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This is purely my experience and some of my considerations when I was out there, standby for free advice. Flying the Sierras is a lot of fun, but must be respected. If you haven't done much mountain flying, read up on it. A quick search here will yield you some good info and good books to read. Some of my personal rules to live by... Never point at anything you're not already above. If climb performance is in question, be well above (1.5x the height of the obstacle) before you push across. Don't descend into anything you're not familiar with. Sight seeing can be enticing, and yes I've gone raging down some ravines with marginal clearance on either side at full tilt. That said I knew it was down hill the whole way, opened out up into a valley, and there were no obstructions like bridges/powerlines/etc. Going down to take a peek at whatever is not worth getting boxed in without the climb and turn performance to go back up. You can see it just fine from where you are unless you can see how you're going to get out or back up before you descend. Stay on the down wind side of any canyon, if you need to turn around making the 180 into the wind will reduce your radius of turn. Get comfortable max performing the airplane. Minimum radius, max performance climbing turns, min radius turns, etc. Speed is life, pay attention to it. Spot landings, crosswind landings, short runways, all at once. Be comfortable with them. Not aircraft carrier capable, just know that you may have to land at a 3-4K' strip that's 40' wide with a gusty crosswind. Have an out... or a plan. You don't need to have an airport in gliding distance, but have a road, forestry trail, something. If the worst happens these airplanes land slow enough that as long as you're under control when you come down the speeds are slow enough that it will most likely be survivable. There are a lot of places in the Sierras above the tree line with large flat rock areas that you could set down on, and probably not break the plane. That said, you'll probably break the airplane. You accepted that risk when you took off. You're just looking for a place to survive. Tell someone you're going, exactly where you'll be and when, and tell them when you arrive. Don't plan on flight following, radar coverage isn't great. Don't deviate from that plan, if you're hurt or incapacitated the fastest way to get rescued is for them to know exactly where you were. Have 121.5 tuned up somewhere ready to go, and know your location. There's a lot of airline/military traffic in the area monitoring and if you can get out a quick mayday XX miles on a 123 bearing from XYZ airport, the word will get passed. Stay with the airplane, unless there are bears. Then just hope you can outrun your passengers. Dress to egress. If you land on one of those dirt roads and the plane catches fire, what you have on you is all you've got. You make look like a dork getting into your airplane when it's 75 in the valley wearing boots/jeans/jacket/etc but when you're climbing out of your burning wreckage at 9000' you're probably spending the night, and it's going to be cold. If the plane survives with all your stuff, bonus. The best two things you can have on you are a knife, a lighter, and a mirror. I can tell you from experience, you can see a survival mirror from a long way off (hundred miles in some cases). Use the knife to whittle a new airplane while you wait next to the fire you started with the lighter. Do not, Do Not, DO NOT attempt to scud run. If you're facing a low ceiling and you can't see under it all the way across, stay out of it. Period. Most importantly... know what the winds aloft are doing. Anything over 10-15 knots is going to be bumpy, over 20 you're going to get wave action that you may not be able to out climb (but remember what goes down comes back up, and vice versa, with some experience you'll learn to use it to your advantage). Anything over 25 knots aloft and you're looking at rotor activity. Read the clouds, they'll tell you a lot. |
I dunno - I have my RV-12 prop set for in-between, and the climb performance is pretty impressive. I wouldn't play mountain flying without the appropriate safeguards, but with the 35 KIAS stall speed, ability to do a steep canyon turn on a dime, and climbs in excess of 1000 fpm pretty dang regularly, the reliability of the Rotax (2 engines in one), I feel a heck of lot safer in it than someone's beater Lycoming.
Call me biased. |
Flew the C152 out to the salt flats from the Bay Area in July. Spent some time reading about mountain flying and taking some courses. Flew out at 11.5 and back at 10.5. It was a "I'll only do it if it's perfect" ride and it turned out to be perfect. In fact, in the desert, once past 6000 feet the air cooled and the plane climbed pretty good. I went over at Yuba pass with a large group of flyers. I'd say look for perfect weather, heed all the advice here, stay high and don't push it. It was my first trip east in the Cessna and I may do it again this year. I was tempted to come back through Ebbets pass since I'm pretty familiar with that area but I decided to play is safe as Yuba is a pretty small hope and not too much time over mountain terrain.
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Sierra Flying
I hanger my RV-8A (Aerosport 180 HP IO-360) at Inyokern (IYK) and usually fly over the Sierra - anywhere from Walker Pass to north of Kearsarge Pass - on nearly every flight - sightseeing, monitoring snow levels and checking out areas for an annual 16+ day solo backpacking trek. One irrefutable truth - the terrain always seems smoother from altitude vice being on the ground humping a heavy backpack.
A few things I do - your methods may vary. 1) Speed/energy management is key - don't get slow. Go around a peak instead of slowing to get over it. 2) If you lose the engine you will land - somewhere. Always scan the area for the most suitable landing spot. Admittedly, sometimes that means determining the best of very bad options. 3) Approaching a ridgeline, make an early determination of whether you can clear. Be conservative - any doubt, there is no doubt. 4) If you find yourself boxed in, drop the nose, maintain control, always remain at least a micro-inch above the terrain - and bend the airplane around to escape. MAINTAIN CONTROL - and if necessary, fly into the crash. 5) Expect varying degrees of turbulence - particularly on the leeward side of passes. 6) The Sierra is home to the cumulo-granite cloud. Don't screw around going through puffies. 7) Look out for other aircraft and Park Service / Forest Service helos. They are out there nearly every day. |
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I have very little time in a 172. I do have more than a few trips over the Sierras ----(I live on the western slope)-----both in the Stinson, and the RV 10. I have had to abort a flight in the Stinson, just could not climb enough with the easterly winds----(easterly wind = headwind and downdraft on that flight), never had that issue with the 10. As has been stated, first off consider the weather. Next consider your aircraft performance if you get it wrong about the weather. |
Never.... Watch The Nevada Triangle on Netflix
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I fly my Gobosh into the Rockies out here in Colorado. I have flown it into Leadville and Buena Vista. We don't go into the mountains after lunch, or when the winds are above 10-12 kts aloft at 12000-15000. I don't feel that unsafe. I will fly the RV-12 I am building up there as well when it is finally finished. Take a mountain flying class, don't fly at gross and get over the pass early in the day.
Carl |
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