"Wrong" Way Takeoff

Technically there is no "wrong" direction to take off at a non-towered airport. A pilot has the legal right to take off upwind, downwind and even against the flow of traffic in the pattern.

Still - I was trying to land at Lampson Field (1O2) yesterday. This small airport was extremely busy, for some unknown reason, when Linda and I arrived.

There were two aircraft practicing manoeuvers just a few miles from the pattern (why not move a little farther away??), two in the pattern doing touch and go's - and us entering on a 45. The frequency was even more congested because of 3 other airports with the same frequency all coming in loud and clear.

So, one of the t&g's announces he's departing the pattern and another is turning crosswind for downwind and I'm turning downwind - and I hear another take-off call.

Only I had a serious "perception" problem at this first call because it didn't register that this guy was planning on taking the runway opposite to the three aircraft now in the pattern.

So, I do my pre-landing checklist and start my turn to base - and my wife says - there's a guy taking off on "ten" (not "one zero"). I'm concentrating on the descent and at first I don't get what she's saying - because I've been trained to ignore distractions at this phase of the flight.

"What?", I ask?

"There's a guy taking off on ten".

Another second or two guys by while I try to figure out what she means? "Ten?", "What?".

"There's a guy taking off in the opposite direction right towards us", she says quite calmly. And yes, she is an awesome co-pilot!

I never saw him but I immediately turned away and flew out over the lake.

Yes, the "wrong way" pilot had a legal right to take off on the runway opposite of the flow of traffic. Likewise, I have a right to call him a ___hole for doing it. There was no reason to do this other than his own convenience. He saved maybe two minutes of flight time. Yet, he most definitely created a safety hazard for the other aircraft in the pattern.

At the same time, I made a serious mistake that almost almost became a link in an accident chain. I did not listen carefully and comprehend the departing pilots radio call. I heard what I expected to hear and not what he was actually saying.

So here's what I learned from this:

- I must listen carefully to every radio call (yeah, I know its painfully obvious). The point is NOT to listen for what you expect to hear - listen very carefully to what is actually being said. (Also obvious, but I'm trying to reinforce and remember this experience, ok?)

- I explained to my wife and awesome co-pilot that it would help me in the future if she would call out runways as "one zero" and not "ten". For whatever reason the "ten" didn't immediately click in my brain but I think the "one-zero" would have.

- no matter how busy the pattern is, always assume some ___hole is going to exercise his right to take off in the opposite direction.

Even after twenty years, every flight is a learning experience.