Rostock Ritz International

There are some nice strips here. One of them is Rostock Ritz International. Quite a name for a bush strip that is like a rollercoaster. 

We had all three airplanes fly there and pick up some guests. I was warned that the runway is quite wavy, but still managed to put the gears down on top of one of the bumps and then had the ground running out from under me. 

Had to keep the nose up, and apply a bit of power so I have good flow over the elevator and the nose doesn't fall down. 

There are two things you can do if you bump a 210: go around (this is what instructors will tell you), so you don't end up bouncing the runway like a dolphin and eventually hitting too hard with the nosewheel and bend it back... The other trick is to apply some power and have proper flow around the elevator even at low speeds. 

Thus you can keep the nose up, and gently touch down. Although this isn't the way you should start in case of a short runway. Floating above it with less and less distance... 

Takeoffs are also tricky sometimes. Elevation of these strips are around 2500-3000 feet. With temperatures of 35 degrees. You quickly get density altitudes of 5500 feet or more. But Windhoek beats everything around here I guess. 

Captain Somatiko took one of our airplanes to Windhoek Eros (FYWE) for MPI. The elevation of the runway there is 5500 feet. When he was taking off to come back there was 35 degrees and this makes a density altitude of slightly less then 9000 feet. When he applied full power the manifold pressure was 22 inches instead of 28. Nice. Good that he was alone in the airplane and the runway is quite long. But even a powerhouse like the 210 can run out of horses under these conditions.

In the bush no landing and no takoff is a routine. Runways are either short or narrow, sometimes both, winds can be quite strong and temperatures high. And you can always randezvous with some game.