Mountain Flying

For my first post I thought I might share my last flight from Dawson Creek to Chilliwack. This flight consists of flying over two mountain ranges. Two options exist: Flying the Pine Pass or directly over the top. Clearly the optimum choice would be to fly direct, however, weather does not always permit this.

During my weather briefing, I was told that there were no weather systems in place and ceilings topped at 14,000 ft. I fly a small Beechcraft Musketeer sport 4 passenger airplane and do not carry oxygen. Max flying height without oxygen is 13,000 ft. for a max. of 30 min. I don't particularly like flying below cloud as I get a "closed in" feeling. Also mechanical turbulance can be considerably worse, and it's a waste of time as you have to fly where the valleys go.

There are no continual valleys through the rockies when flying direct. Choosing the Pine Pass would consist of flying 30min. to the west to Chetwynd, then up the valley to Prince George; Quesnell; Williams Lake; 100 Mile House; Cache Creek; Lytten; Hope; and Chilliwack. Shortly after take off from Dawson Creek I made observations that I could see the Rocky Mountain tops. If I could see the mountain tops then there was a very good chance that I could make it over the top.

There would be the possiblity that I would be, at times, out of sight of the ground. VFR ( visual flight rules) state that you must be in sight of at least 3/8 th of the ground at all time and clear of cloud by 500'. Rules also leave some discretion to the experience and comfort level of the pilot. I have chosen to go over in the past and feel that I did make the decision to do so as the safest possible choice of flight. However, this time it was the wrong choice and I got into trouble because of it.

When I arrived at the Rockies edge, I came across a band of white clouds that seemed to thin slightly to the east. My weather briefing did mention a thining in the cloud inland and again I thought that I could remain under 11,000' and "skip" over the clouds.

Thinking the cloud "band" would not be very deep I chose to climb over it rather than turn around and fly west to Chetwind. As I climbed over the first band I came across another. This is where I should have realized that there was trouble ahead and made the choice to go around and under. However the last time I flew in a similar situation the cloud ceiling dropped with the mountainous terain. So I continued on climbing over, going around, going under the puffy white clouds until I found myself at 13,500' above sea level pulling up to clear the next cloud bank at 70mph, with the stall buzzer buzzing, and cloud beginning to roll over my airplane. Dropping the nose of the airplane to avoid a stall, I circled back to where I entered and flew around the cloud bank.

Observing my predicument I was just above a "bowl" of cloud. Flying so closely to cloud had frost forming on my wings. During my pilot training if was often driven home that if we found ourselves in an undesirable situation one should swallow their pride and request help before it was too late.

I could see that it would even be difficult for me to go back from whenst I came. So I called control and asked if there were any holes close by that I could drop through. I was asked if I desired radar assistance and given a Vancouver frequency to go to. Vancouver found me immediatly on radar and suggested heading towards Prince George.

After approximatly 15 min. of flying around cloud maintaining direction given as close as possible I came upon a large opening in the cloud cover. Notifying control I decended down heading for Prince George airport. Control then notified me that I was above a river and it would lead me right to town. I had my portable gps and knew where I was.

As I neared town I dropped below radar service. Control contacted me requesting my intentions. I informed them that I would be continuing up the pine pass. They informed me that Quesnell was reporting rain and minimal visibility and Williams Lake was clear and that service was terminated.

I continued following the highway until nearing Quesnell. Sure enough it began to rain and visibility diminished rapidly. Concentrating on where I was going, I paid little attention to my gps and suddenly realized I was 50' over the apron of Quesnell airport and I wasn't monitoring their frequency. I comforted myself in the fact that no one else would be stupid enough to be out there flying vfr and I don't believe any ifr ( Instrument flight rules) flew into Quesnell. At least that's what I told myself. Lesson learned. Always pay attention to details of the area you are flying. It's not just your life you put at risk.

The airport was on rivers edge and the highway was at a higher elevation to the left. The clouds appeared to descend right over the highway but the river was clear so I chose to fly the river. There were times when I believe I may have stirred the water a bit. As soon as I got through the town of Quesnell, it stopped raining as quickly as it started. Clouds lifted slightly and I flew as high as I could while staying clear of cloud.

It was at this time I noticed that my electrical was giving out. I no longer had enough power to run my radios and my gyro ( direction guidance instrument) no longer had full spin. I decided to land at Williams Lake and have the problem checked out.

Approximately 10 min. from Williams Lake I noted that I was still flying just below cloud at 2000' above sea level and Williams Lake airport was at 3000'. By now I had been in the air for over 3 hrs. and could use a pee break. I continued on and soon the clouds began to thin until I broke through to see clear sky.

I climbed up to 4000' and came over a ridge perfectly lined up for landing at Williams Lake. Grabing my cell phone I called the emergency number for Williams Lake Airport and received clearance to land.

There appeared to be no service facilities open however I found someone with a battery charger willing to help. So I pulled my battery and put it on the charger for an hour. At 86% charged I replaced my battery and took off for Chilliwack.

Once I was out of the circuit I turned off all electrical and flew the river through the canyon to Chilliwack aproximately a two hour flight.

I believe that the real learning about flying starts after you get your pilots license and I still have lots to learn. However one's foundation for all your decisions come from your training instructors. I was very fortunte to have GREAT instructors at Principal Air http://www.principalair.com/ who worked hard to provide me with the tools one needs to fly outside of ones comfort zones. Thanks Alex & Jennett!