Actually, glacier flying usually means mountain flying, too. It's very
important to be aware of the wind direction and velocity and have an
understanding what affect that wind will have where you will be flying. Flying
on the lee side of a mountain ridge usually means downdrafts and the windward
side usually means updrafts, and depending on your direction it could also
mean downdrafts in the whole area of intended landing. This happened to me
once on the McCall Glacier in the Brooks Range. As I descended into the gorge,
I became aware of strong downdrafts and I could not hold altitude even with
full power. Fortunately, I had made many landings there and knew where I
wanted to land, so it was like a forced landing with power.
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About
8000MSL at the Brooks Range, 1957 |
Keep track of where the real horizon is, because there IS no horizon -- only
mountain ridges, so fly up the glacier and find a place to turn around. You
might think you are flying level before turning around since there is a
tendency to relate your level flight with the slope of the glacier. As you
start to turn, you notice that your airspeed has fallen off and even with full
throttle, you might not be unable to maintain enough altitude above the
glacier to complete the turn. In order to fully evaluate the landing altitude
and surface conditions, it is important to be able to take a close look at the
landing area, especially if you have not landed there before.
Look for crevasses, the condition of the surface, and if there is any side
slope. Until you get a good look at the surface from a shallow angle, side
slope is hard to detect. Although making the turn around up the glacier for a
downhill pass can be hazardous, it is better than flying up the glacier
because it is usually impossible to out-climb the glacier. My first landing at
the head of the McCall Glacier was a hairy landing. I thought that I had
picked a good spot and approach direction. Just before touchdown, I realized
that the landing area sloped down to the right. I added full power and turned
into the slope, landing somewhat sideways. Another lesson learned -- check the
side slope on the down-glacier run.
Once you have determined the touchdown altitude, it is a good idea to start
your final approach at two or three hundred feet higher. You will think that
you are going to overshoot but don't be fooled. When you put full flaps down,
the airspeed will fall off rapidly. Since you are generally landing on a steep
slope you'll stop quickly, but you do not want to stop before you do a 180 to
point downhill for your takeoff. The trick is to go to full power and start
your turn at just the right speed so that the centrifugal force of the
airplane will keep it level in the snow without sliding sideways and getting
stuck. If you stop rolling it's very hard to get moving again to make the
turn. If you make it about half way around and stop, the airplane very likely
will slide sideways causing the skis to knife edge into the snow and then it
is stuck but good, and in a Cessna 180 or 185, all the gas drains out of the
high wing tank through the vent.
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A Commando sits on three feet of ice at Lake Chandalar
Caution: Slippery When Wet! |
Don't put the flaps down on take off in a crosswind. I was on a skiing trip to
Aspen in 1958 and on the way there I read an article about a fellow that was
landing on mountain tops in the area. A picture of his airplane was on the
cover along with the well-known skiers he was dropping off for virgin skiing.
I decided to look him up when I got there. He was very nice, we had dinner
together and he invited me to go with him the next day for some landings on
the mountains. I accepted and I would soon regret that decision. When were
taking off at Aspen, he slammed the throttle in and put both hands on the
wheel. I thought this might not be a good idea. When we landed at 12,000 ft.,
he didn't make it around for the 180 turn downhill and the ship became buried
in the snow. We shoveled for two hours with our skis and finally got it
pointing downhill on top of four feet of new snow. The plan then was that he
would takeoff alone while I took movies and come back and pick me up. As he
was getting ready to takeoff, he put his flaps down too soon, which reduces
the air over the rudder until some airspeed is achieved. He could not keep it
straight and buried it again. We lost most of the gas out the vent the first
time and this time we lost the rest of the fuel out the other vent. Even if we
could get it unstuck we did not have enough fuel to get back. He was lacking
in mountain experience but he was an excellent deep snow skier and I was not.
After six hours of skiing to a road I was completely exhausted and my muscles
were sore for weeks.
Another very important rule would be to try to have direct sunlight for
landing so you are not landing in a white-out, especially in an area where you
have not landed before. If you are familiar with the landing area you can get
by with it if you have previously put some dark objects along the landing area
-- sorta like throwing a rock out in a seaplane over glassy water so you have
some depth perception -- but they say that if the engine quits in a Seabee,
the airplane will beat the rock to the water. The best skis to use would be
straight skis but the problem is you are generally departing from an airport
with no snow. Therefore, wheel skis are the next best thing. The best and most
expensive skis would be hydraulic wheel skis that lift the wheel completely
out of the snow. The fiberglass skis that have the wheel fixed in a big hole
in the ski work well if there's enough slope to allow acceleration on takeoff.
These skis are very popular because they are lighter and will handle most
requirements -- and they're also less expensive -- but there's more drag on
these skis from the main wheel and the little wheel on the end of the ski to
keep the ski from scraping on the dry runway.
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