Is there now a special license for flying in mountainous regions

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cncpc
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Is there now a special license for flying in mountainous regions

Post by cncpc »

I was reading a blurb on a flying school site that said it gave a mountain flying course for a license that allows you to fly airplanes in mountainous areas. It said Transport Canada required such a "license".

I recall having to do a mountain check to rent, but not a requirement to have a mountain license.

Am I just old and out of touch?

Is that grandfathered?
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photofly
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Re: Is there now a special license for flying in mountainous regions

Post by photofly »

Is there such a thing as a mountain licence? No.
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fish4life
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Re: Is there now a special license for flying in mountainous regions

Post by fish4life »

zero requirement, I bet most airliners being operated into the mountains are done by pilots that never had a "mountain checkout"
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ahramin
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Re: Is there now a special license for flying in mountainous regions

Post by ahramin »

Do you have a link to this site?
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CpnCrunch
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Re: Is there now a special license for flying in mountainous regions

Post by CpnCrunch »

Sounds like the person creating that webpage was just a little confused. Most flight schools require a "mountain checkout" before letting you fly their planes in the mountains.
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cncpc
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Re: Is there now a special license for flying in mountainous regions

Post by cncpc »

Sorry, meant to be a PM for Ahramin.
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Last edited by cncpc on Fri Oct 27, 2017 4:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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lhalliday
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Re: Is there now a special license for flying in mountainous regions

Post by lhalliday »

FWIW my mountain checkride was an hour and a half on the ground and two hours in the air. We covered all the usual stuff: mountain weather, ridge crossings, visual issues, and so on. I have since augmented this with mountain flying training in northern California (including high density altitude airports).

My plane's insurance doesn't say a word about mountain flying. Nor does Transport Canada, other than Designated Mountainous Areas for IFR folks.

...laura
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Spokes
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Re: Is there now a special license for flying in mountainous regions

Post by Spokes »

FWIW, I have seen a requirement for some form of a ”formal mountain flying course” for a contract offered by the BC government.
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goingnowherefast
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Re: Is there now a special license for flying in mountainous regions

Post by goingnowherefast »

Would a 10 minute company-made online ground school with a 5 question exam be a "formal mountain flying course"? :lol:
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PilotDAR
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Re: Is there now a special license for flying in mountainous regions

Post by PilotDAR »

As a multi thousand hour flatland pilot, before I ever got near a mountain, I felt I needed training and mentoring. I got what I could. When I was involved in the contract flying of another flatland pilot who was to do some flying in the mountains, I insisted he take a three day mountain course. He took the course, but after his fatal collision with the side of a mountain, while flying in ideal conditions, I understood that some important elements were not included or emphasized during the training he had taken.

In my opinion, as a very low time mountain pilot any "course" for mountain flying should be the entry point to strictly supervised and mentored flying in that environment. It's not up to the government to create "licenses" to assure skills, it's up to pilots to seek out the training and mentoring for their own growth and survival!
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Mick G
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Re: Is there now a special license for flying in mountainous regions

Post by Mick G »

People flying in the mountains without familiarizing themselves with the training are really asking for trouble. There is a lot to know, even seasoned pilots get into trouble sometimes.....remember Steve Fosset............
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Re: Is there now a special license for flying in mountainous regions

Post by CpnCrunch »

Mick G wrote:People flying in the mountains without familiarizing themselves with the training are really asking for trouble. There is a lot to know, even seasoned pilots get into trouble sometimes.....remember Steve Fosset............
Attitude is probably more important than training. Even the people creating the training (I'm thinking Sparky Imeson) have done really dumb things and gotten killed.

In benign weather, mountain flying is pretty safe as long as you don't do anything stupid.
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Re: Is there now a special license for flying in mountainous regions

Post by PilotDAR »

"Stupid" would include loosing your horizontal reference. 'Sure, 'sounds easy, the benign weather offers you a visible horizon, so "up" should be easy to find. But, even in severe clear, if you get yourself into the valleys/canyons, you may be looking at just rock and green,with the actual horizon a few thousand feet above you, and pretty useless for reference. I believe this to be a factor in the aforementioned accident, so I've experimented with this in the helicopter. The differences in the helicopter; lots of visibility, particularly upward, you can really slow down, and if you really buggered it up, you can back out. visual cues are more vital that you realize, and once lost, may not be recovered in time....
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Re: Is there now a special license for flying in mountainous regions

Post by Cat Driver »

One of the most dangerous things about mountain flying is wind and turbulence.
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Re: Is there now a special license for flying in mountainous regions

Post by photofly »

Cat Driver wrote:One of the most dangerous things about mountain flying is wind and turbulence.
Um... those are two things. I mean, you can’t say “one thing is..”and then list two things. Grammatically. Just saying.
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Re: Is there now a special license for flying in mountainous regions

Post by Cat Driver »

Turbulence and wind are two different things.

I stand corrected.
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Re: Is there now a special license for flying in mountainous regions

Post by geneticistx »

Left my PPL training in Ontario for PPL training in BC. There is no "mountain license" or anything like that. Just lots of learning and observing. Be Safe.
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Re: Is there now a special license for flying in mountainous regions

Post by ccd »

It is true now there is a rating almost for anything. It They carry on this path they will create a rating to be able to start the engines... Upsi, I am giving a bad idea to civil aviation authority! I must be quite!
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