Flying into Aspen in an Ovation 310HP; general advice?

[steingar]

Only advice I can think of is learn to ski.  That Mooney will get you there.  Its a capable machine.

[THill182]

On 4/24/2018 at 9:57 AM, KSMooniac said:

I've been there once in my J, but I usually go to Rifle as it is easier and much, much cheaper for this CB.

 

Well: I kind  of took the easy way out also and went to Rifle instead: Great suggestion! 5500ft vs. 7800ft. The drive from Rifle to Aspen is only an hour 20 mins or so, and nice (going through Glenwood Springs, Carbondale). The FBO (Atlantic) staff at Rifle is super-nice. Leaving at 8AM in the morning at 45F and a 7000ft runway, and easy departure procedure down-hill, I was able to depart with enough fuel to fly straight to Tulsa (with luggage, and wife, and almost 20 Gallons reserve) -- what other plane can do that? Going I flew VFR at 14,500ft; coming back I flew IFR VFR on-top at 15,500ft.

And yes, scenery is spectacular!

Coming back we had low-cloud conditions East of the Continental Divide; still beautiful!

Performance was amazing and as advertised with the 310hp on tap. Was easy to climb out at 600ft/min from Rifle on the Squat4 departure. Opted for 15,500 VFR on top but could have easily gone to 17,000 ft.

Anyway, can highly recommend this trip! Thanks (!!!) for the input. I stuck to <30kts wind at altitude recommendation, and in fact, winds were very benign both times (<25kts at K0CO) -- no turbulence whatsoever.

 

[carusoam]

Nice Pirep, TH!

Thanks for sharing the follow-up.

Best regards,

-a-

[Yetti]

If you want to make Independence Pass more entertaining ride your bike up it.   I believe I have ridden up it twice.  It makes the lookout points more enjoyable when you earn your downhill.

[THill182]

8 hours ago, Yetti said:

If you want to make Independence Pass more entertaining ride your bike up it.   I believe I have ridden up it twice.  It makes the lookout points more enjoyable when you earn your downhill.

You, my friend, are in much better shape than I am.... As a flat-lander I had a hard time breathing while hiking up to Crater Lake or Smuggler Mountain ....

[Yetti]

Happiness in Colorado is clicking the shifter and having one more gear left.   I have cheated and put a mtn bike cassette on the road bike.  Most passes in Colorado are sit and spin.  They are mostly 7 miles long and you are doing 7 miles per hour.  Most memorable pass was Silverton over Red Mountain pass to Ouray.  Fun stuff.

[Danb]

Hold on, learned why they recommend mountain flying, autopilot could not hold altitude up down 1200fpm. After a couple minutes decided to hand fly last 40 minutes next time early morning, ill plan on landing in Vegas before 10am

[THill182]

2 hours ago, Danb said:

Hold on, learned why they recommend mountain flying, autopilot could not hold altitude up down 1200fpm. After a couple minutes decided to hand fly last 40 minutes next time early morning, ill plan on landing in Vegas before 10am

As others have noted: Winds over 25kts start making it unpleasant. I have flown over Albuquerque quite a bit going West. When the wind is straight out of the West at 30kts or greater you get some nasty downdrafts on the east side. I also have been in mountain wave activity I think somewhere around Winslow or Flagstaff going to Las Vegas, where I couldn't hold 12k ft! Another memorable flight was going from Albuquerque to San Diego on a hot day in the afternoon: Horrible thermals and 3 hours of continuous moderate turbulence! I slept real well that night -- absolutely exhausted.

That is why I asked specifically about recommendations regarding limits on winds aloft going through Denver over the high(er) mountains. I have done the Albuquerque route at 40kts, but the winds were almost straight from the North (and I took V264 where you are farther away from the peaks); that wasn't pleasant but OK.

Finally: I have come to respect VFR charts: For example, flying into San Diego MYF East of the field there is a note that unusual turbulence has been observed -- they aren't kidding! One of my scariest experiences flying coming over that VOR/mountain:

Anyway, flying really early in the morning and when there is no major frontal activity around is the only way to go in mountainous terrain unless you can climb to real flight levels.....

