|  | Mountain Flying | Mountain flight training in the heart of the Colorado Rockies. | |
The goal of Mountain CFI is to provide the very best instruction
and information for safe mountain flying. Mountain CFI was created
to provide a source for general educational information, ground instruction
and flight instruction pertaining to all aspects of operating general
aviation aircraft in the mountains.
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| | November 14, 2008 | | Knowing the Cause of an Accident Doesn't Mean We Know How to Prevent It | Within aviation there is a broad assumption that as pilots, if we read enough reports explaining accident cause then we will automatically understand accident prevention, but this is not the case.
Likely scenario.... sketchy weather, scud running through the mountains, VFR into IMC, possibly some ice and ultimately impact with the mountain. Only 2 months ago, there was a similar outcome to very similar set of circumstances. Even the same make an model aircraft... C-182, the only real difference being 4 dead rather than one.
Like all aviation accidents, eventually the NTSB will release their findings. Those findings will probably provide a reasonably accurate cause of the accident... the NTSB will have examined the craft, pilot, weather, traffic, and any other element that could have possibly contributed. That report will probably tell us about lack of situational awareness, bad decision making, factors of weather. Overall, the NTSB does an excellent job of explaining why an accident occured, but they don't explain how to prevent one. Within aviation there is a broad assumption that as pilots, if we read enough accident reports explaining the causes then we will automatically understand accident prevention, and this is not the case. Two pilots will interpet the accident it two very different ways and therefore will develop different prevention measures.
Prevention only comes from education (scenario based), practice(stick skills and decision making), a deeper understanding of the variables and their influence, and ultimately developing a more robust decision making process. This is where scenario based training and single pilot resource management come in.
If the world was flat, and it were always sunny, always clear, always calm, no other aircraft, the plane was always guarateed to work properly, the pilot was always rested, and always proficient and current then there would be no need for any recurrent or enhancement training ever, and decision making skills would be irrelevant.
But the world is not flat, the weather is infinitely variable, planes have issues, airports have traffic, and pilots are not always ready for their flight and they don't always think things through.... that why we need to keep learning if we want to stay alive.
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| | November 04, 2008 | | Different Seasons Create Different Experiences for Learning to Fly in the Mountains |
The ceilings are low, the visibility decreasing. I look out at the airfield and a winter storm is rolling in... Not early, not late, just when we would expect to start seeing regular snow. There will probably be no flying for the rest of the day, but the next weeks and months will transform the Colorado Rockies to a winter wonderland.
With each season, the flight experience, challenges, issues, planning, even the survival gear that a pilot should carry changes. In the summer we high density altitude to contend with, in the winter we have pre-heating and icing considerations among others.
I offer mountain flight training for pilot/owners all year long. If you've ever considered taking some mountain flying instruction, winter is a great time, especially for those that have an airplane that doesn't have the performance capabilities to enjoy the mountains in the summer. I frequently have students that take a lesson in one season and come back in another season to receive the training and experience of flying through the Rockies in winter vs. summer or vice versa.
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| | October 28, 2008 | | A great online resource for Mountain Flying | I frequently get e-mails asking for recommendations on the best books, online training and videos for the topic of mountain flying. Usually, whenever I schedule a student for the training they also ask... "Should I read anything before I come?"
In terms of books, Sparky Emerson has a couple great books, excellent detail. If you read his series of books on the topic you'll be well versed. If you don't have the time available then another resource I can't promote enough is the AOPA Air Safety Foundation online Mountain Flying Course.
This online course is fantastic. What's better, it can be completed in several hours. While it does not take the place of an in depth study, this online course is an excellent way to prepare for a mountain training course or a way to refresh your knowledge prior to mountain flight.
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| | | Monthly Archives |  | November, 2008 | | October, 2008 | | August, 2007 | | March, 2007 | | January, 2006 | | December, 2005 | | November, 2005 | | October, 2005 | | March, 2005 | | February, 2005 | | January, 2005 |
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