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Palo Alto to Mammoth Yosemite at 500' AGL


Ed Cesnalis

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Why?  For sightseeing, or just to see if you could do it?

 

We didn't discuss the why of it.  When you are an ex-fighter pilot and all around guru you are expected to either wow every-one or at least provide a learning experience.  In this case I bet it was simply to relieve boredom.  It is counter-intuitive to approach a 14,000' tall mountain range with your nose pointed at the bottom.  His mantra was "why are you climbing?   ...  why are you climbing?

 

 

I know he can do it.  I'm sure he has been this route enough times so sightseeing is only a 'maybe'.

So Charlie, were you able to hold +/- 50feet??

I'm curious. What did you use as the RA for AGL readings??

 

The only way to come close is to follow ridges, when they get steep you have to orbit and in the 360 you will be low at the top and high at the bottom.  It wasn't pass/fail as much as the old guy taking the controls once in a while to demonstrate the standard that he wanted to see.

 

The climb was tedious, I had to constantly envision the terrain that I was turning into but couldn't see, much like soaring in steep canyons.  The descents were fun with steep banks and big slips.

 

The skills demonstrated are useful when crossing the sierra ( 45 minutes ) when cumulus clouds are an issue.  Sometimes the clouds crossing with you have no real base but instead follow the terrain and the crossing requires you to get below clouds into that 500' agl zone.

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We didn't discuss the why of it.  When you are an ex-fighter pilot and all around guru you are expected to either wow every-one or at least provide a learning experience.  In this case I bet it was simply to relieve boredom.  It is counter-intuitive to approach a 14,000' tall mountain range with your nose pointed at the bottom.  His mantra was "why are you climbing?   ...  why are you climbing?

 

 

 

Ah, terrain masking to avoid the SAMs...got it.    ;)

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Yep. Got really exciting with the RAW looking like a Christmas tree and those funny looking telephone poles with smoke and flame in your view screen.  Sometimes Mach 1+ at under 100 feet and jinxing through the canyons gave new meaning to 'pucker-factor'.

BTW John -- Thanks to you and your guys for returning many of us to our homes.....

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