The new Fork Tailed Doctor Killer

On 2008-03-20, Dan wrote:
Fly east and you're over the Alleghenies which -- while not the
Rockies --

Small mountains need to be treated with as much respect as big ones.
They are just as hard when you hit them. Our mountains here are very
small. Snaefell, at just over 2000 feet, is the largest one.

However, our small mountains have been claiming aircraft for decades
now. There's a memorial on North Barrule where a US B17 smacked into it.
The peak of North Barrule is only 1700' (it's a ridge). Many light
aircraft had been claimed by these hills - there's an entire book
devoted to Manx air crashes, and many of these were CFIT.

The most recent Manx hill victim was just last April.

Strong wind, rotor, curlover... small underpowered aircraft got caught
by the "clutching hand", and the 6000 hour pilot stalled and spun trying
to get out of it. Both of them survived, but the pilot, in the front
seat, was very seriously injured. The hills generating the rotor were
only 300 feet high, but just off the end of the runway, and there was 20
kts of wind.

The bigger hills, like Snaefell and North Barrule can generate severe
turbulence in all light aircraft altitudes, as well as some fairly
strong mountain wave. I've soared a powered aircraft in the wave lift
off these hills!

--
From the sunny Isle of Man.
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