How I landed an AIRPLANE on top of this MOUNTAIN (15,000ft+ Density Altitude)

Bottom line is, you need a lot of power! But we talk about some other concerns like tire pressure, suspension and airframe loads at high ground speeds, and wind considerations.. thanks for joining the adventure. *I'm not an instructor, this isn't official instruction, just sharing some thoughts on these high altitude landings. Remember, I worked up to this over the years, you wan't to challenge yourself, but you also don't want to bite off more than you can chew!! -T
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gravityknightf... for GKF Merch!

[@randymohr1881]

So glad to be back working in the USA where the GoogleTube, in its infinite wisdom, is willing to keep me up with GKF again! Todd, you just keep getting better man. Not just your flying and video work which is second to none, but now your explanations of what, why and how. BEST backcountry flying channel on the ‘tube. I simply don’t know how you don’t have a half million subscribers! Thanks from all our hearts sir!

[@GravityKnightFlying]

Thank you Randy, appreciate this comment so much man! very kind!

[@prof.heinous191]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: "King of the Mountains." Another gorgeous (and educational) film, love that approach music too!!

[@n7gn]

As always, thanks. KZbin only allows one thumbs up.....too bad as there are times when more are called for.

[@GravityKnightFlying]

thank you!

[@Kolbra2004]

Hey Todd, you say you're not an instructor, but I understood everything you said. You would make a good instructor.

[@GravityKnightFlying]

thanks Ralph!

[@slkgeothermal]

I really appreciated the view when you took off @ the 8:00 minute mark. You just fell over the edge like a hang glider. I liked your explanation regarding the wind effect on the top as well. As always your channel is amazing.

[@ChadBrinkerhoff]

Killer opener. Loved the music and the cinematic views. Great job once again!

[@GravityKnightFlying]

thanks Chad!

[@Christopher-bl3tn]

One of your best videos yet! Always improving! Really enjoyed the whiteboard explanation of how you approach these higher risk landings. Keep it up, one day hope to be able to do similar type flying.

[@whosyourcaddy]

Wow, your footage is unbelievable

[@bigjim1327]

Great video and liked your thought process before attempting a landing in such a spot. Keep them coming!!

[@chetbeckley2395]

Always enjoy your insight and flying!

[@Captndarty]

Looking for off airport landings on Google Earth is much like online dating. Often disappointed once you arrive and find it “unusable“

[@homertalk]

lol

[@GravityKnightFlying]

🤣👍 well said my friend

[@KOTNBB]

Hehe, try flying in the UK

[@corbinschad1]

Lmfao 😆

[@CLEAREDDIRECT]

Great vid as always!

[@DIYPackraft]

This is the best backcountry flying video I’ve ever seen! The flying sequences and drone shots were edited really well and I learned a lot from the whiteboard session - for what it’s worth, I think that’s the perfect mix, because no matter how great the scenery is I get a bit bored by most flying videos if there isn’t some nugget of wisdom I can take away. If I could offer one bit of constructive feedback to help you reach more people, it would be to somehow communicate in the thumbnail and/or title that this isn’t just a “watch me fly” video, because I didn’t know how good it was going to be until after I started watching. I know you don’t want to give the impression that you’re instructing, but I think it’s okay to lean a bit more in that direction because you have a lot of knowledge to share. You could say something like “How I Landed Here” or “A calculated risk: my thought process” or “Pilot talk: how I landed here” or “How am I going to land here?” - something along those lines. You could even do a whole series of videos like this, each describing how you approach a different challenge, and all with similar titles/thumbnails and organized into a playlist so when people enjoy one they can easily find all the others that have that similar theme. Anyway, I didn’t start writing this comment to give unsolicited advice - I just wanted you to know how much I enjoyed the video and that I’d love to see more like it. Thanks!

[@GravityKnightFlying]

Great advice!! I appreciate that.. it makes sense 👍

[@challenger2ultralightadventure]

I would take a tent, telescope and camera, and spend the night photographing the night sky. The lack of light pollution in that area must be excellent. Cheers from Winnipeg.

[@GravityKnightFlying]

I shoot some astrophotography sometimes, and I had not even thought about it until you mentioned the telescope. Great point.. might be chilly, but the unobstructed, dark sky would be fantastic..... hmm.. thanks my friend

[@divergentfuryan3546]

Incredible !!!

[@thomasmurray1807]

Thanks for sharing. Great content.

[@HookedOnUtah]

Most excellent video!! Rock On Brother!!

[@WoutervanTiel]

Makes landing in Sedona look like a walk in the park! This is IMPRESSIVE! oh and that is not your S6 anymore.

[@GravityKnightFlying]

thanks! turbo S7... sold the S6 very early 2020...

[@nathangrimes641]

Super cool!

[@ludvikblondal9885]

Mountain flying at it's best!

[@martinjnee3986]

I'm very surprised your stopping in around 7 seconds up there!

[@nickmudd]

Dang, thats like the secret treehouse spot as a kid

[@kcpumpguy]

Another epic video Todd, thank you! Are you going to let the Patreons know where this mountain is? I've got a suspicion that it's one of the "Red Mountains" in the San Juans, but I can't make a perfect match.

[@GravityKnightFlying]

ahh.. thank you for the reminder my friend ;)

[@kcpumpguy]

@@GravityKnightFlying Thanks for helping out the Patreons with the location. I had a feeling it was in the San Juans based on the route you took to get there. But, I thought it was in a different part of the San Juans. Even on Google Earth, that mountain looks crazy. I wonder what geologic forces made that happen! I see what you mean, if you ran into any kind of a problem you'd be in deep. Maybe you could use the InReach to get help for yourself, but the plane would be there for a long time. It's not like you could pick up some parts and have a buddy fly you in to fix it. Having a helicopter come in and pick up the plane to get it out of there? That's not going something you can get from AAA.

