I obviously cannot take credit for this image because I am the one behind the controls. The photo was taken by a friend of mine Rocky Reifenstuhl. He took this about one half second before my right tire set down and the heavy braking began.
This strip is short enough, and the slope is steep enough, that I cannot get stopped unless there is at least a 5 mph breeze blowing up valley to hold me back. The approach to this strip begins by following the mountains up slope into a tight box canyon, and then rolling into a sharp descending 180 degree turn just 15 feet off the rocks. This may sound insane, but I am snugged up tight against the left side, and the turn is made to the right. I am above the rocks and the turn is made very comfortably. as soon as the plane is headed back down canyon I continue to push the nose over so that I reach a 2000 foot per minute descent with full flaps extended. When I reach the canyon floor I level off, and begin bleeding off my excess airspeed gained in the descent. If the wind is right the cub will reach landing speed just seconds before touching down. The nice thing about landing down hill is that a go-around is easy. I have often gotten to the decision point, and then bagged the approach as my speed was just too great.
This is where the proficiency in an aircraft is a must! There is no way a pilot who only flies 50 hours a year could successfully determine a likely outcome at the crucial decision point. The line between success and failure for this approach is approximately 3 mph. This may sound like an exaggeration but you should really ride along sometime, it’s fun,