Mountain trip

D

DaytonaLynn

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One who misses Daytona!
I fly out of Houston, a 172 and 182.
I have thought about a trip to Denver.
I am a bit nervous about doing that without some mountain training.

1. Would you think it ok to fly without the mtn training?
2. Would you recommend going to Denver and getting training before taking the trip myself?

Thanks
 
You will need to watch out for high density altitude around the Denver area but it is not in the mountains per se.
 
Don't fly on a windy day.
Know your terrain and do not fly into raising elevation valleys.
Know your density altitude performance data for your plane.
Understand the effect of sloped runways uphill / downhill.
 
I've round tripped Houston from Denver several times - it's a good trip. No need for mountain training. Fly your numbers and you'll be fine. Plan on an early departure to beat the heat coming and going. Also plan to do a full power run-up to lean for max power before taking off from Denver. If you're uncomfortable with the concept get a CFI to help out up here (or maybe someone from the board). It'll only take half an hour or so to learn the run-up and make a few laps to get used to the altitude.
 
Agree with Everskyward. Flying to and around just the Denver urban area wouldn't necessarily require mountain flying training. Just high altitude operations. Only caveat is to be familiar with turbulence and rotors if you do end fly downwind of a range on a windy day.

It doesn't hurt to buy Imeson' Mountain Flying Bible and study it.
 
you can do the entire trip with max alt of 8500, about 7 hours in a 172. From Houston, it's pretty much flatland all the way. Mountains are in west Texas but not along the direct route.

Of course when get here, Clark, Mari or I can recommend a good mountain CFI. Or if you'd like, we can take you for ride to Leadville.

let us know your schedule, time for another excuse for dinner!
 
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You can fly to Denver, no problem. And while you're there, stop in Boulder and get some specialty mountain training so you can continue west. Some of the most fun flying I've yet done!
 
Just one or two people with bags would not be a weight concern - but that's about it for a 172 esp in the summer, imo. Take the 182 if possible.
 
The 150 & 160 hp 172's can be a bit of a challenge with anywhere near gross load on a summer afternoon in Denver as Dave notes. The 180's do pretty good. My buddy's 210 Franklin 172 flat out jumped in the air. It wouldn't go fast or far but it went up really fine.
 
You can get from Texas to Denver without mountain flying, you'll never cross the Front Range. But as others have said, watch the winds and watch the Density Altitude.
 
Whatever performance you get at 5280 feet over Texas you will approximate at Denver - so if you see a 400fpm rate of climb at 75F at 5500' over Texas you'll get 400fpm in Denver . . . its really no difference other than if its hotter than 75-80 then you will see a concomitant reduction of climb to the density altitude . . . .
 
I feel better about the trip now.
I don't know when it's going to come together as we have a ton of other commitments vying for my time.
Murphy, I would rally like that and will contact you when we firm up arrangements.

I think I will take the other suggestions to use the 182. It's more comfortable and basically a wash in costs for a trip that far when considering time saved in 182 vs the 172.

Thanks everyone for the input!
 
FORANE said:
Don't fly on a windy day.
Know your terrain and do not fly into raising elevation valleys.
Know your density altitude performance data for your plane.
Understand the effect of sloped runways uphill / downhill.
Click to expand...

All good advice.and make sure you are high enough to get over the highest terrain. In other words don't try to climb at the last moments to get over a ridge. Especially on the lee side of the mountain. ( read down drafts here).:yes:
 
If you are not going to get specific mountain training I would suggest working with a CFI for reduced power takeoffs. The airspeeds are the same but the sense of groundspeed is remarkably different for both takeoff and landing - best to experience that under more controlled circumstances. I took a full-on mountain checkride in the A-36 Bonanza years ago and learned a lot, including a scary and in hindsight poor takeoff decision. DA is no joke.

Big thing to remember is to lean the mixture during the runup and then on the takeoff roll to get max power for the conditions, people will say it is obvious (and it usually is) but don't rely on black smoke or an obvious lack of power to prevent a partial power takeoff.

Mountain flying is very fun but it can be hazardous/unforgiving.

'Gimp
 
AcroGimp said:
If you are not going to get specific mountain training I would suggest working with a CFI for reduced power takeoffs. The airspeeds are the same but the sense of groundspeed is remarkably different for both takeoff and landing - best to experience that under more controlled circumstances. I took a full-on mountain checkride in the A-36 Bonanza years ago and learned a lot, including a scary and in hindsight poor takeoff decision. DA is no joke.

Big thing to remember is to lean the mixture during the runup and then on the takeoff roll to get max power for the conditions, people will say it is obvious (and it usually is) but don't rely on black smoke or an obvious lack of power to prevent a partial power takeoff.

Mountain flying is very fun but it can be hazardous/unforgiving.

'Gimp
Click to expand...

Let's get back to the original topic - flying Houston to Denver. It's FlatLand. Boring FlatLand. Incredbly Boring FlatLand. On the other hand, we don't have to worry about the houses sinking into the ground because the entire Houston area is built at sea level (and basements are below that!)

It's west of Denver (or west of the N-S line we call the Front Range that stretches from the CO-WY border to the CO-NM border just east of the Rocky Mountains) do you need to worry about sloped runways, one-way runways, etc.
 
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