Ozark's Flying Patch Airport [CLOSED]

My Dad's Legendary Takeoff from Flying Patch

🔗 Wed, 21 Sep 2011
— Anonymous Flyer at Ozark's Flying Patch Airport, United States Reply

I remember hearing stories of my Dad (Jerry Vaught) and Brother (Greg) piloting a large Cessna 195 aircraft safely in AND out of this tiny airfield. I just recently found the entry in my Dad's logbook. The aircraft was a beautiful 1952 Cessna 195 (N302GT) that my Dad owned at the time. By the way, Hallmark Ornaments used this exact aircraft as the model for their 2007 "Sky's The Limit" Christmas ornament, only they changed the N-Number to N302JB from a previous designation. Nevertheless, my Dad and Brother fondly remember the fateful day in Oct. of 1982 when they attended an Antique Airplane Association fly-in at Ozark's Flying Patch in the 275HP aircraft. Landing was fairly easy, but the takeoff was tense. People attending the fly-in asked my Dad how he was gonna pull off a 900 ft. grass strip takeoff in an aircraft that big. So when show time came, everyone lined up to watch what they thought would be a disastrous takeoff attempt. My Brother recalls helping my Dad push the aircraft's tail back to a small dirt road along a tree line, Dad doing a thorough engine check, putting on full flaps, holding the toe brakes tight, then winding the engine up to near takeoff RPM while my Brother helped Dad keep back pressure on the yoke to keep the tail down. (Sounds kinda like a Navy carrier takeoff doesn't it?) With a quick snap, Dad released the brakes and gave her full throttle. According to both my Dad and Brother they rolled off the end of the runway at the edge of the bluff and sunk down into the valley just moments before the wings really started to take lift leaving the landing gear a few close feet above the valley tree tops. Moments later as they circled around to buzz the tiny airfield to let everyone know their takeoff was successful, my Dad turned to my Brother and simply said: "Son, that was a close one."