AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - February 2013 - 86

P&E 

TECHNIQUE

LEADVILLE AIRPORT, elevation 9,934 feet.

When it was time to leave, pilots from
the type club hopped in their airplanes to
crank up. Remember that part about noting
the position of the mixture before shutdown? Two things occur at idle with the
mixture full rich at 10,000 feet. Too much
fuel is obvious, thus the need to lean before
starting. The second is that there is very little air to mix with that lean mixture. When
you taxied in you may have noticed the idle
was unusually low and you may have needed
to carry extra throttle to keep a normal idle.
The idle setting for most aircraft is set with
the aircraft at or near sea level. With the thin
air at altitude and lean mixture, the need for
additional throttle is typical.
During a normal start, cracking the
throttle is the usual procedure for most
normally aspirated engines—but in the
high country, just as in after landing, more
throttle and less mixture may be needed for
engine start. After a few flooded engines
and a few strained batteries the type club
taxied to the north end for a departure off
Runway 16.
Since that day I have reviewed the
POH for the aircraft this group brought to
Leadville, and it doesn’t have a procedure for
high density altitude takeoffs. But I’m pretty
sure the pilots didn’t know one either. Each
aircraft took the runway with partial flaps
set and released brakes with the yoke well
aft. They went down the runway with the
aircraft nose in the air, typical of a soft-field
86 | AOPA PILOT February 2013

takeoff. Each one did exactly the same thing.
Each one lifted off near the departure end
of the runway and each one scared the daylights out of those of us watching. I suspect
some of those pilots learned as much that
day as those of us on the ground.
By applying the wrong technique for
the situation, they actually increased their
takeoff roll. They were plowing the air going
down the runway and pulled the airplanes
into ground effect before the departure end
of the runway. Had it not been for the fact
that the end of Runway 16 drops off into the
valley, some might not have made it out of
ground effect. Ultimately they all made it
airborne and over the pass.
Flying in the high country offers spectacular opportunities. The scenery is
unforgettable. The destinations are worldclass. The visibility, like the opportunities,
can be literally unlimited. For the properly
trained and prepared pilot, flying in the high
country is more challenging—yet no more
hazardous—than flying in lower elevations,
where airports are separated by longer distances and off-field landing possibilities
are limited. Get prepared. Come visit us in
Leadville. Enter KLXV in your GPS. You’ll
love the journey and the hospitality and, like
me, you’ll be back.
AOPA
GARY ROWER is a former U.S. Air Force pilot,

a current airline pilot, and an accomplished
airshow performer.
http://www.gleim.com/AOPA_Pilot http://www.gleim.com/AOPA_Pilot http://www.AirFleetCapital.com
AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - February 2013

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