Mountain Takeoff | Cessna 172 | Big Bear, CA

[@dansnyder2494]

I remember back during the Cessna days i was attempting to lift off of a runway tucked between high peaks, just 3000 foot long, at 5500 foot elevation. It was my first time in the scenic and calm northern Pakistan. Since that runway was just 3000 foot, tall pine trees at the take off end (mountain to the other side) i had to mark a distance based V1; that if my air speed didnt touch 60 kts by then i was to abort without blink. First attempt from the very edge of the runway with the short field procedures, flaps 10 full power until steady for the 6 cylinder Continental Skyhawk 2, nearly full tanks, 2 occupants. Normally this plane reached 60 knots over short distance, but this time at 1300 v1 down runway we barely made 50. I aborted; that v1 calc was perfect, pulled off easy stop at the edge of the rollout runway. Made second attempt; same results. Stopped everything, parked and went out for an open air breezy walk to ponder over just what was happening. Took wind, engine power, pitot anomally, tire pressure, weight, temp into account, got into the poh, added 20 percent margin to all book figures for safety since this wasnt a new airplane afterall....i was all good...except those 10 degree flaps of course which while at lower density aided low air speed lift, at 5500 feet they were acting as speed brakes, i concluded. That factor was the single most plausible thing that came to mind, next i was going to drain some of the fuel if no flap takeoff wasn't going to work and finally delay. But it did work. At less than 1000 foot down the roll i was doing 60 already and then soon 80. I cleared the trees and then hopped between the high peaks back and forth into a triangle until i gained enough height to clear them and finally sailed home. Honestly it was better than flying an Airbus.

[@jaymur001]

I'm digging the matching Big Bear Airport crew necks haha

[@bajadude53]

A 172 with 2 Adults and fuel is always a thrill at Big Bear. Thank goodness it was cold.

[@Thetheobaudry]

Just started flying lessons!

[@RCWill9]

Good luck! 😃

[@itsDKRG]

good luck!

[@hakonboen]

Have fun :)

[@TravisNelsondjcrome]

+Theo Baudry u get ur license yet

[@Thetheobaudry]

+Travi5 Nope, ran into financial issues, back on it now though 22 hours total now XD

[@brendanfreed]

I'm really liking the new format of your videos! A little preview in the beginning, intro, then jumping straight into the video with a one or two minute narration. It's great!

[@crystal-_-modzz985]

I started lessons yesterday its gonna be awesome!!! I fly the 152

[@OnePointLander]

Plane is a hoopty. Love it. Gets the blood flowing.

[@BrettBaker]

Growing up in southern California, it's been fun watching you guys at these local airports. I'm currently living about 2 miles from Bermuda Dunes airport and I can't tell you how many times I've been to Big Bear for camping, hiking and skiing. Really enjoyed the past few videos.

[@emmanuelramos6484]

o gosh yes finally. i refresh ur page everyday waiting for a new video. i love ur videos and i really hope i can meet u someday

[@fsxn3rd]

i can really see the nervs kicking into you and brandon by your face expressions. Find it so cool that you two can work together. hope to see more of these videos. keep up the good work and happy flying.!!!

[@dyllaf]

A HUGE sigh of relief!!

[@nickashworth97]

Hey Josh! One of your patrons here!(: thanks to your videos, I have my first flying lesson booked for July 5th at Old Buckenham Aerodrome here in the UK! Awesome video as always, glad to be able to support(:

[@Steamboat2010]

Great flying and keeping your cool. The Colorado Mtns are a bit higher with various 14k peaks with beautiful views.

[@leatherwoodjay]

Josh your vids were never bad, but they have come as far as your flying skills over the last couple years. Great job on both!

[@MrPuRpLeHaZ3]

when doing a short field take off i was trained to hold the front wheel off the ground and when the plane lifts off push the nose over and fly the runway to gain speed then normal climb out.

[@livid6972]

Is I just me or does Brandon always look worried.

[@Aviation101]

It's you.

[@computer5272]

+DatCoolGuy It's not just you.

[@livid6972]

MrAviation101 i still think he looks weird

[@tfilter6]

I thought he looked like he was being extra observant to make sure he would see something if pic did not. It was flying that required all the attention it could be given.

[@Spec62]

@@Aviation101 Yea, I think you put a few gray hairs on the guy. Just saying.

[@NS-hj7km]

You guys made a smart decision not leaving the day before. My squadron lost 4 people flying from El Centro to San Diego in a Cherokee. Ran into that fast rising terrain in IMC . Those mountains are unforgiving.

