Here're fixed wing airplanes proving you don't need the mechanical nightmare of a helo to operate from a field the size of a postage stamp. The winner had the shortest distance of 78 feet. That's combined distance: take-off distance of 43 feet and landing distance of 35 feet. That's the equivalent of a touch and go using a commuter propjet's wing for the runway. 4um: Doyle, Cuzoom Win Annual Valdez STOL Competition
Curious... I've seen several versions of this contest when I was in Anchorage more than a score of years back...What is the sustained altitude for this record to be given...
I've done it too. The OP doesn't state what the winds were, but you can hear the wind the microphone picks up. I'm pretty sure those planes in the contest also had just a few gallons of fuel on board too.
Did you notice all of those airplanes were from the 1940's, or designed back then; (Pipers, Aeroncas, etc.)? Their stall speeds were ~30-40 mph, so in any kind of headwind, their performance looks phenomenal.
One of the bush pilots in this area used to fly a Helio Courier on floats. With a little headwind that thing went up like an elevator, and more often than not we have wind. One time he holed a float on the rocks, and took off as soon as he realized that the float was sinking. His floats weren't amphibious, so he flew down to the main airport and landed on the grass between the runways. After patching the holes, he waited for the first snow and took off, using the floats like skis. Tom
