Mountain Flying WNC

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dcotton

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Don
Can anyone recommend a good instructor to learn the basics of mountain flying in NC? I am a flatlander from S Fla and will be flying there this summer and really want to get some instruction in the Asheville area (and West of that).

Thanks!
Don
 
Flying LSA also, if that is an issue.
 
I'm in the Raleigh area so it's a little far from you and I'm still pretty new to NC so I can't give you a recommendation (I do have a little mountain experience though ;))

You can also check with NC Pilot (Mark Shilling). He hasn't hung around here lately but he may respond to a PM. He's in the area and probably knows a few people.

If you don't get a specific recommendation from someone, I suggest you contact the Western North Carolina Pilots Association http://flywncpa.org/ There is a list of independent instructors on the site and there may be others they can put you in touch with.
 
I went to a CAPS meeting a few weeks ago and one guy was talking about having just taken some mtn flying instruction AT asheville... I don't recall the name but you might want to check it out.
 
The school at ALL used to be good, with glass & steam 172s. Haven't been there recently. Millionaire has been replaced as FBO, not sure about instructors. Give em a call.
 
David Shields at WNC Aviation based at KAVL - he's their Chief, a DPE, and I'm told he does instruction in Mountain Flying.
 
http://www.knoxflight.com/mountain_flying_course.php

We are just an hour north of the the highest point in the Appalachians and fly every other trip through or over them. We live in the foothills. They are beautiful! We always take survival gear including a 100' rope.

I learned a lot from these two books...The Mountain Flying Bible by Sparky Imeson and Flying the Mountains: A Training Manual for Flying Single-Engine Aircraft by Fletcher Fairchild Anderson. You can either build your skills from there or take a course which is the safer way. Have fun.
 
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wrbix said:
David Shields at WNC Aviation based at KAVL - he's their Chief, a DPE, and I'm told he does instruction in Mountain Flying.
Click to expand...

That's the guy! Ask for a trip to Jackson County, 24A, a little west of Asheville. Even better, fly around it in Flight Sim. Land toward the hill, and ignore the cliff face as you go over it. Landing away from the mountain requires a non-standard pattern, turning base early because the end of the runway is too close to the hillside.

Have fun! Mt. Mitchell isn't far away, either, if you want to experience mountain wave and/or turbulence. It's the highest point east of the Mississippi.
 
RV10flyer said:
http://www.knoxflight.com/mountain_flying_course.php

We are just an hour north of the the highest point in the Appalachians and fly every other trip through or over them. We live in the foothills. They are beautiful! We always take survival gear including a 100' rope.

I learned a lot from these two books...The Mountain Flying Bible by Sparky Imeson and Flying the Mountains: A Training Manual for Flying Single-Engine Aircraft by Fletcher Fairchild Anderson. You can either build your skills from there or take a course which is the safer way. Have fun.
Click to expand...

Sparky Imeson is the man.

Fletcher Anderson died hotdogging down the Snake River Canyon in a CAP C182 :no:
 
Didn't Sparky die a couple of years ago, flying low over one of his previous crash sites in Montana, or was that someone else?
 
Hank S said:
Didn't Sparky die a couple of years ago, flying low over one of his previous crash sites in Montana, or was that someone else?
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Sparky died a couple years ago...he may have had some medical "issues" at the time. Wayne Bower hinted at some information.

No part of how he passed impacts the wisdom shared in his book.
 
RV10flyer said:
http://www.knoxflight.com/mountain_flying_course.php

We are just an hour north of the the highest point in the Appalachians and fly every other trip through or over them. We live in the foothills. They are beautiful! We always take survival gear including a 100' rope.

I learned a lot from these two books...The Mountain Flying Bible by Sparky Imeson and Flying the Mountains: A Training Manual for Flying Single-Engine Aircraft by Fletcher Fairchild Anderson. You can either build your skills from there or take a course which is the safer way. Have fun.
Click to expand...

They were both based out of Jackson Hole...

They both DIED doing EXACTLY what they wrote in their books.... what NOT to do..:mad2::mad2::mad2:..

I would not and didn't ride with either of them....:yikes:
 
N801BH said:
They were both based out of Jackson Hole...

They both DIED doing EXACTLY what they wrote in their books.... what NOT to do..:mad2::mad2::mad2:..

I would not and didn't ride with either of them....:yikes:
Click to expand...

Wouldn't that mean that if we follow what they say to do then we should be OK? Do as I say, not as I do... that sort of thing. We should evaluate their books based on the merits of what they say, not based on how they died.

In that case, Imeson's book is far better than Anderson's.

I read Anderson's book first and I found it to be all over the place and just full of anecdotes about him flying into various airports in Colorado, which was his experience at the time of writing the book. Not well written and somewhat incoherent.

Imeson's book is the standard.
 
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