Flying a 65 hp airplane over (through?) the Sierras...and no I'm not really following the magenta line, more jumping from ridge to ridge to find lift, and heading for the pass. Approach the pass in a way that I can turn back down the canyon if things don't work out. Pick the time of day and the weather...don't let it pick you!
And the real trick is to avoid burning all your fuel struggling for altitude...
It's nice to have someone on your wing over the rugged stuff so you can look out for each other. I would be happy to fly this leg with you if you end up coming this way.

Check out https://nowcoast.noaa.gov/ You can pull up all kinds of weather info, and topo basemaps that make it handy for planning.

CFOT is a very good low powered mountain flying pilot.

CFOT wrote:Flying a 65 hp airplane over (through?) the Sierras...and no I'm not really following the magenta line, more jumping from ridge to ridge to find lift, and heading for the pass. Approach the pass in a way that I can turn back down the canyon if things don't work out. Pick the time of day and the weather...don't let it pick you!
And the real trick is to avoid burning all your fuel struggling for altitude...
It's nice to have someone on your wing over the rugged stuff so you can look out for each other. I would be happy to fly this leg with you if you end up coming this way.

Check out https://nowcoast.noaa.gov/ You can pull up all kinds of weather info, and topo basemaps that make it handy for planning.

Thanks! That looks like my kind of panel. Minus the electronics that is. I love all this iPhone and iPad stuff, but I have never had the battery go dead in a paper chart.
jay

Year after year, this image still serves me:



Do you all really care that much what we put our Cub panels? Please, give it a rest already.

beeryboats wrote:Thanks! That looks like my kind of panel. Minus the electronics that is. I love all this iPhone and iPad stuff, but I have never had the battery go dead in a paper chart.
jay

I make an effort to be familiar with the landmarks and drainages so I don't have to rely on either one...pushing buttons or unfolding charts are both unpleasant when you are bouncing around like an old shoe in the dryer. What is nice is having some occasional warning when another plane doing 200+ is coming up behind you as you are doing 60 headed into the same pass.

CFOT wrote:

beeryboats wrote:Thanks! That looks like my kind of panel. Minus the electronics that is. I love all this iPhone and iPad stuff, but I have never had the battery go dead in a paper chart.
jay

I make an effort to be familiar with the landmarks and drainages so I don't have to rely on either one...pushing buttons or unfolding charts are both unpleasant when you are bouncing around like an old shoe in the dryer. What is nice is having some occasional warning when another plane doing 200+ is coming up behind you as you are doing 60 headed into the same pass.

You would hope a 200mph plane would be "way up there" where he belongs. But I see your point. My dad's buddy has all that fancy electronic stuff in his RV. He is so preoccupied by all that stuff he rarely looks out the window. Maybe he was just showing it off for me. He flys that thing all over the country. But at that speed and altitude it just takes all the fun out of it for me.

I believe my sons when they explain the value of modern computer technology. They go through the OODA loop with far greater speed of transition than I. They have dealt with constant unknowns and levels of unknowns all their lives with the Mario Brothers computer game.

You young guys, and some old, can emergency procedure computers well. In aviation we need constant situational awareness, especially when near the ground. We need as much heads up as possible mission specific interface. We need to use it and not have to tune and fix it.

If the electronic map can be brought down to 1:25,000 to 1:100,000 scale, depending on the length of the next pass, this would be very useful. The sectional 1:500,000 is good for planning, and flying if folded right and thouroughly studied pre pass. Something, paper or computer, that requires constant management is not good.