Flying in-and-out of Angel Fire, NM (KAXX) - A local pilot's (not an instructor) perspective

NOTE: Author is NOT AN INSTRUCTOR! Angel Fire Airport (KAXX) has experienced several accidents over the past several years because of a variety of factors such as high density altitude, inability of aircraft to outclimb rising terrain, extreme winds / crosswinds, snowdrifts catching a wing, etc. This video is intended to give pilots considering flying to Angel Fire some insights into the things local pilots think about when planning our arrival, departure, and our go / no-go decisions. This should not be used in lieu of competent instruction, and the best way to safely fly in-and-out of this dangerous airport is with a qualified and current CFI with Mountain Flying experience. This is a local private pilot's thoughts on the topic ONLY!
While this video was created from a compilation of information from a variety of sources, it is not a recognized or accredited source of aviation training information, and thus should be considered entertainment. Please consult a FAA-certificated flight instructor prior to putting any information found here into practice.

[@caarche]

Looking to vacation in the area of Angel Fire in the future and came across your video while researching it, thank you very much for a truly informative video. I am fortunate to fly a high performance aircraft which mitigates some of the problems related to high altitude operations, however good decision making and flying skills are the most important ingredient in keeping anyone from becoming another unfortunate statistic. You got a very enthusiastic thumbs up my friend!

[@CIOPilot]

Thank you very much @caarche, I appreciate it. You nailed it in your comment.

[@portnuefflyer]

l learned to fly, and still do, in the mountains at a fairly high altitude, so density altitude concerns is nothing new, just a daily fact of life. It's just my few trips down to sea level every 10 years or so, that really illustrate the hazards of high density altitudes. In my case, it's all good, just a pleasantly dramatic increase in performance at the lower elevations, enough to make me comprehend how a sea level pilot could have a very unpleasant surprise. Great video, well done!

[@CIOPilot]

Thanks for that. I am the same way...almost all of my flying is above 7500 feet. When I do go down to San Antonio, McKinney, or College Station, TX to visit family, the aircraft's performance always amazes me, but illustrates how dangerous it can be in the reverse when lowlanders come up here. Glad you liked the video...I appreciate all the positive comments.

[@gmejia02]

Thank you for the pre-flight brief... Great information to consider!!!

[@CIOPilot]

Thanks SoCal Cycling, I appreciate that. Let me know if you plan on coming out.

[@durrow]

Super useful. Thanks for making this.

[@CIOPilot]

Glad you like it. If you have any questions anytime you might want to consider coming this way, let me know.

[@HOSSDOG3]

Fantastic briefing Mr Hamons!

[@CIOPilot]

Thank you very much…I appreciate that.

[@HOSSDOG3]

My 13 yo and I flew into Angel Fire AXX August 10th (10am) and out on the 13th (8am) with pressure altitudes about 9300-10000 for our 5th annual mountain biking trip. We were able to do this trip so much easier with the info given here and other forums. This was my first time flying into a high density airport so we went light (200lbs under gross) in our 1984 Mooney M20J non turbo. landing was actually more difficult for me than the takeoff. we used runway 35 and i did not account for the airspeed being so much slower than the ground speed and started my transition/flare too early dropped and bounced once on my mains not my nose then settled down due to the slow speed. next time i will pay more attention to my indicated airspeed and less on my subjective runway speed and just hold it off as long as possible before i power to idle. leave a little power in until you are sure you are in ground effect then slowly reduce to idle the runway is loong! oh and correct for the crosswind more than you think. i drifted off to the right of centerline after my "bounce". the wide runway allowed me enough room to correct back to center. at take off (runway 35) i left my flaps down (take off flap setting 10-15 degrees) longer than i normally would but retracted my gear like normal after crossing the 17 threshold. we were able to climb out at 500 fpm and 90 kts go to the east side and make the turn back south just before eagles nest lake. when we crossed back over the airport we were already at 10,000 feet and were able to climb out of the valley to the south at 10,500. my engine is the IO360 200 HP. our 3 hour flight back home to fort worth was so much better than our normal 9-10 hour drive (and stopping at the Texan). arrive early 7-10am and leave early 7-10am and the weather seems to cooperate. do not leave or arrive after noon the weather seems to move in every afternoon at least during august and September. (monsoon season they say). cant wait to try during the winter when the air is even cooler and the plane has more authority. just wish they had hangar space to park your plane!!

