STS to RNT

I'm flying STS (Santa Rosa CA) to RNT (Renton WA, near Seattle), VFR
direct in early September. This takes me over some (7000 ft) hills with
higher terrain nearby, but in most cases the valley is not far away.
I'm thinking of crusing at about 8500 (unless the wind is strong, in
which case I'll go higher or sidestep to the valleys) This lets me
clear the peaks and ridges by 1500 feet, although higher terrain would
exist some ten miles away.

I'll be in an old Cutlass. For those familiar with the area, do you see
anything glaringly wrong with this plan? What cloud cover can I expect
in early September? I'm IFR capable, but that high ice would likely be
an issue.

Jose
--
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On Tue, 23 Aug 2005 03:12:03 GMT, Jose
wrote:

I'm flying STS (Santa Rosa CA) to RNT (Renton WA, near Seattle), VFR
direct in early September. This takes me over some (7000 ft) hills with
higher terrain nearby, but in most cases the valley is not far away.
I'm thinking of crusing at about 8500 (unless the wind is strong, in
which case I'll go higher or sidestep to the valleys) This lets me
clear the peaks and ridges by 1500 feet, although higher terrain would
exist some ten miles away.

I'll be in an old Cutlass. For those familiar with the area, do you see
anything glaringly wrong with this plan? What cloud cover can I expect
in early September? I'm IFR capable, but that high ice would likely be
an issue.

All the forest fires seem to be on the Idaho border this year, but
that can change. A few years ago, there was pretty thick smoke up to
10,500 between Ashland and Roseburg.

But generally,, September in the PNW is wonderful for flying. or
anything else except whitewater rafting.

Where can you cross the Siskyous at 8.5?

Don

Don Tuite wrote in
:

Where can you cross the Siskyous at 8.5?

Actually, if you plan direct STS to RNT, you'll clear terrain by at
least 1,500 on the entire segment while at 8,500

--

Weather is generally not a big problem that time of year. I flew my old
Cutlass over the route many times. It is a good idea to plan an
alternative if you run into unexpected weather, as forecasting is kind
of spotty. The wind is almost always unfavorable.

Where can you cross the Siskyous at 8.5?

I'll be to the west of the big stuff. The quadrants show 9.0 as the
highest altitude, but along Clair Engle lake (right on my flight path)
it's lower. China Mountain (to the north) is 8551, but just to the west
it's lower. It looks like I have adequate lateral clearance.

My flight path also takes me right past Mt. St. Helens. Let's hope I
don't wake it up with prop noise.

Jose
--
Quantum Mechanics is like this: God =does= play dice with the universe,
except there's no God, and there's no dice. And maybe there's no universe.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.