"Robert M. Gary" wrote in message
om...
I do this in my Mooney when crossing the Sierra Nevada. I can often
get 2,000 fpm above 10,000 MSL. I'm not too scientific about it. I
just fly until the plane starts to really climb, then I circle around
that area. Remember, all up drafts have a sibling downdraft somewhere.
Get some extra altitude because there is usually some place where you
can't hold altitude. In the Mooney I can fly through these areas
pretty fast. I also carry O2 when Summer flying the Sierras. Expect
some bumps.

-Robert

I know a pilot who would fly his C-152II (solo and light) over to Reno on a
fairly regular basis. He often talked of using some of the summer thermals
that would bubble up under the 'cloud streets' that would form on his way
through Sacramento. He eventually gave up the pursuit because in the
summers he would spend great amounts of time in a slow shallow circular
climb (not in a thermal) trying to gain enough altitude to fly back over the
Sierras along I-80. I remember raising more than an eyebrow when he first
mentioned this, but he pointed out that he always traveled light (just him
and a light bag) and that in terms of power to size when compared to a C-172
that he (in his C152II) had 'more' horsepower relative to the size of the
aircraft he flew.

His story made the hairs on my neck, stand on end (I've only been over to
Truckee airport in a C172 with one other passenger (a CFI that I was doing a
high altitude checkout with) and the 'climb performance' was certainly
different than what I had been used to in the comparative 'flatlands' that I
normally flew).

I do want to make it a point to take one of those high-altitude courses in
Colorado for a mini-vacation some time. I'd really like to know more than I
do (though I've read Sparky's book, Mountain Flying and a host of others on
the same subject),,, I guess I want more practical experience (with an
instructor, nearby) at the altitudes of some of those airports in Colorado.

--
--
=-----
Good Flights!

Cecil
PP-ASEL
Student-IASEL

Check out my personal flying adventures from my first flight to the
checkride AND the continuing adventures beyond!
Complete with pictures and text at: www.bayareapilot.com

"I fly because it releases my mind from the tyranny of petty things."
- Antoine de Saint-Exupery -

"We who fly, do so for the love of flying. We are alive in the air with
this miracle that lies in our hands and beneath our feet"
- Cecil Day Lewis -