[@CIOPilot]

Thanks so much for the review of your experience. I probably should have spent a bit more time in my video discussing some of the landing characteristics, specifically as you said about the increased ground speed when compared against your indicated airspeed, it really is a BIG deal that is easy to explain in theory, until you actually experience it. Most of all, so glad the video and our conversations gave you the confidence to give this a try the first time, and awesome that you and your son had a great time. Can’t wait to hear about the next trip!

[@dereklucero5785]

Basically he’s saying is pucker up.

[@CIOPilot]

The first couple of times...yep, absolutely.

[@leroylipshitz5547]

Great video. I'm in a non-turbocharged Cessna but plan on coming in during the winter. It will just be me and my brother. Would you suggest that we not fill-up with gas while we are there? We will be coming in from Oklahoma City. If we don't fill up in Angel Fire, where should we fill up?

[@CIOPilot]

Even if you come up in Winter, if your plane is not turbocharged, I would caution about leaving out with full tanks. We recently had a couple of guys try that in a 182 and they had to abort their takeoff...they literally couldn't get the airplane to fly after 7500 feet of runway was used up. Blew two tires trying to shut it down in the runway that was left. Perhaps fill up to 1/2 tanks, and then on the way back towards OKC, you can make a really quick stop in Raton, NM (KRTN) and top off there. They have two runways, so you typically don't have to deal with a crosswind, and once you get to Raton, you don't have the challenge of having to cross the mountain range anymore. Let me know when you are going to make the trip!

[@harpoon_bakery162]

What a great video. Such a tragedy ( N7742P ). You have just enlightened me as to exactly how that accident occurred (leaving runway 17), that's just brutal with low horsepower, loaded tanks, and two person occupancy in a Comanche (180hp). That terrain and density altitude in excess of 9500' is a bad recipe for a successful climb-out for that plane and wing-load along with LLWS.

[@CIOPilot]

Thanks, I'm glad you found the video useful. This accident was the one that made me decide to make this video. Now, at the airport, there is a sign above the briefing computer telling pilots about it, and there is a link right on the desktop. Hopefully this will save at least one life while it is there. The only thing that I wish would have happened is that AOPA or some of the groups out there that have really good video skills would have offered to help polish the video a bit more than how I did it. Really would be a great service for AOPA to offer to local airports that have unique situations. My intention was to give pilots enough depth that they would want to watch the video during their pre-flight briefing, and that it would encourage other airports to develop something similar. Thanks for watching!

[@JimBronson]

Love Angel Fire, it would be a dream to fly there, because it's a 12 hour drive from the Austin area.

[@CIOPilot]

It is great to get to fly in. Having grown up in Houston, it turns that 14 hour drive into a 4.5 hour flight, way more pleasant too than Hwy 287.

[@billyrogers7499]

Great video and very helpful - thanks!

[@CIOPilot]

Glad it was helpful!

[@chrisstrobel3439]

Are you an instructor by any chance? 😉

[@CIOPilot]

No, but I did sleep at a Holiday Express last year once I think.

[@mountainpilot93]

This is a really good preflight safety briefing. Have you considered showing this to AOPA and possibly getting this into their AOPA Air Safety Institute series? This would be awesome to have for some of the other airports close to you like Telluride or Leadville, or possibly even Aspen. Also, I do know what you were trying to do with your disclaimer about "Not being a CFI", but I don't think you needed to go that far, but I can see why you did it. Thanks for posting this. I did see your video where you did this in an LSA and I thought that one was a bit crazy, but after watching this I can see how you can do it safely.

