Mountain passes at low level.

[LatitudeDancer]

[yt]uNFNFZq2BFY[/yt]

Listen to the pilot's comments on how he flies over a pass. It's about from 2:00 to 2:30 in the video. I haven't flown in the mountains extensively for a while. I do know with my lack of experience I would never fly this close to a peak. But is what he is saying kosher?

 

[kiloalpha]

Always want to approach a mountain at a 45 degree angle. Never straight on. This way you only need to turn 90 degrees to get away rather than 180.

 

[jrh]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNFNFZq2BFY

Listen to the pilot's comments on how he flies over a pass. It's about from 2:00 to 2:30 in the video. I haven't flown in the mountains extensively for a while. I do know with my lack of experience I would never fly this close to a peak. But is what he is saying kosher?

He says to cross ridge lines at an angle, instead of flying straight across, perpendicular to the ridge.

This is pretty standard. The purpose is to position the aircraft so that if the pilot needs to turn away from the ridge before crossing, he only needs to turn, say, 45 degrees, rather than 90 degrees. Shortening the turn distance/time to aim for lower terrain is important for if the plane were to be hit by a downdraft on the downwind side of a ridge, or as the pilot in the video pointed out, in case of an engine failure.

As for flying that close to a peak, there's nothing wrong with it as long as the winds are light. In the video it looks like they are--clear skies with no turbulence. The danger from flying close to terrain usually comes from doing it on days with strong winds that create strong updrafts/downdrafts close to terrain.

Were there any other concerns you had?

 

[bdhill1979]

That isn't very close

 

[Joe28]

... and this is how overconfident doctors crash their planes.

 

[Douglas]

... and this is how overconfident doctors crash their planes.

...or even the most experienced pilots at this airport.