Terrain Departures

Departing airports in mountainous areas can mean maximizing your rate of climb into the teens. Know before you go.

Thursday, February 01, 2024 at 08:00 AM ET

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Key Takeaways:

Departing from high-elevation airports in mountainous terrain, such as Rifle, Colorado, presents significant challenges due to demanding climb gradients and surrounding high terrain.
Accurate performance calculations are crucial, requiring pilots to use ground speed, account for reduced performance at altitude and temperature, and consult FAA climb/descent tables to ensure required climb rates can be met.
Effective risk management strategies include reducing aircraft weight, preparing for potential engine failures (which severely diminish climb performance), and utilizing tools like PAVE to assess the interaction between aircraft and environment.
Commercial flights (FAR Part 135) face specific takeoff minimums and may require takeoff alternates, underscoring the importance of anticipating adverse events, especially when departing in low visibility conditions.

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A friend told me about his airline’s final takeoff briefing, the acronym for which is WARTS: Wind and Weather, Aborts and Abnormals, Runway and Route, Terrain and Specials. It’s a useful guide to making sure everything is ready for departure, and I use it regularly, even in the Cessna 150 I sometimes fly. (It’s cheap and fun!)

In the 150, there isn’t too much to say about terrain. I only fly it VFR, and the airport I fly it from is surrounded by farmland. Given some of the terrain I’ve flown over in the past, that seems like a luxury. But it’s probably a good thing in the 150.