[@CIOPilot]

Thanks! When I did this video, I did reach out to the AOPA Flight Safety Institute folks to see if I could possibly get some of their video production assistance in making the video, but I never received any response back from them. I did pitch the idea of trying to create something like for some of those airport you mentioned, not just Telluride, Aspen, and Leadville - but I had included Buena Vista, Eagle County (Vail), and Granby also. If anyone has a contact with anyone on that team, I would love to redo this video and use some of their professional production capabilities, not me using Zoom Annotations to draw a bunch of arrows and circles on the screen like an NFL Commentator. As for that LSA video, hard to believe that one was almost 5 years ago.

[@jennis23]

Thank you so much for this content!

[@CIOPilot]

Thank you, I appreciate that.

[@dereklucero5785]

Angel fire is so beautiful, but I drive from Las Vegas NM.

[@jonathanszarzynski]

Thank you for the video! Very informative

[@CIOPilot]

Glad you found it useful!

[@rmkilc]

I wonder if this guy is an instructor?

[@CIOPilot]

Well played.

[@alancolenso3895]

Great video. Thanks

[@CIOPilot]

Thanks…appreciate you watching it.

[@sharkdog2609]

Excellent presentation!

[@CIOPilot]

Thank you @sharkdog2609, appreciate that feedback.

[@JimmyLewisPilot]

Very informative. This is why I love the flying community, taking care of each other. I hoping to visit Angel Fire next month. I'll be flying a Turbo Saratoga.

[@CIOPilot]

Look forward to it. I have an '81 Turbo Saratoga and it is awesome up here.

[@davidschmaus1]

Great video Spencer. I am planning on Flying my Tri-Pacer out west from Ohio in March. Might be reaching out as we get closer for a visit. Thanks! David

[@CIOPilot]

Thanks David. Tri-Pacer will be fun to make that trip. Absolutely, feel free to reach out anytime. Have a great Thanksgiving this next week.

[@grifmara]

Very helpful, thanks Spencer!

[@CIOPilot]

Glad you found it helpful @awesome_206. If you are ever coming up here, feel free to message me, always happy to talk or give someone an eyeball view of the weather.

[@jdstls]

Great job, you do not need to be a CFI to be helpful. In fact, I have learned a lot from pilots like you and my dad who flew privately for 55 years. Makes me want to come to Angel Fire someday.

[@CIOPilot]

Thank you Flying1, I truly appreciate the comments. Glad you appreciated the video. I had some concern about it being too long of a video, particularly in this time of short attention-spans. However, we get a lot of lowlanders that have never experienced mountain wave or winds like this, so I wanted to err on the side of too much information. Truly happy you liked the video. If you get this way, let me know...I'll guy you a drink and show you around.

[@PhilPerry254]

Nice work on this video. Thank you!

[@CIOPilot]

Thank you, sir. Glad you liked it.

[@gunnerjoe53]

Great video, Thanks. Joe

[@CIOPilot]

Thank you, sir!

[@Inmortal-64]

Thanks, that is a great briefing and so right on. I actually did my first solo XC from KLAM to KAXX to KLVS on a good day with not much wind in a Cardinal. I have had a lot of hang gliding experience reading the terrain and potential rotors but still was a bit nervous. Calling my location over the peak and then slipping down to land was pretty interesting for a first timer. All went well, though and I have flown in there a few times since. I have used the eastern hills to climb out a few times and can be essential to avoid downdrafts and get the altitude you need to get over the pass out to Taos. Great mountain flying practice. Not good during winter prevailing western winds.

[@CIOPilot]

That's one hell of a solo cross country my friend. Congratulations on that. Are you as stoked about that as you were on your first solo? I remember about 15 minutes into my first solo XC, I sat back, took a deep breath, and said, "I'm doing this" to myself.

