I Learned About Flying From That: 18,300 Feet in a Cessna 150

Ken Fransen

Thursday, February 14, 2013 at 01:50 AM ET

Verified

** To see more of Barry Ross' aviation art,
go to barryrossart.com**

Key Takeaways:

A young pilot inadvertently climbed a Cessna 150 to 18,300 feet, driven by an informal altitude competition, and experienced euphoria and impaired judgment.
He eventually realized he was suffering from severe hypoxia, which compromised his cognitive abilities, making him oblivious to the danger and even causing him to misread the altimeter during descent.
The incident highlights the insidious nature of hypoxia, as it gradually impairs a pilot's judgment, leading to risky decisions and an unawareness of the need for supplemental oxygen.
The author emphasizes the importance of current FAA oxygen rules and warns pilots against prolonged flight at high altitudes (even below current mandatory oxygen levels) without supplemental oxygen due to the rapid onset and danger of hypoxia.

See a mistake? Contact us.

The cloud were building beautifully over the California coast range. I was back from college for the weekend and itching to fly, so I grabbed my camera and hopped into one of the Fresno Sky Riders Club Cessna 150s. It was a 1963 model with the standard Continental O-200 engine, producing 100 galloping horsepower — no modifications, full fuel, calm day over the San Joaquin Valley with no updrafts. The fun weather was 60 miles to the west over the mountains. I was a skinny college kid, and 62Z took off smartly.

At the time, another young club member and I had a running competition (though not terribly serious) over who could take a 150 higher. The record was mine at that time — about 12,000 feet — because my friend was a little girthier than I. But an altitude record was not on my mind this beautiful fall 1971 day. I figured the cumulus would top out at about 8,000 or 10,000 feet, and my photo flight would be over.