help with Mountainous Terrain

bwade210

bwade210

New Member
Trying to get a real idea of what the definition of mountainous terrain. I am not having any luck with the FARAIM. I am studying the definition as An area of changing terrain, where the changes of elevation exceed 3000' feet within a distance of 10nm.

Any help clearing this up for me would be much appreciated!
 
Off the top of my head there is a map I think in the AIM somewhere. I know there is one in my jepp binder somewhere. My own definition is pretty much anything west of Denver until the coast of Cali. Im sure some of the right coasters will say the mole hills called Appalachin mtns are also.
 
I remember that map too. As far as Jeep was concerned I believe basically it was everything west of Denver in the U.S. from a N-S line and a highlighted portion in the Appalachian Mountains somewhere. Can't remember for sure though.

However, there are plenty of non-mountainous routes to get from Denver for instance to the Pacific. I guess it depends on experience level and comfort with defining what is mountain flying and what isn't.

The 3,000' in 10mi is pretty standard BTW for a basic definition.
 
JayAre said:
Off the top of my head there is a map I think in the AIM somewhere. I know there is one in my jepp binder somewhere. My own definition is pretty much anything west of Denver until the coast of Cali. Im sure some of the right coasters will say the mole hills called Appalachin mtns are also.
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I found both maps, but neither states what montainous terrain is defined as. I did however find a page in my jepp binder that shows the brown shade on enroute starts at 2,000 AGL.
 
bwade210 said:
Trying to get a real idea of what the definition of mountainous terrain. I am not having any luck with the FARAIM. I am studying the definition as An area of changing terrain, where the changes of elevation exceed 3000' feet within a distance of 10nm.

Any help clearing this up for me would be much appreciated!
Click to expand...
What are you having trouble with?

Suppose the ground elevation is 3000' msl? Does altitude alone make it mountainous? If you think it does, look at a map of the western half of Kansas and show me the mountains :).

In defining mountainous terrain as it does, the FAA is simply trying to quantify what a mountain is - a large change in elevation from it's immediate surroundings (usually valleys). It's significant from two respects - navigation and weather. Navigation because you might be flying at an appropriate altitude for the valley and hit the mountain. Weather because, mountainous terrain causes air to flow like water down a rocky stream.
 
I have no idea what the exact definition is, but I'd say you could start with a search of the TERPS. Since we're only concerned with mountainous terrain as it applies to flying airplanes, it might be there.......I personally just use the diagram in the AIM that uses shaded areas.....It's dumb enough for me and I'm dumb enough for it...good relationship....
 
MidlifeFlyer said:
Suppose the ground elevation is 3000' msl? Does altitude alone make it mountainous? If you think it does, look at a map of the western half of Kansas and show me the mountains :).
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He was referring to a change of 3,000' vertical feet within a horizontal distance of 10 miles. Know what I'm sayin' Vern?

I know, us Colorado folk think everywhere else is just flat :)
 
If you want the exact areas of mountainous terrain, check out Part 95. For the exact definition of mountainous terrain, I think you probably have to find "Doc. No. 1580, 28 FR 6718, June 29, 1963". Good luck with that :)
 
I have never heard a "definition" of mountainous terrain. The only time it is an issue is for minimum altitudes. If you are concerned about that, the maps discussed above should answer those questions. Other than that, who cares????
 
dc3flyer said:
I have never heard a "definition" of mountainous terrain. The only time it is an issue is for minimum altitudes. If you are concerned about that, the maps discussed above should answer those questions. Other than that, who cares????
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Y'know, when I read the original post, I thought bwade had picked up the definition somewhere and was having trouble understanding it. That's what I answered.

But I did a search through the FAA stuff I have and can't locate a definition of the term.

bwade, where did yo find that definition?
 
XcalibeR said:
If you want the exact areas of mountainous terrain, check out Part 95. For the exact definition of mountainous terrain, I think you probably have to find "Doc. No. 1580, 28 FR 6718, June 29, 1963". Good luck with that :)
Click to expand...
Your local federal repository library (usually the local state university) can set you up with archived copies of the federal register (the cited reference).
 
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