Southwest trip advice

klm wrote:
Is it the opinion of you folks with more
experience than I that I should make the time to get checked out even
considering the route I proposed?


Not mine. It's my opinion that the type of training you got during
your PPL should suffice. I would highly recommend that you review all
you can about high D.A. operations (performance charts and leaning) and
the behavior of winds in the mountains (i.e. rotors, lenticulars,
waves). There is nothing intrinsically hazardous about your proposed
route. If you maintain a keen awareness of the effects of the
environment on your plane's performance, you shouldn't have any
problems operating out of the airports you mentioned.

Here in the Southwest, student pilots fly in these conditions during
training. While I'd venture to guess that things like D.A.
considerations are probably stressed more here than they are in the
flatlands, there's nothing special that we learn that other pilots do
not.

John Galban=====N4BQ (PA28-180)

And learn to lean. When you've never had to deal with leaning, it
can easily come as a surprise. Most of my training was/is in Colorado.
When I went to Phoenix for a few weeks on business, I took some lessons.
I immediately reached for the mixture to lean and was told "we don't
need to do that here". Hm.

One of these days I'll get to fly at sea level and find out just how
good my 180 hp aircraft flies...