IFR in the Eastern Mountains

Flyers,

I am thinking of a flight into Ingalls airport in Hot Springs, VA this Fall.
It's elevation is 3,792' and has a 5000+ foot runway. It is surrounded by
several washboard-like mountains. Look at the picture on airnav:
http://tinyurl.com/yn6hrm Also click on this link to see a really nice
hotel near the field: http://tinyurl.com/ygxfez

It all looks like a nice place to see Fall leaves changing, have a nice meal
as long as the weather will cooperate. To learn about this type of flying I
bought Sporty's new DVD with Richard Collins *IFR in the Eastern Mountains*.
I was somewhat disappointed in this DVD.

For one thing Richard Collins has a VERY negative approach to his writings
sometimes. For example, he opens his DVD with: ...the eastern
mountains...are just as unyielding as the bigger ones out west and there are
a lot of accidents in the eastern mountains and even the relatively small
mountains of Arkansas have claimed a lot of airplanes."

Geez-uss-gawd!!!! I'm sitting there with my wife (who's hesitant to fly in
the mountains) and a friend who wants to fly with me, but has been a bit
tentative. Thanks a frickin' bunch Richard...those comments took a
non-pilot fence sitter and cemented his feelings of general aviation in a
negative light! Now he is convinced that *little airplanes* are *flying
aluminum coffins*. That was a bad piece of writing from an elder mentor of
our impassioned hobby.

He could have made the same point by saying, "...the eastern mountains,
although smaller, still have the same challenges to pilots as their bigger
brothers out west. For pilots wanting to visit some of these beautiful
higher elevation airports on the east, this program is designed to teach you
how to make these IFR flights rewarding, efficient, and most of all, safe."

Now I'm not asking anyone to blow sunshine up my a$$, but there's a way to
make your point without scaring the crap out of their audience. And writers
have to understand that pilots aren't the only ones watching these DVD's.
Our spouses, children, family, friends and a very apprehensive general
public is too.

There are many other examples too: He states, "IFR in the eastern mountains
is a place where a lot of pilots fail to measure up...it is where only one
little mistake will PUT ALL THE LIGHTS OUT. That is when my wife walked out
of the room stating, "we're not going."

Geezz...have some tact and judgment in your writing and wording!!

Kobra

PS: This was a very bad commercial, but obviously I am selling the DVD.
Here is the Ebay link: http://tinyurl.com/ymkrwq

Kobra wrote:
There are many other examples too: He states, "IFR in the eastern mountains
is a place where a lot of pilots fail to measure up...it is where only one
little mistake will PUT ALL THE LIGHTS OUT. That is when my wife walked out
of the room stating, "we're not going."


You obviously need to grow a set. Tell her she's going and that's it.


Ducking and running,


--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN
mschnerdatcarolina.rr.com

"Mortimer Schnerd, RN" mschnerdatcarolina.rr.com writes:
Kobra wrote:
There are many other examples too: He states, "IFR in the eastern mountains
is a place where a lot of pilots fail to measure up...it is where only one
little mistake will PUT ALL THE LIGHTS OUT. That is when my wife walked out
of the room stating, "we're not going."

You obviously need to grow a set. Tell her she's going and that's it.

Ducking and running,

While you're at it, tell her that Collins exaggerates
greatly in that those overgrown hills back east aren't
mountains.

Everett M. Greene wrote:


While you're at it, tell her that Collins exaggerates
greatly in that those overgrown hills back east aren't
mountains.

Hmmmm...I wonder why they're within the FAA's Eastern Designated
*Mountainous* Area then?

Sam Spade wrote:
While you're at it, tell her that Collins exaggerates
greatly in that those overgrown hills back east aren't
mountains.

Hmmmm...I wonder why they're within the FAA's Eastern Designated
*Mountainous* Area then?


They can be scary places under the right conditions. I remember coming out of
the Shenandoah Valley in a Piper Arrow with two others aboard on a nice warm
sunny day in the summertime and thinking I was never going to get over the
"hills". I was circling and trying to climb at the same time. Every time I'd
start to make a dash across I'd start sinking on the approach side and wimp out.
Probably it would have been less nerve wracking if it'd have been in IMC: I
just wouldn't have seen those ridges. OTOH, I might have had a really bad day.

I freely admit to being uncomfortable flying in mountainous areas. I was meant
to fly over water and flatlands where I'm less likely to have problems with
cumulo granitus.




