Re: Light-Sport Aircraft Yahoo group Mountain Flying

As some of the other posters mentioned, mountain flying here on the East
Coast isn't nearly as much of an issue as it is on the west coast,
mainly because here we fly over the mountains while out west they fly
between them. Now that being said, nearly all of fatal aircraft
accidents that involve SAR in this part of the world occur on the first
tall mountain ridge on either side of the mountain chain so its good
that you are thinking ahead.

Most of the issues you need to be aware of when crossing East Coast
mountains are weather related:

Mountain waves - This is generally an issue in the winter in the winter
when we get those howling NW winds after a frontal passage. Since our
mountains are perpendicular to this you can get some wicked mountain
waves. We see the lenticulars and rotor clouds spawned by these winds
all the way over here on the coast of MD. You wouldn't want to go
anywhere near the mountains in those conditions in light plane.
Fortunately, we generally don't get those howling NW winds in the summer.

Fog and low clouds - Mountains create their own weather. Fog hangs
around late in the morning and if there is any sort of low visibility
going on in the nearby flatlands, it will be worse in the mountains.
This is generally what kills people in East Coast Mountains. They fly
lower and lower to get under a cloud deck and don't see the mountain
they are flying into. Set your personal minimums for the trip and stick
to them and you'll be fine.

Convection - As the day progresses the thermals will really pick up over
each mountain ridge. This makes it bumpy. Small clouds build
throughout the day from these thermals and can form thunderstorms by
afternoon if the conditions are right. If you can plan your flight in
the morning after the fog burns off but before it heats up, you'll have
the smoothest ride. Alternately, plan a high altitude to get out of the
thermals. This may not be possible though due to cloud coverage though
if you are flying under sport rules.

Remember too that ATC has limited radar in the mountains. I typically
end up speaking to Center a good deal on my trip out to OSH every year
since there often is no Approach in the mountains. Center's radar is
not set up for low flying aircraft. Just another reason to fly high.

Also remember you emergency landing spots are very limited. Flying
high, getting flight following, and carrying a 406 beacon are all good
ideas when crossing the mountains for this reason.

Have a good flight!

Helen

On 5/21/2010 10:08 PM, Bill wrote:
> I'm considering flying to Gatlinberg TN next month over some pretty tall rocks. Does anybody here have any experience with mountain flying in a light sports plane? (Mine isn't technically a LSA, but at 1600 pounds it gets tossed around just about as much.) It's way too far out to get any kind of weather outlook, but in general do you think an early morning crossing would be the best. If I start at Anderson SC (KAND) it's only about an hour to get to Gatlin berg (KGKT) and I'd plan to cross at 8500 feet. Any input would be appreciated. (I'll only go if its VFR.) Thanks.
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