Mountain
Flying
For
Flat
Landers

By Gordon R. Reilly

An early morning flight through the mountains, following one of the many high range passes, is a visual experience every pilot should have an opportunity to enjoy. Unfortunately, for many a flat-lander, just the words "mountain flying" causes the heart to palpitate, the legs to go limp, and the vision to blur. This anxiousness is understandable, when perhaps all of your flying experience has been over the skies of Florida, southern Georgia, or the like. One's sense of cockpit security is rightfully challenged when a goodly portion of the surrounding real-estate is sitting well above the windscreen. For those of you who contend the only way to conduct mountain flying is to cross at 5,000 FT above the highest known peak within 150 miles, take heart. Given a few simple precautions, flying through the high country is not difficult, and can be conducted safely by even the novice pilot. For those of you who have not really encountered anything like a mountain in all of your flying career, don't miss the opportunity. Follow a few simple rules and enjoy some of the most spectacular scenery you will ever see in your life.

1) Always LEAVE yourself A PLACE TO GO. This is one of the cardinal rules of aviation in general, and it applies particularly to mountain flying. It simply means that you should always be able to turn toward lower terrain, execute a one-eighty, and always have an alternative plan in mind, just in case the current program doesn't quite work out. For example, if you attempt to cross a ridge by flying straight on into the rise, you have seriously limited your options should a sudden downdraft make clearing the top somewhat in doubt. Approach that same ridge at a 45-degree angle and you have at least three options. You can continue your flight safely over the top, you can angle off and follow along the crest of the ridge until you have adequate elevation to cross, or you can roll out into a 90-degree turn and fly back to the lower terrain of the valley. As you fly blissfully along on your pleasure trip through the hills, make a few little turns to keep an eye on what the weather is doing behind you, Know where you would go should the weather deteriorate. Above all, always maintain enough horizontal clearance to safely complete a 180-degree turn.

2) Consider carefully your DENSITY ALTITUDE. It can get hot in the high Sierras, Rockies, or even in the Alleghenies. An indicated altitude of 7000 FT MSL may scream 10,000 FT or more, to that purrs like a kitten engine, running at 200 hours beyond TBO. The old sled performs as if flying at density altitude, not at indicated altitude. Don't you for one minute bet the family fortune on achieving those published high altitude performance figures, or even being able to maintain "service ceiling". Give yourself more than a reasonable performance margin while flying in the high country. A good rule of thumb, is to be flying at a safe terrain clearance altitude, for the highest terrain expected at least fifteen to twenty miles out in front of you. Twenty miles in a Cessna 182 all trimmed out, will only take about ten minutes of flying time. Making an en-route climb to a safe terrain clearance altitude, in the last ten minutes before it is required, is a practice that may significantly shorten your mountain flying career. In addition, forget all those stories about the crusty old bush pilot who always had to tie the doors shut to keep all the cargo inside his venerable Cessna 185; this, a regular practice, as he made his daily trips into the back country. Don't push the weight limits on the old girl to the outer edges of the envelope. Keep your trusty old sled as light and well balanced as practical. Include a gracious fuel allowance, survival gear, and all your passengers and baggage in your weight and balance calculations. If you are just a little bit over gross, leave one of the passengers behind.

3) Keep watch on the VISIBILITY, both in front of you and behind. I suggest a solid five (5) miles minimum horizontal visibility. Anything less is best left to the experts with lots of experience with the local terrain. Developing mountain fog is a condition that will definitely spoil the view. A lot of very solid granite can be hidden in those puffy whites. Do not continue flight into deteriorating visibility, period. Low clouds in themselves are not limiting to safe mountain flying. A cloud base of as little as 1600 FT to 1800 FT above the canyon floor can be safe and acceptable, given a fairly uniform ceiling, good visibility, and stable air. Always consider how much elevation you will need to safely clear the ridge at the end of the canyon. Never attempt to fly the mountain passes at night. Even the professionals will avoid this kind of adrenaline high. Keep in mind, a rain shower will significantly restrict your forward visibility, and it gets dark in the mountains quickly as the shadows of early evening creep across the valleys. In brief, attempt to fly the passes in marginal conditions of visibility, miss a check point, or a necessary turn, and you very well could be flying a one way trip up a box end canyon.

