world examples (and I remember reading this in Flying magazine years back, if that helps).

There were some German pilots in WWII with one eye (one specifically, I can't recall) that were aces.

Also, who's the guy with one eye that did the high-altitude flights in the 30's in a modified Lockheed Vega? You know, the one that Will Rogers was killed flying with.....

Besides, that's out thar in Wes' Virginny...in th' back country, looks like.....any FAA officials that get out that way just might find themselves in the middle of the movie "Deliverance".....

Interesting question, the number of one-eyed pilots... wait that's not very PC..... stereo-optic-challenged?? Eyesocket-enhanced?

"Swope only had one eye."

And his dog only had 1 hind leg. Should have seen the poor critter do his 1 legged jig around that old telephone pole, face full of confusion.

Well, when I was a kid, we had a cat with a prosthetic, wooden butt. Imagine the disgust of finding wood shavings in your old KOSS headphones!!

Hey XCalibeR, check this out...

I wasn't looking to prove you wrong or anything, but I just thought it was an interesting topic.

Wiley Post was the guy I was thinking of, above.. OK, well, he crashed.....so how about...

WW2 Japanese Ace Saburo Sakai - who lost an eye in combat, recovered, and then went on to train other pilots and return to combat flying.

Additionally, another monocular pilot was WW1 RAF ace.... the legendary Mick Mannock!

There's also some interesting bits about FAA certification - it happens, but you're right, it certainly ain't easy, for the commercial pilots!

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1588506/posts

http://www.dolphin.soton.ac.uk/Feb2001/Mannock.html

Yeah, you'll notice I didn't say it was impossible ;). There are ways to get around the medical, and with the right training and attitude, I believe a one-eyed fixed-wing pilot could become just as safe and effective as someone with two eyes. It's just the helicopter part I don't believe. To land or hover a helicopter, you definately need depth perception. It may be true, and far be it from me to tell someone that what happened didn't actually happened

-S-

bet you he closed the " one eye " on landings to show off..!!!

Hammer