Mountain Flying
Mountain flying checkout
Safely flying in Colorado’s mountainous terrain places so many demands on both the pilot and the aircraft. Due to the diminished performance of the aircraft, there simply is no margin for error. Winds, thermals, downdrafts, updrafts, box canyons, environmental conditions like smoke and haze all add to the challenge. This course focus on gaining experience in high altitude and higher density altitude environments. Pilots can choose to complete this course in a Super Cub, F33A Beechcraft Bonanza, Beechcraft Baron, or Cessna 180. The focus of this course is not backcountry or off field operations, rather, the goal is to expose pilots to the challenges of operating in mountainous terrain, to enable them to safely navigate through mountains and land and depart from high altitude airfields.
We generally start out of Colorado Springs, and, depending on the weather will either travel North toward Eagle, or South toward Telluride. While en route we navigate across the Front Range, learning how to cross ridge lines, read wind conditions, and generally experience how high altitude effects the aircraft. We generally stop at Silver West (Elv. 8,290), Saguache Municipal (Elv. 7,850), Mineral County Municipal (Elv. 8,660), Pagosa Springs, (Elv. 7,663),
Telluride Regional (Elv. 9,070), Lake County (Elv. 9,934 also the highest airport in North America), Aspen-Pitkin County (Elv. 7,838), Eagle County (Elv. 6,547) and Grandby-Grand County (Elv. 8,207).
Upon completion of this course, pilots will have gained the experience to truly understand the performance effects of aircraft in these environments, thus giving them the foundation to make safe decisions.
Advanced Mountain Flying
This course is geared toward the pilot who has a basic understanding of mountain flying, whether having previously completed our introduction to mountain flying, or has gained some experience in the mountains (log book verification of mountain experience required prior to enrollment). The goal of this course is to expand on the techniques and concepts previously learned. We also begin working in more marginal conditions, including IFR approaches into Telluride, Aspen and Eagle County.
We also work at less improved and shorter fields, and airports that have unique approaches or departures. Our advanced course is much more individualized, based on the goals of the pilot, but again, we firmly believe in learning from experience, and therefore, make every effort to expose the student to those conditions or situations which they are unlikely to frequently encounter.
This course also focuses heavily on navigating mountainous terrain, including canyons. We expand on the “mountain flying setup” we learned in the introduction course, exposing the student to box canyons and rapidly rising terrain.
The goal of this course if for the student to have the confidence to safely navigate mountainous terrain in less than ideal conditions, to small fields with unique approaches and departures.
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Colorado Seaplane Ratings
Warbird Experiences
- Insurance Checkouts
- Formation Training
- Warbird Discovery Flights
Multiengine
Aerobatics
- Upset and Spin Recovery
- Introduction to Aerobatics
- Advanced Aerobatics