Fly Idaho!

[keithmo]

Two weeks ago I attended the River of No Return Mountain Flying Clinic (how's that for a name?) in Challis, ID. The class consisted of three mornings of intensive backcountry flying and three afternoons of groundschool. I have attended other mountain flying classes in the past, but this was definitely the most "hardcore". I'm still in awe of some of the places we managed to take my 260SE.

See http://www.keithmo.com/Html/Aviation/Challis2002/ for some photos & airstrip descriptions.

We tried an interesting experiment on Saturday afternoon. The local FAA representatives setup a theodolite (sp?), a simple device used to measure the takeoff distance required to clear a 50 foot obstacle. My first attempt was ~1500', my second was ~1400', and my third was ~1300'. I'm sure I could have shaved at least another 100', even more if it hadn't been for the gusty crosswind. BTW: The density altitude that afternoon was more than 8000'.

You just gotta love the 260SE :D!

[bparkman]

Keith,

I noticed that a couple of the guys could not fly due to lack of minimum time. What is the minimum to take the course?

[keithmo]

IIRC, the minima were 200 hours total time and 50 hours in the type of plane used for instruction. I *think* they had more than 200 hours total, so they must have had less than 50 hours in the Husky.