[@zowadacustomknives]

Wonderful job! I am a lowland 4200 hr CFII. I don't plan on visiting New Mexico any time in the near future. I still watched the entire video, and learned a lot. Thank you.

[@CIOPilot]

Thanks so much for the comments. Glad you found it interesting. The first time that I flew in High Density Altitudes, I knew I was going to see a degradation in performance, but I never really knew how much I was going see that degrade. If anything ever brings you out this way, don't hesitate to reach out to me!

[@jamesrunnels2399]

Outstanding video. Got here by way of Pilot Workshops. Invaluable local knowledge, thank you for doing such a great job of sharing it. Can't wait to come visit!!

[@CIOPilot]

Thank you James, appreciate your comments. Where are you coming out of? Always enjoy coming out and meeting our visitors.

[@jamesrunnels2399]

@@CIOPilot Baton Rouge. Have landed El Paso, Albuquerque, Livingston MT & Jackson Hole, but never anywhere as high as KAXX. Used to ski Taos before I was a pilot. WIll look you up whenever I can plan a trip!

[@edwardkaminsky5550]

very well done video. Thankyou!

[@CIOPilot]

Thank you, sir!

[@randyboggs1271]

This is excellent! I am planing to fly up there soon and was looking for this precisely! You are missing a calling. Very well done. Thank you!

[@CIOPilot]

Thanks a lot Randy. If you have any questions at all, feel free to email or message me. Enjoy the trip...it is a gorgeous flight.

[@harpoon_bakery162]

I hope you enjoyed your flight to Angel Fire !!!!

[@slopsec2358]

Someone else may have mentioned this already, but generally, winds are calmer in the early mornings and tend to calm down again in the late afternoons. Plan your mountain trips accordingly.

[@CIOPilot]

Great point...I may not have included that in the video, but I always mention that when talking to people considering making the trip.

[@jaysantos536]

0:42 - WOW that IS a very nice runway for your airfield but it looks shorter than 8900 feet. And those taxi ways are kind of narrow. Nice that you have little sand pit to deposit the oil after you change it...

[@CIOPilot]

With the density altitude, it definitely doesn't FEEL like it is 8,900 feet long, that is for sure. The runway is 100 feet wide also, that does make it look shorter than it is. I think that the taxiways are 50 feet wide, but they may be 45 feet (not 100% certain on that).

[@jaysantos536]

@@CIOPilot Don't think you got my JOKE sir. Pause the video @ 0:42 and you will see what I was referring to...LOL

[@CIOPilot]

@@jaysantos536 Ha - got it!

[@jaysantos536]

@@CIOPilot Cool..I really enjoyed your video and I'm sure it will help pilots naviagate in and around Angel Fire. Just curious if you know Wayne Hajovsky? He works at Angel Fire Ski resort. He's my brother-in-law. Regards...

[@trevorlong8030]

Hi Spencer, Thank you very much for this insightful video. I am interested in flying into Taos (SKX) and would love similar content/recommendations from you or someone you recommend. Thanks again and Merry Christmas!

[@CIOPilot]

Happy to give you some info, and I can get you in touch with two CFIs I know that are Taos full timers. Shoot me an email at [e-mail] and I will get it to you. Beauty is that Taos has no where near the terrain issues of Angel Fire, and it has 2 nice runways, so no crosswinds to deal with either.

[@blackbrd99]

Helped a ton, great video and flying this via Flight Sim 2020 to get a feel for it.

[@CIOPilot]

Glad that helped a lot. I love FS 2020 and X-Plane, but I personally don't think that either do a very realistic job of simulating high density altitude takeoffs. Had a guy with a Mooney take off the other day with 4 people and 3/4 tanks, and the best he could muster out of the airport was about 150fpm. Talked to him on the radio once he finally got some altitude and he said that was the scariest takeoff he had ever had.