[Danb]

THill, good info, I left Memphis area getting away from Tropical Storm, fling along fat dum and happy, then all hell broke loose. I slowed down to 115  -120knots and hand flew the rest of way to AEG, actual saw up and down drafts I assume 1200+ , rattled wifey, she ok now sitting in a beautiful Casino in Albuquerque.

[carusoam]

Wow Dan!

https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N423PS

The graph indicates some funny activity... some rocking speed and altitude changes at the end of the graph...

Looks like saw tooth patterns.

And... Some crummy weather at the beginning of the flight (tropical storm sliding by behind you....)

Thanks for sharing the challenges of super long X-countries in different areas of the country! 

Go MS!

Best regards,

-a-

[Danb]

27 minutes ago, carusoam said:

Wow Dan!

https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N423PS

The graph indicates some funny activity... some rocking speed and altitude changes at the end of the graph...

Looks like saw tooth patterns.

And... Some crummy weather at the beginning of the flight (tropical storm sliding by behind you....)

Thanks for sharing the challenges of super long X-countries in different areas of the country! 

Go MS!

Best regards,

-a-

How bout it, a wild ride to say the least

[THill182]

10 hours ago, Danb said:

THill, good info, I left Memphis area getting away from Tropical Storm, fling along fat dum and happy, then all hell broke loose. I slowed down to 115  -120knots and hand flew the rest of way to AEG, actual saw up and down drafts I assume 1200+ , rattled wifey, she ok now sitting in a beautiful Casino in Albuquerque.

DAN: It looks from the track that you hit the turbulence approaching the mountains. I fly the route over ABQ a few times a year on my way out West. Usually I fly V12, if there is more wind from a North-Westerly direction I take V234, or V263 (further South), flying at 12k ft (or higher) to stay as high as possible above the ground.

Do you recall what the winds aloft were around the area when you flew? I really am trying to learn as much as possible about what to expect in certain weather conditions. I looked at Windy.com this morning (one of my favorite sites) and turbulence prediction on the Aviation Weather Center (https://aviationweather.gov/turbulence/gtg ). Right now it seems there isn't too much wind or turbulence in the forecast. BUT late in the afternoon today (2200Z) that will change:

Or was it thermal turbulence since you crossed the mountains relatively close to the ground in the afternoon?

I absolutely hate turbulence and try to avoid or at least anticipate it whenever possible.... I have been through severe turbulence once going East over this area (total loss of any aircraft control, just along for the ride) -- so serious turbulence in the forecast is a no-go for me....

[Danb]

TH , the winds at 12000 was about 25-30  from southwest, it was sunny so a lot of heat on the ground, the worse was about 60 miles east of ABQ, approach was good then bottom dropped out at 10 ft had a harder landing than I like...mains then front nose, no bounce just rather hard, sucked.  It appears morning is definitely better. Winds tomorrow in Vegas is to be 190 @ 20-25, 2 hours from ABQ off at 8 gain hour with time zone change so should land around 9:00 or so. 

[THill182]

1 hour ago, Danb said:

TH , the winds at 12000 was about 25-30  from southwest, it was sunny so a lot of heat on the ground, the worse was about 60 miles east of ABQ, approach was good then bottom dropped out at 10 ft had a harder landing than I like...mains then front nose, no bounce just rather hard, sucked.  It appears morning is definitely better. Winds tomorrow in Vegas is to be 190 @ 20-25, 2 hours from ABQ off at 8 gain hour with time zone change so should land around 9:00 or so. 

Thanks DAN; the winds don't sound bad at all, but it was hot in the last few days. I never landed at Double Eagle, but I've had situations where right over the runway the bottom fell out -- actually, at Sedona (KSEZ; been there a number of times) there is a note on the A/FD supplement that reads "Turbulence may be experienced invof arpt.When ldg Rwy 21, during strong southwest wind conditions, strong down drafts are very probable northeast of apch end of Rwy 21." Again, they aren't kidding (been there done that too....). Another practice I have adopted is to always choose airports with long runways when flying in the mountains or high desert, and then touch down 1/3rd down the runway at slightly higher speed, just in case.

Thanks for this info, and safe travels!!

 

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