Mountain flying basics

And it is also among the most unforgiving. Whether your goals are the famous short strips of Idaho or simply flying across a ridge safely, here’s a primer on what it takes to fly in the mountains.

A healthy and proficient pilot

In an environment as unforgiving as the mountains, you’ll need to be at your sharpest. We’ll get to stick and rudder skills, but a part of pilot performance that can be overlooked is well-being. Our own wellness can be hard to assess and easy to ignore, but be aware of those outside factors like illness, stress, grief, and how they can insidiously influence your aeronautical decision making. A clear mind will help you fly your best.

Beyond physical wellness, you’ll need to be proficient. In your basic VFR flying, you can make a couple mistakes and live to tell the tale. In the mountains, one mistake might be too many. Off your airspeed on final? A go-around might not be possible. Poor centerline control? The field might be narrower than your wingspan. You think weight and balance is more a guideline than an actual rule? Good luck outclimbing the rising terrain ahead of you with an out-of-balance aircraft. Your flying should be checkride-passing at a minimum—stick and rudder skills make or break good backcountry pilots. Practice precise airspeed control, short and soft field landings, and general precision flying before you approach mountain flying, and fly precisely, intentionally, and the “most correctly” you can. At a bare minimum you should be flying intentionally three times a week and keeping your skills sharp before heading into mountain strips.

Airplane: A well-maintained, capable aircraft

There are fewer options in the mountains when things go awry, and for that reason, you’ll need to be flying a reliable and preferably powerful aircraft. Apologies to the nifty Cessna 150, but if you’re heading up into the thin air of western mountains, it is best to leave the lower horsepower aircraft at home, especially in the summer. Your aircraft should also be in good condition and be well maintained. Safe mountain flying is about risk management—don’t accept more risk from your airplane than you must. You’ll need to rely on your airplane as much as reasonable, and a healthy airplane is key.

Environment: Mountain weather

Mountains can create their own weather, so general forecasts are often not in-depth enough to provide a full picture. In addition to traditional aviation weather resources, check out any weather cameras on your route, and use websites like Mountain Weather and Windy to help provide a more complete weather picture. Winds that might be no problem for you in the flatlands might be severe problems in the mountains. Winds aloft can create severe turbulence, shifting winds, and severe downdrafts that no light airplane can outclimb. Err on the side of caution and learn from the pilots around you with more experience—wait for nearly perfect weather, especially for your first solo venture into the mountains. Fly in the calmest parts of the day, around sunrise, and plan to end well before noon and the afternoon thermals. This is true for both landing in the mountains and flying near them.

Wind aside, perhaps the biggest difference in true mountain flying is density altitude. Density altitude’s technical definition is pressure altitude corrected for nonstandard temperature. A simpler way of looking at it is to consider DA the altitude the airplane “thinks” it is flying at. While there are ways to upgrade your engine performance and add lift devices to your wing, the thinner air will still affect your airplane. This higher true airspeed and resulting lower margin of error is one of the least forgiving aspects of the mountains. Because mountain strips are often at higher elevations, and also are typically shorter, narrower, and in rougher shape than flatland equivalents, understanding the way your aircraft performs at higher DAs is critical before attempting mountain landings and takeoffs.

Planning

Another factor that sets mountain and backcountry flying apart is the relative lack of infrastructure and other resources. This can be anything from FBOs, their cozy interiors, fuel and maintenance, to weather reporting, tiedowns, and sometimes even windsocks. The mountain and backcountry pilot will need to plan more extensively because of this and have backup plans in mind should things go awry. Learn other ways to read or predict the wind, perhaps with a flyover of the strip before committing to landing. Bring as much fuel as you can, just in case. Have your airplane in great shape and have a plan and way to get in touch with someone if you have maintenance issues. A small personal locator beacon is not only great for emergencies, but it can also be great for communicating via satellite in areas outside cell service. Pireps are especially helpful in these areas where there may be less weather reporting as well, so be sure to give them when able.

Think you have a good grasp of all mountain flying will take? The best next step is to get some training from an experienced mountain instructor. Reading and preparing is great, but that in-flight learning is critical to help you refine your stick and rudder skills and decision making.

There is higher risk, but depending on what you want out of aviation, there’s also higher reward. Mountain flying is enchanting, but it doesn’t forgive. You’ve already taken on the challenge of learning to fly—why not add this to the list of your future dreams? FT