Mountain Flying

Having grown up as a flatlander and having done most of my flying around the east coast, mountain flying is mostly a new experience for me. The scenery is breathtaking, as is the oxygen level above 11,000 feet, which is why I'm wearing the cannula. It's connected to an oxygen tank sitting on the floor of the airplane. Hypoxia is a very real concern when flying at high altitudes. Before leaving on my trip I completed the Mountain Flying course offered online by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA). It's very good information covering the unique risks associated with mountain flying. High altitudes affect not only humans - they affect airplane performance as well. And mountains generate wind conditions which, if you're not expecting them, can turn fun to fright in an instant. In my hundreds of miles of flights over the mountains of New Mexico, Arizona and California I have experienced some of the most severe turbulence I have ever encountered. For the most part, it was all fairly predictable based on what I learned in the mountain flying course.