[@blackbrd99]

@@CIOPilot wow! I used your recommendations in FS 2020 and flew the SR-22 down RWY 35 and out along the right side up to the Eagle Nest Lake and then I made a 180 and flew back past the airport and climbed out easily after that. I tried RWY 17 and did not like it LOL. I know it's not the real thing but I could tell the plane was running harder than it normally would at a lower density alt airport. Flew over to TAOS and on to Santa Fe then back to AF. I feel like I'm educated on it once I fly the real thing one day! If you get a chance try the VR googles in FS 2020 it's incredible. Fools the brain! Thanks to your video!

[@CIOPilot]

@@blackbrd99 That's cool...I haven't tried the VR goggles yet but definitely want to. As for the Rwy 17 landing, it forces you to make your approach a little steeper than normal because of that big hill. Do it a few times and you get used to it. That is probably 75% of my landings to Rwy 17.

[@d7105-x6r]

Great video. Two additions: 1) Turbulence from rotor/rotor clouds can become severe when wave conditions exist off the mountain range towards the west (Taos). Any wind speed above 15kts at the top of the mountains should give you pause. 2) Fly in and out of Angelfire in the mornings, when turbulence is lower (especially if you have an intact valley inversion), density altitude is lower and thermals haven't started yet. Just watch for the wind shift on climb out. Good info on local emergency field options. I enjoyed your video - Thank you!

[@CIOPilot]

Yeah, I tried to limit the comments a bit when I did the editing, my first shot of the video had those comments in there with some explanations, but the video was approaching 22 minutes long and one of the suggestions I received was to remove that section since that is pretty much, "Table stakes for Mountain Flying, and people should get that part researching mountain flying in-general". I'm with you though, absolutely essential things, and even experienced mountain fliers need a reminder. Thanks for watching the video and I hope you found it useful.

[@richardrohrer9082]

Thanks for the video. I stay at the Monte Verde RV when in Angel Fire just west of the 35 end. Even riding my bike, I see how deceptive the rise is to the south. More of a ramp rat, I ride my bike down to the airport every day. Some interesting planes show up.

[@paulpietschinski3282]

Lots of drug planes as well

[@CIOPilot]

Richard - I was looking through my channel information and realized I never responded to you. I am sorry about that. You are totally right about that deceptive rise, glad you noticed it. We love Ramp Rats at Angel Fire, Saturday Morning Coffee is the best time to come out. If the weather is good, probably a 75% chance that someone will offer you a ride. I've been trying to do a better job of adding some more content to the channel and organizing things a bit better. Take a chance to look around and see some of the other content out there. I don't monetize my channel at all, I just want folks to have fun watching stuff.

[@PfizerRN_USNavyReserveRN]

Well written. I taught the medical helicopter crews at Care Flight 16 (Ashley Lobsinger, Lauren Salazar, Mark McDonald, etc.), while on a break from a Pfizer vaccine safety trial in Albuquerque, NM and had a few "exciting" flights into, and departing from, KAXX. Wild winds with wicked downdrafts in the Valley bowl.

[@CIOPilot]

Thanks for watching. Have met a lot of that crew in the past (hung out talking around our red and white Saratoga, both in Taos and Angel Fire). Those downdrafts are no joke, but hard to explain and understand until you get into one and have that “Oh $h!t moment”.

[@larrybell5144]

Excellent presentation. Density altitude is a real consideration. The only time that I flew into your airport, the temperature was 62° and the crosswind was light and from the east. We took off going north and slowly gained altitude while flying circles over the valley and lake area. We cleaned the seats off after landing in Taos.

[@CIOPilot]

That is the way to do it. Had a couple of guys out here about three weeks ago from Texas that came in during a mountain flying course. When they were here, temps were about 15 - 20 degrees. They came back later in the week and the temps were about 45 degrees. They couldn't believe the difference the temperature made. Glad you had a chance to check out the airport here...if you happen to come back, let me know and I'll buy you a beer.

