Mountain Flying Course

Price varies with flight time. Call to book. Flying in Colorado provides one of aviation’s most joyful opportunities: mountain flying. This opportunity is not without risk, but understanding the conditions that will be encountered in mountainous regions, learning about the operational features of mountain airports and better grasping the performance characteristics of your aircraft can mitigate these risks.

Our mountain flying course gives pilots an on-the-ground and in-the-air hands-on introduction to flying safely at high altitude over mountainous terrain, landing at high altitude and dealing with common mountain-related emergencies. Pilots who are inexperienced or unfamiliar with flight into high-elevation airports should seriously consider this course.

Please note: a Private Pilot Certificate is a prerequisite to this course. Advertised cost of $1,299 is approximate—price varies with flight time.

To buy the Mountain Flying Course as a gift, buy a gift card.

SKU: mtnflight Category:

Description

What to Expect

Ground Instruction: up to 3 hours

Our Mountain Flying Course includes a one-on-one, two to three hour ground session during which pilots will learn the fundamental requirements of Rocky Mountain Flying.

We also highly recommend reading Mountain Flying by Sparky Imeson, which can be purchased through Quest Pilot Supplies.

 

The Flight: up to 5 hours

Each student will schedule a four to five hour flight. The standard route we like to use covers a variety of different mountainous terrain and usually provides a variety of conditions and opportunities for learning. As graduates of the course well know, flying in the mountains often requires a change of plans, so each individual lesson’s path may differ significantly.

Usually, the flight leaves Meadow Lake for Salida, then turns north from Salida toward Aspen via Hagerman Pass. From Aspen the flight may venture out to Glenwood Springs. From Glenwood Springs, if the valley isn’t filled with fog and time permits, a stop at Eagle will precede a break at Leadville. After receiving a certificate for landing at the highest airport in the U.S, a jump over two more passes will bring the course to a close in Colorado Springs.

The planes we typically use for this course are our C172 R, P and XP models, N9895F, 62740 and N1025V. The extra power in these planes are better suited for learning to fly in the mountains.  Additional costs for using our C182s.
If you are interested in completing this course in your own aircraft, please reach out to us! We would be glad to work with you.