Mountain waves at KCOS/KFLY

Hi folks,

I am a freshly-minted private pilot who trained in Kansas. I am thinking of a flight to Colorado Springs and am looking for advice on winds, mountain wave turbulence, etc. I'm going to be flying a C-172, but another member of this group suggested that this might be the best place for me to get advice anyhow, since you folks probably know more about this stuff than anyone, so my apologies if this is out of place.

In a Reddit discussion at [1], I posed the question about flying from Kansas to KCOS (and we might add in KFLY as an alternative). Knowing that it's not all that far from Pike's Peak, I of course want to stay safe and not get into something that will be above my abilities as a non-mountain-trained private pilot. I will be remaining east of the front range for the entire trip, of course.

Most people on Reddit said I'd have no problem, but one person started a thread [2] giving a much more cautionary note. I'm trying to figure out where the truth is.

I've also completed the AOPA Mountain Flying course. And I found a helpful guide from the FAA [3]. Based on what I have seen and read, I would want to study winds at high-altitude monitoring stations and winds aloft forecasts. Depending on which source you trust, things might be worrisome of they exceed 20, 25, or 40 knots blowing perpendicular to the range.

Can anyone give me some advice on this? How concerned should I be? What should be me go/no-go decision makers during weather brief for avoiding lee wave issues?

Thanks!

[1] https://www.reddit.com/r/flying/comm...kcos_colorado/

[2] https://www.reddit.com/r/flying/comm...lorado/cwzz0dz

[3] http://www.faa.gov/news/safety_brief...opic_15_04.pdf

On Tuesday, November 17, 2015 at 10:37:28 AM UTC-6, wrote:
Hi folks,

I am a freshly-minted private pilot who trained in Kansas. I am thinking of a flight to Colorado Springs and am looking for advice on winds, mountain wave turbulence, etc. I'm going to be flying a C-172, but another member of this group suggested that this might be the best place for me to get advice anyhow, since you folks probably know more about this stuff than anyone, so my apologies if this is out of place.

In a Reddit discussion at [1], I posed the question about flying from Kansas to KCOS (and we might add in KFLY as an alternative). Knowing that it's not all that far from Pike's Peak, I of course want to stay safe and not get into something that will be above my abilities as a non-mountain-trained private pilot. I will be remaining east of the front range for the entire trip, of course.

Most people on Reddit said I'd have no problem, but one person started a thread [2] giving a much more cautionary note. I'm trying to figure out where the truth is.

I've also completed the AOPA Mountain Flying course. And I found a helpful guide from the FAA [3]. Based on what I have seen and read, I would want to study winds at high-altitude monitoring stations and winds aloft forecasts. Depending on which source you trust, things might be worrisome of they exceed 20, 25, or 40 knots blowing perpendicular to the range.

Can anyone give me some advice on this? How concerned should I be? What should be me go/no-go decision makers during weather brief for avoiding lee wave issues?

Thanks!

[1] https://www.reddit.com/r/flying/comm...kcos_colorado/

[2] https://www.reddit.com/r/flying/comm...lorado/cwzz0dz

[3] http://www.faa.gov/news/safety_brief...opic_15_04.pdf

The old black forest closed, the new Black Forest Soaring Society is located up at Kelly Airpark, about 30 minutes north of the springs. If there are no wave conditions present, the turbulence just east of the mountains is usually light to moderate, but can be sporting even on seemingly benign days when the suns out strong. You do also need to be mindful of the incredible sink potential just east of the mountains. I found myself in 22kts of sink one day, barely making it back to the pattern after bee-lining it from a 3k tow no more than 2 miles away (Just west of USAFA, NE of Pikes Peak). The front range can get quite sporting at times.