- All pilots must have prior high altitude (2,000′ AGL) mountain flight experience.
- All pilots must have good foot launch skills.
- All pilots should make it their business to seek out and receive a thorough preflight briefing from anl experienced H-4 Hull pilot which includes:
- Flight path from the launch to the LZ. This should be pointed out to the new pilot both from the LZ and from launch because the full flight path is not visible from launch.
- Minimum altitudes to maintain at each stage of the flight path.
- Areas to avoid because of winds, sink, venturies, etc.
- Advice on landing approach setup and execution.
- H-2 pilot first flights should be done in the morning or late afternoon to avoid midday turbulence.
- H-2 pilot first flights should have radio contact (listen only is adequate) with an experienced H-4 Hull pilot in the LZ to give advice as the flight progresses and on landing approach. This can be as simple as duct taping a radio to the pilot’s helmet.
Some basic points to know:
H-2 and H-3 first flights should use the following flight path:
- Launch at the Timberline launch.
- Turn left after launch and follow Boardman ridge to the spine which extends directly up from the knob at the end of the dirt air strip. It is the one with two houses at it.
- Then fly down the spine to the knob at the end of the air strip.
- If you have adequate altitude, continue on to the lakefront LZ.
- If you are too low to arrive at the lakefront LZ with at least 400′ AGL, then set up a landing near the air strip windsock.
During the flight do not go behind (north of) the top of Boardman ridge. It’s called Rattlesnake Canyon, and there are no landing areas.
Fly Boardman ridge between the top of the ridge and the tree line.
Do not fly beyond (east of) the spine at the end of the air strip (the house spine).
When approaching the lakeside LZ, do not fly back into the area where the road heads up the canyon to launch; That is a venturi area with strong winds.
Set up all landing approaches to the lakefront LZ over the open area at the lake and not over the trees. Do not land on the lee side of any tree line if winds are more than 5 mph.
Be sure you print out this web page and bring it with you to Hull. You can use it when discussing your flight plan with your experienced-pilot advisors.