Tried to fly into Lukla airport 3 times so far. Admittedely a bit of a stretch for a C172 at that altitude. But anyway, first time I ploughed rite into the runway… It slopes up to an amazing degree, “normal” approach rules don’t apply here. Second time I made it onto the runway, carefully and slowly, and… got stuck halfway up the runway. The C172 simply didn’t have the power to pull up the hill from a standstill. Embarrassing. Third time I had enough speed, only to get over the hump, get airborne again and smash right into the mountain at the end. What joy! Bottom line, hats off to the pilots who actually fly into that airport.
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You can get up the runway if you reduce the weight a little, probably by reducing the amount of fuel.
If you want a real power challenge, maybe try taking off from Lukla and turning right, up the valley. There is another very small airstrip, that sits on a bit of a plateau, and getting high enough for an approach does take some patience. I can’t remember the name of the airport, but it should appear on the VFR map, when you zoom in enough.
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Syangboche (VNSB). 12294ft. 1220ft long Rways 312/132
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The trick with a sloped runway is to approach the close end of it exactly like it was flat, but then when you flare keep the power on while you match the runway angle, and only then reduce to idle and settle down. If you do it like normal, reducing power when you flare, you’ll run out of speed way too fast and the runway will jump up to hit you.
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Ah yes, don’t you hate it when that happens? Thanks for the chuckle!
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