On 12 Sep 2006 17:16:19 -0700, "Dan" wrote:

My early years of flying were spent in the Midwest where as long as you
were over 2000 MSL, there were very few obstacles to hit and no
terrain. Now that I have moved out West (Phoenix) I am increasingly
paranoid about hitting terrain at night.

Choosing a cruise altitude is easy (well above anything even close to
your route). However, what I worry about is my letdown to pattern
altitude at the destination airport as well as departure. Short of
filing IFR (which carries with it Oxygen requirements for some local
MEAs) what other strategies do you all use? Any "systems" or
tricks to share, or is it pretty much just look at the sectional and
make a plan?

I am a Midwesterner, but worry about the same when traveling far from
Chicago.

A few thoughts...

1. Review sectionals prior to flight, and make sure you are above the
MEF on all segments. This may not be realistic/practical in all
locations b/c the highest point in the quadrant may be far away from
where you are flying, un-necessarily driving a higher altitude.

2. Buy a Garmin 496 handheld with Terrain database. In addition to
all the other cool stuff, it will give you realtime terrain relative
to your location. The comfort factor is huge.

-Nathan