AviationBanter - View Single Post

**Frank Stutzman[_2_]** · February 2nd 08, 03:39 AM posted to rec.aviation.student,rec.aviation.piloting

In rec.aviation.piloting wrote:

Anyone flying at night low enough to worry about power lines in
route is an idiot.

Agreed. However, it doesn't take much of a lapse in judgement.

Case in point. I used to live in the Columbia River Gorge, about
an hour east of Portland, OR. In this part of the Gorge, the
river is about a mile wide and is at an elevation of about 300 msl.
There is steep terrain on both sides of the river that rapidly goes
to 3000 and (in a few places 5000). The south side has a 4 lane
freeway and the north side has a fairly busy 2 lane highway.

It is not uncommon for the weather to be realtively ok at both
ends of the gorge but have ceilings of below 1200 or so feet in the
middle. There are at least two places where there are cables
crossing the river that are about 500 feet or about 800 msl.

The temptation is to go down the gorge and continually be trying to
sneak under the clouds. Hey, the weather man says its clear in The
Dalles (eastern end of the gorge). We got good landmarks visible off
both wing tips. These low clouds can't last more than a few miles,
right?

I've gotten a cheap motel twice in Portland rather than attempting
to go down the gorge in the dark. However, I certainly can see how
someone could sucker themselfs into a really bad situation.I've done
a lot of dumb things in a plane that I said would never allow happen
to me. Fortunately, this situation is not one of them.

Tunnels I'd have to think about; I can't think of any that aren't on
a twisty mountain road in terrain I would never fly in at night
anyway.

Well, to be honest, me neither. I did a little googling, though.
The Big Walker Tunnel between Virgina and West Virgina is 4,200 feet
long and goes under a 3000 foot "mountain". I put mountain in quotes
because to this left coast boy, 3000 feet doesn't make much of a
mountain. But I have no experiance flying in that part of the country.

--
Frank Stutzman
Bonanza N494B "Hula Girl"
Boise, ID