Hello,I recently flew for 2 hours in the Swiss Alps, over several mountain passes. It was an awesome experience. I made a 15 minute video to remember the adventure. Click the link to watch the video: http://www.cowygr8.com/2009/07/10/mountain...in-switzerland/Enjoy,Chris

I recently flew for 2 hours in the Swiss Alps, over several mountain passes. It was an awesome experience.

Have you had any mountain flying instruction?

Yes I have, in Colorado in fact. I did the Colorado Flying Club's weekend course, which culmunated in a 5 hour flight over some passes and landings in Glenwood Springs, Aspen, Leadville, etc. I also lived in the area for 3 years and flew a bit more in the mountains, but nothing major.This flight was technically an instructional flight (since I received dual instruction). We could easily have flown much higher than we did because the Cessna 172 I fly here is a Turbo Diesel (Jet A fuel) so there's no power loss up to 17,000 feet. The instructor wanted me to fly 1,000' above the passes to show them to me. C'est la vie ...BTW - the video is far more dramatic than what it was really like ... call it "artistic license". Thanks for watching.

Yes I have, in Colorado in fact. I did the Colorado Flying Club's weekend course, which culmunated in a 5 hour flight over some passes and landings in Glenwood Springs, Aspen, Leadville, etc. I also lived in the area for 3 years and flew a bit more in the mountains, but nothing major.This flight was technically an instructional flight (since I received dual instruction). We could easily have flown much higher than we did because the Cessna 172 I fly here is a Turbo Diesel (Jet A fuel) so there's no power loss up to 17,000 feet. The instructor wanted me to fly 1,000' above the passes to show them to me. C'est la vie ...BTW - the video is far more dramatic than what it was really like ... call it "artistic license". Thanks for watching.

I'm glad you were aware of the importance of mountain flying instruction. I asked the question because many Flatland pilots are not -- and they die in the mountains even in summer. People need to know what they're doing before they tackle real mountains. You do, and that's important.By the way, I used to live in Colorado Springs. A long-standing sailplane altitude record was set out of the nearby Black Forest airport, 42,000 feet as I recall. That's how strong the lee waves can be.As to the Alps, I know nothing but I assume that the issues are similar -- strong winds through the passes, with downdrafts that most GA aircraft would be unable to climb out of, assuming they survived the sometimes extreme turbulence.17,000 in a C172 ... quite an experience!

wow man screw flying you should go into film/ tv that was really really good :)

I'm glad you were aware of the importance of mountain flying instruction. I asked the question because many Flatland pilots are not -- and they die in the mountains even in summer. People need to know what they're doing before they tackle real mountains. You do, and that's important.17,000 in a C172 ... quite an experience!

Well, some mountain flying veterans die too, like Sparky for example. I believe he was too low in a canyon that left him no options. He didn't really follow his own rules in the end I guess (BUT I COULD BE WRONG). Is the accident still under investigation?I have yet to go above 13,000 in a Cessna 172. I wasn't on oxygen at the time ... and so we were only that high for 10 minutes or so. The TDI Cessna I fly now doesn't allow forward slips so getting down in time from 17,000 feet might be a problem :)

wow man screw flying you should go into film/ tv that was really really good :)

Ha ha ha ... thanks. Both are just passions. I do something completely different for work (because work is a 4-letter word). I make enough money to be able to enjoy my passions ... #1) Aviation ... and #2) Making videos.Thanks for your comment.

Well, some mountain flying veterans die too, like Sparky for example. I believe he was too low in a canyon that left him no options. He didn't really follow his own rules in the end I guess (BUT I COULD BE WRONG). Is the accident still under investigation?I have yet to go above 13,000 in a Cessna 172. I wasn't on oxygen at the time ... and so we were only that high for 10 minutes or so. The TDI Cessna I fly now doesn't allow forward slips so getting down in time from 17,000 feet might be a problem :)Ha ha ha ... thanks. Both are just passions. I do something completely different for work (because work is a 4-letter word). I make enough money to be able to enjoy my passions ... #1) Aviation ... and #2) Making videos.Thanks for your comment.

I never heard of Sparky so I can't answer your question. I got my PPL forty years ago but quit at 110 hours. After getting my license I continued working with my instructor, who had been a bush pilot in Canada and had come south to build hours for the airlines.Anyway, he taught me how to hammerhead-stall your way out of a box canyon. I'm not saying that I would have survived whatever did your Sparky in, just that I would have had a fighting chance.By the way, I agree with the evanxmcr -- well-produced video.

If you customize FS weather- go to Advanced/Wind and set "Gusts- Up to 50 Kts", "Moderate turbulence" & "Shear Strength= Sharp" - you will get some mountain type effects that challenge your (sim) flying skills! Perhaps even a touch of vertigo!Alex Reid

If you customize FS weather- go to Advanced/Wind and set "Gusts- Up to 50 Kts", "Moderate turbulence" & "Shear Strength= Sharp" - you will get some mountain type effects that challenge your (sim) flying skills! Perhaps even a touch of vertigo!Alex Reid

I don't know about other people but I find severe turbulence in the sim to be almost as distressing as in real life. (And I hate roller coasters, too.)

If you customize FS weather- go to Advanced/Wind and set "Gusts- Up to 50 Kts", "Moderate turbulence" & "Shear Strength= Sharp" - you will get some mountain type effects that challenge your (sim) flying skills! Perhaps even a touch of vertigo!Alex Reid

The first challenge in mountain flying is deciding to go or not go ... and with "gusts up to 50 kts" I would decide not to go. Now, I know you were referring to FS, so it's "different", but I find that if I do things in the sim that I wouldn't do in real life, then the bad habits slowly creep into my real world flights ... and that's a bad thing! BUT ... in order to experience things that I normally wouldn't, then the sim does help a lot. I typically sim fly all my cross country trips so that I can practice using the VORs correctly (accorinding to my prepared nav log) and get a visual picture of the part of the country that I'll be flying over. For mountain flying I find that using Google Earth is MUCH better because I can really picture the mountain passes, streets, etc. Too bad FS doesn't interface with Google Earth to be able to use the Google Earth images and countours because then mountain flying in the sim would be much more real.Thanks for your comments.

Loved the video. Hope you do and share some more.Thanks for posting.