Dan,

I have some memory of writing up my big trip out west but I haven't been 
able to find it for a long time, maybe years.  Probably, I wrote it as a 
message that I posted on the forum long ago.  Since I have posted so 
much on the forum, it'd be very difficult to sift through all of them to 
find that message.

I AM NOT AN EXPERT at mountain flying.  I only made one big trip in my 
Coupe from Iowa to Minden, NV, then to Pacific southwest of Portland, 
OR, then to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, then to Glacier National Park, MT, 
then back to Iowa.  Before going, I swallowed Sparky Imeson's mountain 
flying book and tried to follow all his good advice.

My own policy was to have an airport under me at all times in any 
mountainous or high desert terrain.  Mostly I used Interstate highways 
for that but some primary highways were pressed into service.

I followed I-80 westbound.  As I had the 7146 extreme climb prop (which 
just barely gives a C-85 Coupe tolerable climb) and was solo at about 
1320 pounds, I was virtually always able to get to 12,500'.  Flying 
under PP rules back then and that being before transponders were 
required above 10,000' I went over the mountains at 12,500 westbound.

Taking off from Rawlins, Wyoming, at 10:30 was a mistake as the thermals 
were up to full power.  Here's my rule for the high desert:  fly from 
just before dawn till about 10:30.  Then land, check into my motel and 
fly another five hours the next morning.  (Arranging to get from the 
motel to the airport at 5:00 a.m. is the hard thing.)  The thermals get 
going around 10:30 and it was so rough I had to limit my airspeed to 75 
so the thermals were just soft wallowing rollers that would not rip my 
wings off.

Leaving Rawlins at 10:30, just after I got off the ground, at about 
100-150', a downdraft hit and I couldn't climb at all.  There were no 
obstructions around so I looked for a clear path to a hot looking spot.  
East of the airport, back then (in about 1989) was clear space to hot 
ground a few miles east.  I knew the downdraft couldn't shove me through 
the ground so I kept my airspeed up, stayed level and headed for the 
expected thermal.  That thermal took me easily to about 8,500' and I 
shouldn't have left it because it then took me an hour or more to get 
the rest of the way to 10,500'.  Later, updrafts helped me get to 
12,500' and it was hard staying below that level as I was caught under a 
cloud street.

Just northeast of Salt Lake City, I-80 goes through a tolerable pass.  
But I, following Sparky Imeson's advice, crossed the range at 12,500' 
passing over the ridge line EARLY in the morning's smooth air, passing 
over the ridge line at a 45° angle.  The mountains there are, if I 
remember correctly, about 9,000'-9,500' or thereabouts.  I was well over 
the recommended 2,000' separation from the peaks.  In addition, I made 
sure the wind over the range was not high so there were no problematic 
mechanical up and down drafts.  It was smooth as glass for me.

On the trip home, going east from Washington, I followed I-90 from Coeur 
d'Alene into Montana.  Near Donlan, I followed highway 135 through the 
short mountain range into the Flathead valley then on to Kalispell.

After a few days driving Glacier National Park in a Rent-A-Wreck, I took 
on the next mountain range.  Highway 2 goes through Marias Pass at a 
wide place in the road called Summit.  This is the lowest pass in the 
northern Rockies at about 5280'.  Since I knew the road and valley 
climbed steadily from West Glacier to Summit, I started off at the 
altitude I wanted to have going through the pass - about 7,500'.  I 
chose the low altitude so I'd be sort of "in" the mountains to get that 
mountain flying experience. to enjoy the park and scenery.

The highest airport on this northern route is lower than 5,000' as I 
recall.  On the I-80 route, you'll have one or two airports at 
6,500-6,700'.  High altitude airports are long so, with my climb prop I 
never used more than 1/3rd of the runway, perhaps no more than 1/4 of 
the runway.

On the I-80 route, you are over the high desert.  The thermals DO go up 
and down at 1,000 fpm - 1,200 fpm.  As no Coupe has ever climbed at 
1,200 fpm, you may need to watch for updraft thermals and spiral up in 
one of them.

When you are 3,500' over the peaks, even mountain scenery isn't so 
impressive.

After exiting the mountains on the east side, I flew along the park 
border up to near the Canadian border, then followed a straight line 
back to home base which was then in Iowa City.

Find out about the prop on the plane you'll be flying and make sure 
it'll climb.  Know what your ceiling will be in that plane.  It may take 
an hour or hour and a half to get up there in a Coupe, but that 2,000' 
plus separation over the mountain peaks is golden.  Don't fly in the 
mountains if the winds are strong.

NEVER, NEVER, NEVER fly UP a valley.  Start high and fly DOWN the 
valley.  Airplanes cannot climb as fast as can valleys.  Note that when 
I was flying from low altitude Kalispell to Marias Pass, I was up and 
level at my safe, over-the-pass altitude before I entered the mountains 
at all!

If the Coupe you are flying has the ability to climb to high altitude, 
(i.e. a good climb prop), I think you might, possibly, be able to make 
the trip with good safety.  If the bird won't climb, borrow a prop and 
ship it home after getting to home on the Great Plains.

I AM NOT AN EXPERT.  Do good research!

All the best and keep us posted with a travelogue.

Ed




On 2010-08-13 8:45 PM, Dan Bass wrote:
> Ed,
>
> Thanks.  I'm honored to have my pictures on the forum main page(although the 
> picture of Dan Hall is so good it should almost always be up).  Having Russ 
> around has really spoiled some of the local pilots around here, specifically 
> me.  I literally have hundreds of air to air shots of my coupe.  
> Unfortunately, Russ has gotten the short end of the stick.  The only photos 
> of him air to air have been from me and are few.  I don't know how much time 
> you have in Challengers, but I have plenty of time in Russ's LW and another 
> CW (both pictured on his webpage) in town.  They are extremely fun airplanes. 
>  I just hope your coupe hasn't ruined you to Challengers!
>
> I was meaning to ask you about your trip out west with your coupe.  Didn't 
> you have something posted about it on your webpage at one time?  I can't seem 
> to find it.  Anyway, I might fairy a coupe to a new owner in Mo from WA.  The 
> catch is, I want to stop in Pocatello ID.  The trip to Pocatello looks easy, 
> but it is after that it seems to get tricky.  I can easily get down to Salt 
> Lake from Pocatello.  Did you fly a pass near Salt Lake?  I haven't had a lot 
> of time to look the route over yet, but the little looking I did I realized 
> how high those mountains really are! Any pointers on a good route would be 
> great!
>
> Thanks,
>
> Dan
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ed Burkhead [mailto:[email protected]]
> Sent: Friday, August 13, 2010 6:23 PM
> To: Russell Marsolek; Bass Dan; Dan Bass
> Subject: Coupe photos posted
>
>
>
> Russell and Dan,
>
> I've posted the photos of Dan's Coupe.  Thanks for permission.
>
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ercoupe-tech/
>
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ercoupe-flyin/
>
> I'll leave them up for a month or six then rotate in different photos.
>
> All the best,
>
> Ed Burkhead
>
>
>
>
>    

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