Narrative:

I was #2 of a flight of 2. We were maneuvering to land at the private airpark; alta sierra; ca; (09CL). The airport has a field elevation of 2275 ft and the 3000 by 50 foot runway is oriented north/south (01/19). There is an approximate 100 ft elevation change from one end to the other with the north being higher. Recommended procedure is to land north and depart south due to the grade. Additionally; there are trees; terrain; and houses and hangars east and west of the runway; which penetrate the 7:1 part 77 slope. It is common to have deer on and around the runway. Winds on arrival were approximately 180/7. We elected to accept the tailwind and land north. Neither the flight lead; nor I had ever landed at this field so we arrived overhead and made an orbit around the field at 1000 ft AGL to survey the conditions; which ended on a left 'downwind' for runway 1. He continued the turn to base. Then final and we rolled out at approximately 300 ft AGL on final which kept us above the trees and hills but allowed us to get a better look at the runway; check for deer; and split the flight. As we approached the threshold or runway 01; the flight lead signaled a pitch out with a five second interval. I nodded and he pitched up and away to the left. I continued 'upwind' on the runway centerline while counting off the interval then I also pitched up then left near the departure end. The landing was uneventful. After securing the aircraft on the ground I was struck by the slope of the runway and the height of the trees and terrain. I got the slope information from a resident and computed that my ground speed (about 180 KTS); I would have had a climb at approximately 600 ft/minute to fly a path level with the runway prior to my pitch. I believe it is probable that I arrived at the departure end lower than I intended due to the grade and failure to correct for the visual cues; which surely were present. In the future; I think it would be better to just enter initial at 1000 ft; split the flight there and take our chances with the deer.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A pilot landed at Alta Sierra; CA (09CL) the second aircraft in a flight of two. After surveying the airport topography he wondered if his lack of airport familiarization could have lead to misjudging altitude due to runway slope during approach when the flight of two separated at low altitude.

Narrative: I was #2 of a flight of 2. We were maneuvering to land at the private airpark; Alta Sierra; CA; (09CL). The airport has a field elevation of 2275 FT and the 3000 by 50 foot Runway is oriented north/south (01/19). There is an approximate 100 FT elevation change from one end to the other with the north being higher. Recommended procedure is to land north and depart south due to the grade. Additionally; there are trees; terrain; and houses and hangars east and west of the runway; which penetrate the 7:1 part 77 slope. It is common to have deer on and around the runway. Winds on arrival were approximately 180/7. We elected to accept the tailwind and land north. Neither the flight lead; nor I had ever landed at this field so we arrived overhead and made an orbit around the field at 1000 FT AGL to survey the conditions; which ended on a left 'downwind' for Runway 1. He continued the turn to base. Then final and we rolled out at approximately 300 FT AGL on final which kept us above the trees and hills but allowed us to get a better look at the runway; check for deer; and split the flight. As we approached the threshold or Runway 01; the flight lead signaled a pitch out with a five second interval. I nodded and he pitched up and away to the left. I continued 'upwind' on the runway centerline while counting off the interval then I also pitched up then left near the departure end. The landing was uneventful. After securing the aircraft on the ground I was struck by the slope of the runway and the height of the trees and terrain. I got the slope information from a resident and computed that my ground speed (about 180 KTS); I would have had a climb at approximately 600 FT/minute to fly a path level with the runway prior to my pitch. I believe it is probable that I arrived at the departure end lower than I intended due to the grade and failure to correct for the visual cues; which surely were present. In the future; I think it would be better to just enter initial at 1000 FT; split the flight there and take our chances with the deer.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.