AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2021 - 20

WAYPOINTS
Terrain at every turn
Dodging the dirt piles
BY THOMAS B. HAINES
Editor in Chief
of course, it's always IMC. I wonder why they spend
so much in making the realistic views out the window
when it always seems to be cloudy during sim training.
But today was the real deal-real pavement below
me and real mountains ahead.
I held the brakes while advancing the thrust
ON A CLEAR DAY, it's obvious why the departure procedure from Eagle County
Airport in Colorado demands an immediate left turn after takeoff. The
simulator is the best place to practice this on a low-visibility day.
levers on the Cessna Citation M2. Even at the 6,500foot
elevation, the lightly loaded jet leaped forward
when I lifted my toes and away we went. Right
after rotation, I cranked in the left turn toward the
COPER Intersection as outlined in the departure
procedure. The BEVRR One departure procedure
was emphatic that the turn start immediately after
takeoff. Notes like this get your attention: " On
departure rapidly rising terrain and trees within
1.5 miles west of the airport and within 0.25 miles
south of the airport. " Yeah, today I see it in that big
moving map out the windshield.
We raced toward COPER and continued the
climb as we then started an arcing right turn to fly
up the valley to BELGN. Fortunately, the Garmin
G3000's flight director provided expert guidance
throughout the procedure and soon we were above
the mountains and on our way eastward.
Our arrival had been equally sporty, skimming
THE TERRAIN SHADING on the approach plate for the Eagle County LDA Runway
25 approach clearly shows why you need to be particularly alert to altitude
and course changes. The BEVRR One departure leads the aircraft around the
highest terrain for a safe northeast course.
Editor in Chief
TOM HAINES has
visited all 50 states
and flown GA
airplanes in 48
states.
20 | AOPA PILOT July 2021
AS I STARED AT THE WALL OF ROCK just off the end
of Runway 25 at Colorado's Eagle County Airport, I
wondered if maybe it would be less intimidating in
IMC than on this severe clear day. Is there any comfort
in not being able to see the hard stuff, even if
you know it's there?
I had been down this runway before-but always in
a simulator during a jet type rating or refresher course.
This airport is a favorite for sim instructors. In the box,
along above peaks nearly 12,000 feet tall from the
Kremmling VOR to AQUALA to intercept the localizer
for the LDA 25 approach. Near the VOAXA
waypoint, some 20 miles from the airport, we could
see the runway off to our right, but maintained our
southwesterly course to stay on the procedure,
rather than snaking our way through a canyon for
the visual. The runway slid into sight as we crossed
a 9,000-foot ridge and continued the descent to an
uneventful but mesmerizing landing.
The view on this clear day was spectacular-and
eye-opening. I had flown over that part of the world
many times and landed on either side of Colorado's
impressive mountains-on the Front Range and
in Utah, but this was my first trip down the chute
among the terrain except those nerve-wracking
exercises in the simulator. Would that every trip
into mountain airports occurred on such Chamber
of Commerce sorts of days.
AOPA
EMAIL thomas.haines@aopa.org
@tomhaines29
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2021

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