The best bear picture ever taken (plus some takeoff tips)

First of all these three photos have nothing to do with each other. I just simply liked all three of them and thought this was a good night to do show-and-tell.

I will often load my Super Cub with a person and gear and then proceed to take off from a 400 foot strip with a huge ditch and three foot bushes on the end. My goal is to keep my tires on the ground for 399 of those feet, and then clear the bushes by about 10 inches. The comment from the back seat usually goes like this: "HOLY SMOKES MATT!! We barely got airborne!" The misconception is that I rotated as soon as possible. The truth is that I will hold the Super Cub on the ground by pushing forward on the stick. I do this so that I do not mistakenly become airborne while driving over the bumps. I DO NOT want to fly until I have plenty of excess airspeed to stay airborne. Many many many airplanes have been wrecked on takeoff because the pilot was in a hurry to fly. Holding the machine on the ground is a conscious decision, and is often easier said than done. The airstrips are usually rough and the plane is difficult to control as it clumsily meanders down the mountain over rugged terrain, around corners, or through mud puddles. I have hauled back on the stick and yanked the machine into the sky prematurely, and it is a sick and disgusting feeling to gain flight, only to sink back to earth for a second attempt. Much energy is lost in this little maneuver and all that energy must be regained on the ground. This means a MUCH longer ground roll and possibly a detour through the pucker brush. I guess the moral of the story is: "Use it all".

In the rocketship photo above I was taking off downhill, with a headwind. I was light on gas and gear and I held the cub on the ground for an excessive period of time. By the time I reached the end of the strip I had massive amounts of excess energy, so I knew the cub would climb like a homesick angel.

I took the grizzly bear photos during a little excursion this Spring and thought you would enjoy seeing them here. They are pretty scary when you are up-close and personal. How do you like them claws? :o) Oh yeah, and you know the old wives tale that says, "Bears don't run well downhill, so go down-slope if chased"? Ummmm ... good luck with that. You're still gonna lose.

Matthew Keller is the owner and operator of Blue Ice Aviation. He was born and raised in Alaska and his office is the cockpit of his Super Cub. His goal is to transport everyone into Alaska's vast wilderness. See more of his videos and writing at Blue Ice Aviation.