[@jimhoyt49]

Your flying videos are exciding to watch. Always looking for the best and yours are. Your video images from the ground can be sharper if you slow your panning speed, it blurs the 4K image of the great views most humans will never see. Thanks for all your work, it really makes my day.

[@jimecee]

Crazy video, awesome flying. Had to watch this one twice. Do you notice your drone being affected by the high D.A.?

[@GravityKnightFlying]

Seems like the climb is slower...often times the wind is strong at these high spots, and I've had times where I've had to kick it into it's high speed mode to be able to get back through a strong headwind. I should pay closer to attention... I would imagine there is a reduction in battery life, and I think I've experienced that.. but should watch it closer. Thanks James!

[@jimecee]

@@GravityKnightFlying that makes sense, also I took my written today and scored an 87% that I’m pretty proud of, flight lessons start next week. Fly safe!

[@GravityKnightFlying]

@@jimecee well done sir 👍

[@Captndarty]

Also what about Tire groundspeed limitations? I seem to recall my air streak 26s have something around a 70 to maybe 75 mph limitation which I can see being exceeded at very high density altitude?

[@GravityKnightFlying]

this is a great point!! another good argument to take off uphill, into the wind, to keep groundspeed down on a high spot (if enough power is available to do so of course!)...

[@danblumel]

I might look into coming to the Hot Springs Fly-,in. What days are you planning to be there ? Is there camping on site ? Besides Facebook how can I learn more. How many planes usually come to it ? Only a ~2 hour flight for my Glasair from Ogden, UT.

[@rjbishop12]

Basically most just camp in the grass around the airport. I think last year there were at least 30 airplanes that flew in. It's a great fly-in- I highly recommend it.

[@GravityKnightFlying]

I think I'll try to be there friday-sunday. Not actually sure outside of facebook... the folks who put it on do a great job with the fly-in, but don't spend much time advertising it in much detail. (I mean that respectfully to them, they are busy folk, and still manage to do a great job, its a lot of work for them... ). I've done a video or two on it that shows some of it... some cool places to fly out and see like devil's tower. Usually a stol demonstration happens, good food etc.

[@Alixper]

Beautiful landing seems like your tires would go down in pressure as you go up in altitude???

[@DIYPackraft]

The number of air molecules inside the tire doesn’t change, but at higher altitude there are fewer air molecules pushing against the outside of the tire, so the difference in pressure between inside and outside increases and the tires get firmer the higher you go.

[@portnuefflyer]

@@DIYPackraft It's common practice amongst some, to let air OUT before flying up to a high and rocky LZ. A squishy bushwheel will be more forgiving then a firm one, both in comfort to the plane, and also less likely to be damaged. think of a toy balloon, blow it up tight and bang it into things, inflated just enough to be roundish and it will take more abuse, same holds true for our tires. Thank Bob Breeden Sr. for that bit of tire trivia!

[@gapster46]

I wonder how long it takes you to climb to 12,000 from your home field. Roughly about 5,000 feet of elevation difference. My aircraft would never get to 12,000 feet no matter how long I tried.

[@GravityKnightFlying]

it will do it pretty fast, even on the lower boost map (I only climb on high boost for a little bit .. say 15-30 seconds from the time I go wide open to take off.. something like that anyway). up higher like 12k, the low boost map doesn't climb as good, as it drops boost as you climb like the high boost map does... keeping rpm in check. I setup the boost curves to basically keep rpm at 5700-5800 on the high boost map across altitude changes.. and the low boost is around 5500. i climbed through 16,000ft at 1100ft/min once while doing a test up to 18k. i doesn't always climb that good of course, that was a good day. the other limiter is temperature... i personally like to keep water and oil temps below 200deg f. so during the summer, in longer climbs, i may have to work around that a little. rotax's limits are much higher, but I like to keep everything extra happy. in colder temps, i think you could climb forever and stay under those, it does cool pretty well with two oil coolers etc. but on hot days staying under 200 requires working around it a little. i guess the condensed version is that, it has the power to make a climb like that very quickly, but I think it's better for the engine to not run it that hard, that long... and even pulled back, it performs well. -T

[@gapster46]

@@GravityKnightFlying Thanks for the explanation. I am based at sea level and rarely ever had to deal with high density altitude. So rare that I paid no attention to it at all a couple of times and it almost bit me both times and it was all on pavement. There was one time at a towered airport at about 4400 feet and just a tad bit over 90 degrees outside, the tower actually asked me if I really wanted to take off. Fire fighting tankers were using all of the runway and looked like beached whales once in the air and struggling to gain altitude. It helps to have a little over 5,000 feet of pavement in front of you.

[@dougm2745]

Must see content! Be careful.

[@nickwulf]

@ 7:00 are you flying up a closed end canyon, or is there a pass at the end ?

[@GravityKnightFlying]

that is actually downstream, always hard to tell stuff like that on a video... I believe its open out the end to pretty flat ground, many miles downstream. I love that section right there, so I dipped down and flew it for a while through there

[@TRabbit1970]

Next up: Everest?

[@GravityKnightFlying]

😆👍

[@gregpearson7013]

What plane and motor is this?

[@GravityKnightFlying]

Modified RANS S-7S with an Edge Performance EP912STi (turbo, injected, intercooled rotax)