Flying in to Taos, NM

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Arrow115

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Chris
Next week I will be flying in to Taos, NM (KSKX) from the east in a NA arrow (200 hp). I am a flatlander and this is my first trek in to the mountains so I am proceeding carefully. I will be coming in the morning and well under gross. I will be coming from Lubbock (KLBB), cruising at 10,500. When I leave, it will be morning and I will be well under weight as well. My question is about the route. Would it be better to go to Santa Fe from Lubbock and then head north up the western side of the mountains or cross the mountains at Taos along the road?

Right now I am leaning towards the Santa Fe route, but I would appreciate any insight from those that have done this before. Either way, it should be a spectacular flight.
 
I'm very familiar with this neck of the woods. I would not want to cross the high ridgelines on either side of Angel Fire airport at only 10,500' near the middle of the day. You're likely to encounter some gusty winds, turbulence and possible downdrafts.

The Santa Fe route is a bit longer, but much safer... especially for a first-timer in the mountains.

Have a great trip!
 
I concur with the Santa Fe route.
I also think keeping things to the morning is best as rotors are known to be generated in the afternoon between Santa Fe and Espanola when the winds are right (and since this is monsoon season, you can expect rotor favorable winds as the CU towers).

And no problem coming in with an Arrow. They like the area just fine.
Only word of caution is to stay away from Taos Pueblo and the wilderness area to the east -- they aren't fond of overflights
 
Another vote for a Santa Fe route. And even though the ridge isn't that high, if I were a newbie I'd probably head to Otto VOR and be on the windward side of the ridge approaching KSAF.

An Arrow should present no problem, although there's a catch - you have to know what you are doing. Yeah, I know - obvious. But, to me, not even thinking of crossing at Taos in an Arrow is also obvious.
 
No question Santa Fe route. More than that, when you make the turn north, stay well east of the Rio Grande, over against the Pecos peaks. You will fly just about over the Santa Fe ski resort and get some nice updrafts.

When you leave, you have two options. You can backtrack down the Santa Fe, or if you don't mind some bumps and some mountain wave, you can go direct toward Wheeler peak at Taos ski area and let the wind lift you up until you can clear the pass easily and get over into the flats. I usually take off and do a left downwind and fly right at Wheeler peak, then aim a bit north, and as I feel the lift coming, I bring it back around to the south, and you can ride the wave up to about 13-14k'.

Once you have the altitude you like, turn left to about 090 and get ready for Mr Toads wild ride if it's windy. Aim right for Angel Fire ski resort, and expect to lose altitude. Do NOT pull back to maintain altitude, ride through it as fast as you safely can, and get the next ridge lift, then pull back and slow as you go up. Not advisable if you see lenticular on the lee side, or if there's clouds tumbing on the back side of Wheeler peak. If you see that, go south young man. Also not advised for pax.
 
Right now we're in the monsoon season in Taos. Everyday for the last week or so we have had a lot of afternoon/evening thunder storms. More or less the Angel Fire pass is being shut down most days by about 11:00am. I've been watching the Santa Fe route everyday and for the most part it is clear. If the monsoon pattern ends then expect some bumps at 10.5 around the San Ysidro area, other than that it should be good. If you need any help getting things setup in Taos, holler. Right now it is 70 degrees and beautiful.
 
Alexb2000 said:
Right now we're in the monsoon season in Taos. Everyday for the last week or so we have had a lot of afternoon/evening thunder storms. More or less the Angel Fire pass is being shut down most days by about 11:00am. I've been watching the Santa Fe route everyday and for the most part it is clear. If the monsoon pattern ends then expect some bumps at 10.5 around the San Ysidro area, other than that it should be good. If you need any help getting things setup in Taos, holler. Right now it is 70 degrees and beautiful.
Click to expand...

It's monsoon season all over the Rockies. The High Pressure is parked over the Four Corners and brings up moisture from the Gulf as well as the west coast. I'm looking at the radar for the Denver area right now. Large and fast-moving storms (15-35 mph) along the N-S line along the divide in south Wyoming thru Colorado, all moving to the SE. Yet there's nothing on the radar map in New Mexico.

Summer weather is just plain wierd.
 
Coming from Lubbok, I would've taken Santa Fe because of schedule reliability. If you head to Angel Fire and find monsoon clouds hanging over passes, you face a big detour. It's not an excellent way to start vacation.

Arrow has plenty of oomph. I crossed those passes in 140 hp Cherokee. It's the weather that is the main issue.

On the way back there's an easy pass at Angostura. I flew it in a 100 hp Remos once. So, I would've taken a look. If it's cloudy, or winds are above 20 , just continue down the valley. It's much easier to be flexible when going back south-east.
 
zaitcev said:
Coming from Lubbok, I would've taken Santa Fe because of schedule reliability. If you head to Angel Fire and find monsoon clouds hanging over passes, you face a big detour. It's not an excellent way to start vacation.

Arrow has plenty of oomph. I crossed those passes in 140 hp Cherokee. It's the weather that is the main issue.

On the way back there's an easy pass at Angostura. I flew it in a 100 hp Remos once. So, I would've taken a look. If it's cloudy, or winds are above 20 , just continue down the valley. It's much easier to be flexible when going back south-east.
Click to expand...

I usually file the Santa Fe route and make the call around Anton Chico (ACH) or a little before. The above advice is dead on, many times the lee side has a lot of buildups, storms, and what not. I always want to look at them before deciding.
 
Wow, thanks for all of the great responses so far!

Definitely will be going the Santa Fe route. I will have a passenger with me, so I will probably go back the same way. She isn't fond of bumps.

Thanks again for sharing your experiences with this flatlander.
 
As said before by others, I would just be aware of the afternoon rotors as well. Wife and I do this trip quite a bit as we really enjoy Santa Fe. Gets a bit bumpy over the hills as you start surfing the rotors. Can be a bit entertaining if you aren't prepared for them. I wouldn't scrub the flight but I would be aware of what is going on.

This was taken two weeks ago or so. I usually am at like 155kts to 160kts TAS at cruise and I promise the 205kts depicted isn't from a descent. I was swinging between 130 to 200 kts coming through. This was taken at either 9.5 or 11.5 ft.

zajyry4u.jpg



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Oh. And last comment...the last time we flew in, I hit the very end of rudder authority on a crosswind landing runway 20 with wind coming 240 at something like 18 gusting to 26 kts. I was at that point of deciding whether to go around or not when the wind seemed to die down for a second and let me get in.

Again, not something to scrap the flight but just be aware.

Have a ton of fun. We really enjoy Santa Fe / Taos quote a bit. Awesome place to get some vacation time in.



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