--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN
mschnerdatcarolina.rr.com

Mortimer Schnerd, RN wrote:


They can be scary places under the right conditions. I remember coming out of
the Shenandoah Valley in a Piper Arrow with two others aboard on a nice warm
sunny day in the summertime and thinking I was never going to get over the
"hills". I was circling and trying to climb at the same time. Every time I'd
start to make a dash across I'd start sinking on the approach side and wimp out.
Probably it would have been less nerve wracking if it'd have been in IMC: I
just wouldn't have seen those ridges. OTOH, I might have had a really bad day.


Whenever you are a couple thousand feet below the ridgeline on approach
or departure, a blunder into the terrain has the same result as if the
mountains were 10,000 feet higher than the airport.

You found out about terrain-induced wind effect and high density
altitude on nice summer day. A turbo-charged engine is helpful, even
around those "little" mountains.

Sam Spade writes:
Everett M. Greene wrote:

While you're at it, tell her that Collins exaggerates
greatly in that those overgrown hills back east aren't
mountains.

Hmmmm...I wonder why they're within the FAA's Eastern Designated
*Mountainous* Area then?

People in D.C. don't know what a mountain is?

Everett M. Greene wrote:
Sam Spade writes:

Everett M. Greene wrote:

While you're at it, tell her that Collins exaggerates
greatly in that those overgrown hills back east aren't
mountains.

Hmmmm...I wonder why they're within the FAA's Eastern Designated
*Mountainous* Area then?


People in D.C. don't know what a mountain is?

I presume you're speaking of the FAA. Most of the technical stuff is
headquartered in OKC. And, yes, those folks know a whole lot about
mountains, terrain effect, altimeter errors, and so forth.

I suspect it is you who don't have a firm grasp on what constitutes
mountainous terrain.

Before showing BEHIND THE GREEN DOOR or DEBBIE DOES DALLAS
to your wife, mother-in-law and the children, you preview
them privately.

If you get a travelogue, show your wife. If you get a
training video, it is for PILOTS and not their spouse.


--
James H. Macklin
ATP,CFI,A&P

"Kobra" wrote in message
. ..
| Flyers,
|
| I am thinking of a flight into Ingalls airport in Hot
Springs, VA this Fall.
| It's elevation is 3,792' and has a 5000+ foot runway. It
is surrounded by
| several washboard-like mountains. Look at the picture on
airnav:
| http://tinyurl.com/yn6hrm Also click on this link to see
a really nice
| hotel near the field: http://tinyurl.com/ygxfez
|
| It all looks like a nice place to see Fall leaves
changing, have a nice meal
| as long as the weather will cooperate. To learn about
this type of flying I
| bought Sporty's new DVD with Richard Collins *IFR in the
Eastern Mountains*.
| I was somewhat disappointed in this DVD.
|
| For one thing Richard Collins has a VERY negative approach
to his writings
| sometimes. For example, he opens his DVD with: ...the
eastern
| mountains...are just as unyielding as the bigger ones out
west and there are
| a lot of accidents in the eastern mountains and even the
relatively small
| mountains of Arkansas have claimed a lot of airplanes."
|
| Geez-uss-gawd!!!! I'm sitting there with my wife (who's
hesitant to fly in
| the mountains) and a friend who wants to fly with me, but
has been a bit
| tentative. Thanks a frickin' bunch Richard...those
comments took a
| non-pilot fence sitter and cemented his feelings of
general aviation in a
| negative light! Now he is convinced that *little
airplanes* are *flying
| aluminum coffins*. That was a bad piece of writing from
an elder mentor of
| our impassioned hobby.
|
| He could have made the same point by saying, "...the
eastern mountains,
| although smaller, still have the same challenges to pilots
as their bigger
| brothers out west. For pilots wanting to visit some of
these beautiful
| higher elevation airports on the east, this program is
designed to teach you
| how to make these IFR flights rewarding, efficient, and
most of all, safe."
|
| Now I'm not asking anyone to blow sunshine up my a$$, but
there's a way to
| make your point without scaring the crap out of their
audience. And writers
| have to understand that pilots aren't the only ones
watching these DVD's.
| Our spouses, children, family, friends and a very
apprehensive general
| public is too.
|
| There are many other examples too: He states, "IFR in the
eastern mountains
| is a place where a lot of pilots fail to measure up...it
is where only one
| little mistake will PUT ALL THE LIGHTS OUT. That is when
my wife walked out
| of the room stating, "we're not going."
|
| Geezz...have some tact and judgment in your writing and
wording!!
|
| Kobra
|
| PS: This was a very bad commercial, but obviously I am
selling the DVD.
| Here is the Ebay link: http://tinyurl.com/ymkrwq
|
|

Jim Macklin wrote:

If you get a travelogue, show your wife. If you get a
training video, it is for PILOTS and not their spouse.

I was thinking the same thing.

--
Peter