4) Follow the "preferred" routes through the mountains. These preferred routes at one time were marked on the VFR charts with a series of blue diamonds and generally followed along a highway. Alas, no longer is this service offered; too much potential liability for the map makers I guess. Take the time and talk to people at the FBO's in the area, the local pilots can offer some excellent insights as to the preferred routes. Generally, try to follow a major highway; the check points will be fairly frequent and easily identifiable. Take the time to learn to read the contour lines and the coloration of those VFR charts. Yes, there really are a number of other colors, other than green, depicting ground elevation. The scenery along these "preferred" routes will be every bit as spectacular as the back country and your passengers will feel a little more secure observing the occasional signs of human inhabitation.

5) Always fly along the WINDWARD SIDE of the valley, never make your transit on the lee side of a ridge. If there are no wind conditions, keep yourself as far to the right side of the canyon as possible. The closer you can keep yourself to the windward upslope the better the effects of "ridge lift" you will experience. You will be keeping yourself for the most part in constantly rising air, and if you need to make a 180 degree turn you will be turning into a headwind. Find yourself on the lee side of a ridge and you can expect a rough ride, in mostly down rushing air. Additionally, turns from the lee side of the gorge will be made with the wind at your back, and it will require a lot more room to get the old bird pointed in the other direction. Flying down the center of the valley may seem like a worthy idea and the safest thing to do, however, you may find a lot of clear air turbulence, and your available turning space will be cut by half. If it is early morning or late afternoon when you make you trek through the peaks and hollows, you may want to consider flying on the sunny side of the valley. Given the condition of light breezes, you will find a little more turbulence flying on the sunny side, however, you will generally find more uplifting air than down drafts. Cool air sinks, warm air rises. In the cool of the early evening the cooling air will sliding down the hills into the shaded valleys. This is a good time to be safely on the ground at your destination airport.

6) Use the basics of SOARING. Perhaps the most useful soaring technique is to fly in the area where the air mass moving across the valley is forces up the ridge on the windward side of the valley. In moderate breezes, you can experience climb rates of 2000 FPM or better, and if you don't need the altitude you can point the nose down and turn the excess into airspeed. Thermals are formed where the sun differentially heats the ground. This is usually secondary to the wind generated lift, however, on still days in the morning or late afternoon the upward velocities of sun warmed air can be significant. On some days during periods of high density altitude, circling in the thermals to gain altitude is the only way your going to get out of the valley, or gain enough elevation the cross the next ridge line along your route. A few tights turns and you can put 1000 FT or better on the altimeter and, in a lot less time than grinding away at a minimal 50 FPM rate of climb.

7) High winds will preclude a pleasant mountain flying experience, especially for the inexperienced and faint of heart. Winds aloft of 25 MPH can cause localized wind gusts of 50 MPH, or even more. Your only option, when encountering such gusts, is to slow the old girl to maneuvering speed, keep the sick sack handy, and hang on. If the winds are forecasted to be above 20 MPH over the mountains you should plan your scenic tour for another day. Figure your time in route with the higher wind velocities in mind. Strong headwinds will increase in velocity as it rushes over the ridges and will eat into that precious fuel reserve. There are not many landing strips in the mountains, and poor fuel planning and can turn the trip into a real white knuckle ride.

8) Bring your camera. At all times of year there are things to see on your aerial trip down among the peaks and valleys that can not be otherwise be observed. I once saw a most spectacular avalanche while flying through the North Cascades. It covered hundreds of near vertical acres in what looked like an entire mountain of snow sliding three to four thousand feet down into the valley. Unfortunately, I did not have my camera and the sight is now only a faded memory. The view on you mountain flight will be just a little different than one experienced by flying over at 5000 FT above the nearest mountain peak, and it will be a lot more rewarding.

As a last word, Always file a detailed flight plan, even it is to be a short "round robbin" sight seeing trip. Do a satisfactory job of preplanning, carefully check and consider the weather, follow the "mountain" rules, approach your journey with caution and vigilance, and you will safely enjoy some of the most exhilarating flying you will ever have a chance to experience.