Landing on a mountain top

A fully laden super jumbo A380 sometimes needs 11,000ft of runway to take-off but what about landing on the top of an 11,000ft high mountain?

That is the job for a Piper PA-18 Super Cub not to mention a super pilot.

AirlineRatings.com has sourced a spectacular video of a pilot landing his Super Cub on the top of Bunker Hill, Nevada at an altitude of 11,000ft. And to add to the extreme difficulty the pilot has to battle strong winds racing across the mountain ridge (See the video below).

To compensate for the strong winds the pilot skillfully dips his wing into the direction of the wind and only at the last minute returns to straight and level flight.

How do one of the world’s smallest and largest planes compare? Here are the vital stats.

PA-18 Super Cub

Passengers: 1
Length: 22 ft 7 in (6.88 m)
Wingspan: 35 ft 2½ in (10.73 m)
Maximum speed: 130mph (208 km/h)
Range: 460 miles (735 km)
Take-off weight: 1,750 lb (794 kg)

Airbus A380

Passengers: 853
Length: 238.6 ft (72.73m)
Wingspan: 261.6ft (79.75 m)
Maximum speed: 587mph (945 km/h)
Range:  9,755 miles (15,700 km)
Take-off weight 1,300,000 lb (590,000 kg)