[@larrybell5144]

@@CIOPilot , Thank you again. Happy New Year to you!

[@jandrews1157]

Thank you for this video Spencer. I really appreciate how you addressed the unique terrain and its challenges. I'm a Colorado pilot with friends who have a 2nd home near Angel Fire and I plan to fly there to visit them sometime. I'll carefully watch this again and plan accordingly.

[@CIOPilot]

Awesome. Glad you found it useful. I would be interested to hear what you think after you make the flight and let me know if I missed anything.

[@ShadowAviator]

Thanks for linking this on BCP. I wouldn't have seen it otherwise. I hope to get there with my 172 sometime, though I will be waiting for cool, calm mornings.

[@CIOPilot]

Thanks ShadowAviator, I appreciate that. Some concern about it being too long of a video, especially for folks that fly backcountry a lot. However, we get a lot of lowlanders that have never experienced mountain wave or winds like this, so I wanted to err on the side of too much information. Truly happy you liked the video. If you get this way, let me know...I'll guy you a drink and show you around.

[@khaosai]

Density Altitude will also be the enemy. Fly safe.

[@CIOPilot]

Absolutely. People come up here from Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas that have never cruised above 4500 feet. Been at the airport a couple of times where people are getting into the pattern, you hear the prop go full, then you hear the engine die. Twice we were able to get on the radio and tell them to pull their mixture out and the engine restarted. Once, a guy landed dead-stick, all because he went "FULL RICH" without thinking about it. Folks are misreading density altitude's impact on their airplanes in a number of different ways.

[@beomsukim3929]

Thanks for excellent video and life saving information. Angel fire is my favorite winter ski vacation

[@CIOPilot]

Thanks for that...I appreciate it. This year is a bit weird with COVID, but the snow is good so far. If you get a chance to make it up here, let me know and I'll buy you a beer.

[@JohnnyMentat]

Your south bound departure sounds scary. Is there any opportunity to turn back north to gain altitude in the valley? It looks like you would be facing the same kind of rising terrain if you veered to the east. I suppose the best thing is just to take off north if the winds will allow? Great video and thanks.

[@CIOPilot]

If departing to the South, you can turn left and gain altitude, but the ground rises a lot that direction, and too often underpowered airplanes are right at stall speed when they realize they need to turn. Imagine doing 180 degree turns in slow flight, 200 feet off the ground. It would be scary. Yes, taking off to the north if the winds allow is the best thing to do. Sometimes, it is just better to wait until late in the day when the winds die down, or very first thing in the morning before they come up in the first place.

[@JohnnyMentat]

@@CIOPilot I just got back from Angel Fire this past weekend. Lol, I'm still landing in Santa Fe, Taos or Raton and driving into KAXX. I have a very nice Mooney M20J and I'm very proud of it. However, I've seen it's limitations with regard to climb especially in Mountain Effect Winds. For me, I've decided not to land at KAXX even though I have been spending a lot of time there. I may trade up to a turbo model someday. I'll reconsider my options maybe then. Thanks again for your video. I think you may have helped a lot of pilots.The drive from Raton is beautiful by the way and it's really pretty short.

[@CIOPilot]

@@JohnnyMentat Sounds like a solid plan. Good services there too. I love that part of the drive through Cimarron canyon. If you ever get a chance to visit Whittington Center right across from the airport, I highly suggest it.

[@JohnnyMentat]

@@CIOPilot Thanks! I learned about it this past weekend and intend to go. I wanna take a shot at the White Buffalo.

[@CIOPilot]

@@JohnnyMentat Oh yeah, you gotta do this. There is a t-shirt at the gift shot you can get once you make the shot,

[@coryhohman1477]

Excellent Video! I had a friend ask me to fly there and meet him. I haven't yet but sure glad I saw your video!!!

