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

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

Peter R. wrote:
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.



This is the same reason that talking about upset recovery and emergency
procedures training is best left to pilots, not passengers.

Kobra wrote:

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.


As others state, why did you share it in the first place?

Also, sounds like the issues about your flying and how your family views
it goes beyond the planning of this particular trip.

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

Other posters already gave good comments. This DVD is for pilots and
should slap you upside the head to tell you not to be an idiot and
kill yourself and others like Lidel did in NY by doing stupid things.
Learn from the DVD...don't slam the presenter. Otherwise you may
become another statistic.

Ron Lee

As others state, why did you share it in the first place?

My wife loves flying with me and she sees a trip in the airplane as a major
treat. We have flown together everywhere from Maine to the Bahamas. She is
also going to start lessons this Spring and she began the Cleared for
Takeoff CD ground school course.

Whenever I buy a training DVD, as dry as they can be, she is excited to
watch them with me. I am lucky this way. But my only point to Mr. Collins
is that if you are going to immortalize your words on mass media about an
important subject near and dear, for God's sake, MAKE YOUR POINT, BUT CHOOSE
YOUR WORDS WITH SOME FORETHOUGHT.

Does anyone disagree that there's a better way to say, ...*ONE LITTLE
MISTAKE WILL PUT ALL YOUR LIGHTS OUT?* I don't think Barry Schiff, Rod
Machado or John King would blunder their words like that. I sense they have
more discretion and sophistication.

Don't get me wrong...I do like and respect Mr. Collins. I have most of his
videos, I read his articles in Flying Magazine and I admire him as an
aviator. I just think he needs to sand and polish some of his writings
before he commits them to permanency.

Kobra

: 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

HSP is only about 50 miles from me... I've been there a number of times. If
you're looking to look at the leaves, you're already kinda late. The higher
elevations around here are pretty much already changed and dropped. The runway is
great, long, and wide, but there *are* some pretty hazardous air currents right off
the end of the runway. (Basically right off the end of the runway is a cliff that
drops probably at least 1000'... supposedly a few airplane wrecks can be found down
there).

Rules of the "mountains" here seem to be similar to out west, only less-so.
Density altitude can make a mess of you. Turbulence, lift, and sink can be a problem
in windy conditions (especially this time of year). Don't push the aircraft
performance envelope, and don't do anything stupid while clearing ridges and you'll be
fine. ... a good example of stupid would be coming in slow at HSP where you're very
likely to get sink off the end of the runway. Plenty of runway, so keep it fast.

-Cory

--

************************************************** ***********************
* Cory Papenfuss, Ph.D., PPSEL-IA *
* Electrical Engineering *
* Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University *
************************************************** ***********************

Does anyone disagree that there's a better way to say, ...*ONE LITTLE
MISTAKE WILL PUT ALL YOUR LIGHTS OUT?*

I disagree.

Sometimes, one needs a blunt instrument to get the message across to
pilots who think that they are immune from the laws of physics, or that
certain rules don't apply to them. A more subtle approach may easily
miss the target.

"Do this and you will probably die" is sometimes called for.

Jose
--
"Never trust anything that can think for itself, if you can't see where
it keeps its brain." (chapter 10 of book 3 - Harry Potter).
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.