[@CIOPilot]

Glad you liked it. Certainly let me know if you get a chance to make the flight and tell me what you think after actually doing it. I am trying to get better at adding some more content to the channel, so I hope you will find some other interesting stuff to watch.

[@robertreiner3691]

Great video. Very informative. Having lived in Santa Fe 4 years I've still not flown to KAXX. I currently own a Remos and not sure I should attempt it. When I get a turbo Mooney I'll come for a visit!

[@CIOPilot]

Sounds like a plan. I did my Mountain Training with NM Sport Aviation and did it in a Remos. You just have to be patient, and do it when the winds aren't too bad, but totally doable.

[@robertreiner3691]

Sold the Remos and bought a Mooney 252. Time to start some mountain training!

[@CIOPilot]

@@robertreiner3691 Awesome. I did mine with Michael Szczepanski at New Mexico Sport Aviation in Santa Fe and he was absolutely awesome and I would highly recommend him. Bet you are loving that Mooney. I moved from training in the Remos to a Cherokee 180, then to a Turbo Saratoga. Amazing what a little more capability opens up to you. Congratulations.

[@resiggy13]

Very nice presentation and explanation of the area and its potential issues - thank you!

[@CIOPilot]

Thank you.

[@situationnormal7695]

Thanks so much! This could save lives!

[@CIOPilot]

Thank you @Situation Normal!

[@midlifeflyer]

As one who has flown there, this is an excellent video.

[@CIOPilot]

Thank you @Midlife Flight, I appreciate that.

[@dmc8078]

Nicely done Sir.

[@CIOPilot]

Thank you Dennis, I appreciate that.

[@dominating_reality]

Would you recommend leaving runway 35 regardless?

[@CIOPilot]

Not always. On occasion, we do get some southerly winds in excess of 10 - 15 knots. This isn't common, probably for 4 or 5 days a year that we will see that. In that case, I do takeoff on 17. I tried it once in that situation, but I didn't care for the excessively long ground roll with that tailwind.

[@dominating_reality]

@@CIOPilot gotcha thanks for the info.

[@CIOPilot]

@@dominating_reality If you ever decide you want to come up this way, definitely message me and let me know...I'll come out and meet you.

[@dominating_reality]

@@CIOPilot Awesome sounds good ill let you know im from DFW Texas area.

[@CIOPilot]

@@dominating_reality Awesome. We fly from here to McKinney a lot to see family. Have a lot of folks from the DFW area that fly in here, and I always make the offer for them to give me a call if they have questions, or if they just want me to give them an eyeball of the weather. We had another close-call here the other day when some guys came in with a Cessna 182, topped-off completely with fuel and had to abort their takeoff when they couldn't quite get airborne, blew a tire trying to shut things down. One pilot was 400 hours, another was 2000 hours. Never too many hours to give someone a call, that's for sure!

[@777Chip]

Well done

[@CIOPilot]

Thank you Chip, I appreciate that.

[@rchn1315]

Why suddenly a lot of accidents? The weather hasn't changed in the last few decades? Neither the the overall capability of airplanes. Other places have similar issues like KTVL South Lake Tahoe and other high altitude airports in the leeside.

[@CIOPilot]

There have been quite a few accidents since the 90's, and a lot of close-calls. The close-calls of course don't get reported anywhere, it is more about the local knowledge of those close-calls that get's local pilot's attention. That is what prompted me to do this. We had this most recent accident in 2019, and there was a Mooney crash in 2013, a Cirrus in 2002, and a Cessna 172 in 2000. If you look at Katheryn's report at www.kathrynsreport.com/search?q=kaxx&max-results=20&by-date=true you will see those. So...not an excessive amount of crashes (4 in 20 years). I was out at the airport and hearing all of these pilots tell stories about their close-calls with rising terrain and the surprise they were facing with the lack of aircraft performance, so we were doing a bunch of "hangar flying" and talking about "why". I have heard about some of the crashes out at Lake Tahoe, and was wondering if this was something new, or if we were just hearing more about it.

[@jaysantos536]

@@CIOPilot Takoe is far easier to get in and out of compared with AF.

[@marcosmota1094]

Just fly into Los Alamos.

[@CIOPilot]

Los Alamos is a long drive from Angel Fire and can be just as dangerous because it is a one-way in and one-way out airport, often requiring tailwind takeoffs.

[@laskartrece]

Good Job! Well done. Thank you.

[@CIOPilot]

Thanks for watching, I appreciate it!

[@danklynn]

This is awesome! Thanks for putting it together. I’ve flown into Taos from Denver but I’ll have to put AXX on my bucket list. Seems quite a bit similar to Leadville.

[@CIOPilot]

Glad you found the video useful Dan. Yes, very similar to Leadville (yes, I've been there too). Our runway is about 2500 feet longer than Leadville, and we are 25 feet wider than Leadville, but our crosswinds are a bit more intense here. I think the Angel Fire runway is in a bit better shape too. Come on by and visit. We have a great mountain, and a few good restaurants, and if you are going to be here a while, an awesome brewpub in town. Let me know if you are going to come in some time and I'll meet you at the airport and give you a tour around town.

[@danklynn]

Will do! I might make it out for some skiing this winter if I’m lucky. (Btw they have been resurfacing the LXV runway all summer so it should be nice and smooth soon)

[@CIOPilot]

@@danklynn Sweet....I'll have to hit them up again this winter. Should help it melt off more consistently than in the past. Hoping for good snow here this year, already had a couple of good storms.

[@TheDaegoon]

That was some great content. I just visited AF a few weeks ago in a Cherokee 6-260 and all of this content is very helpful. Thanks for the effort to put this out.

[@CIOPilot]

Thank you Roger. I saw that 6 sitting out there when I came in one day. I have the red / white Saratoga in the hangar. Was cool seeing another one out there. Glad you found this informational, even though you have already done it.

[@TheDaegoon]

Spencer Hamons I was asking about the Saratoga when I was there. It is a very nice plane. I hope to start making trips out there more regular. We should get coffee next time.

[@CIOPilot]

@@TheDaegoon Absolutely. You can PM me at spencer_hamons@hotmail .com and I can send you my phone number. Hit me up next time you make it in.

[@chadgriffith5819]

how much weight were you hauling? I also have a 6 260 and thinking about a trip to AF but not feeling good about being near gross doing it.

[@TheDaegoon]

Chad Griffith I was 300 lbs under gross, but it was warmer in August. You would have no issues with a winter trip in and out. My 6 climbs like crazy up to 12k in the winter, but warm air in the summer makes the performance noticeably slower. Plan to leave in the early morning in the summer for sure.

[@Wolficorntv]

great presentation. Thx for putting it together.

[@CIOPilot]

Thanks for watching, glad you liked it!

[@leonechiro1]

Ty

[@CIOPilot]

You are very welcome. Hope this helps and you get to come in sometime. Just added a new video to the channel, hopefully you will find some more content on there that you like.

[@arturo468]

Have there been any other accidents after the PA24 which crashed there (2 fatalities) on 20th October 2019?

[@CIOPilot]

No, nothing since the Comanche. Lots of close-calls over the past couple of years though where people barely made it out of here.

[@ttayloratlanta]

Excellent video and a great explanation of the potential hazards in your area.

[@CIOPilot]

Thank you Tim...glad you found it informational. Hope you didn't find it too simplistic coming from a non-instructor, but I definitely appreciate the comments.

[@lowifrles9813]

Great brief. Thank you!

[@CIOPilot]

Thank you Loifrles...

[@theodoredryden8300]

A+. great video!

[@CIOPilot]

Thank you, sir!

[@jimhughes2658]

Excellent!!!

[@CIOPilot]

Thank you Jim, I appreciate that.