[@unclelar53]

I was part owner of a 172, parked at Riverside, in the 1990s. I have been in and out of both Big Bear and Apple valley many times. I've done some pretty spooky take-offs out of BB during the summer. You made the right call staying overnight.

[@lyncrons]

Really interesting looking at your crew dynamics during the takeoff versus the cruise. Worth a look at of you haven't already played it back. Your instructor pax's eyes were darting all over the shop. Really great bid guys.

[@lyncrons]

Bid = video. Sigh ;-)

[@JosephBrown83805]

I really enjoy your travel flight videos, especially this one since you were in my old flying grounds. I flew to Big Bear many times when Redlands Airport was my base and then for almost 20 years I was out of Apple Valley, shout out to Mid Field Aviation! We moved away over 9 years ago and it was nice seeing the old area through someone else's video. I sure wish the cameras now available had been around back then. Mine were heavy VHS and video 8 cameras. Great videos of this trip, looking forward to more of them!

[@MikeVictorAviation]

I was visiting Big Bear two years ago with a C172 with 160hp. When we took off, the aircraft was just a couple dozen lbs below MTOW and the density altitude was 8000ft. We departed 08 and I took that dry lake to the left of the center line extension into account as a pretty convenient plan B since there is no obstruction in that direction. But plan A (straight out climb) worked well considering the conditions. Short field skills help a lot at that airport and picking up speed in ground effect is worth applying. Your faces were pretty serious on climbing out. I guess such an abortion is quite an experience.

[@bartgoins1782]

Your passenger/copilot was chomping at the bit, he wanted to be PIC.

[@Bill92677]

Nice video. Big Bear is a tricky airport and as someone mentioned, most local schools require a separate check-out to fly in and out of there due to the terrain and density altitude factors. That's definitely a good thing to do as high density altitude demands respect especially when flying airplanes like 172s. Even when it's cold like this day, there's always an elevated pucker factor on departure. I realized when you did the AWOS check at 8:24 that you departed with a 6 kt. tail wind. Eek! I might have opted for a 26 departure into the wind with short field procedures and a circle back when clear of the terrain in that direction (probably all the way to the dam). But, you had plenty of performance due to the temps and proper leaning, so it worked out well. Thanks for the video and keep flying!

[@paulcailliet9942]

Kudos to you as I think more than anyone (other pilots on tube appreciate as well) give good ‘lessons’ and motivation - I’m retired with flying bug, 23 hrs in suspended with finance regrouping for now

[@scottellis5645]

Glad to hear you guys got off okay from L35. Places where the altitude is higher than the length of the runway, makes for interesting experiences..! Looking forward to more videos, keep 'em coming, thanks!!

[@BladeTrinity99]

Lol I felt the relief and excitement for you when your cleared Big Bear...I almost wanted to do a Captain America for fun, "language"...Great video.

[@MichaelLloyd]

This is a really good follow up video. I like the videography that you do now but videos (very high quality even 4 years ago btw) like these are gold for the new people getting into aviation. It represents the real life cockpit dynamic and necessary decision making process very well. Lake County, CO - 9,934' MSL I did my mountain checkout in April from EIK (used to be 48V) to LXV then back to EIK in a C182. 3 hours of fun, with a moment of fear. We had a new instructor observing in the back. Part of the checkout was to pay attention to where the top of the mountain was in the wind screen. If it was getting bigger, that ain't good. He had me fly up the I-70 corridor, which was cool in an "i hope we don't have to land on I-70 kind of way". As we neared the Eisenhower tunnel I noticed the top of the mountain was climbing in the windscreen and the canyon was narrower than I could turn around in (I think he could've). I mentioned it. He kind of brushed it off as no big deal. 5 minutes later the now nervous instructor in the back brought it up again. Again, no worries, it's all good. I think me and the guy in the back thought we were going to change our name to splat. A few minutes later a canyon opened up to the left and we continued on to Leadville. I basically learned that I probably didn't "need" to fly in the mountains. At least not until I had a lot more dual. But I had a checkout signature in the log :)

[@ednesbit2988]

thats one of my home airports and i have a couple similar stories one in winter the worst on a hot august morning almost didnt get up in the air we scraped some trees

[@propellerjfk]

He looks so tense and worried. Makes he think if he really wants to be in that plane ;)

[@kastore100]

Good to see you both making escape off the mountains. I hope Brandon didn't ate his nails to the bone :) Good Job.

[@gtartom3777]

Thank you for making piloting feel approachable

[@markoda8455]

Nice video. Really enjoyed the drama od the situation and the lessons we learn from it. Thank goodness you didn't have a hot day.

[@flyingscalpel7]

That thing with full flaps is crazy. That's like landing a 738 into Kai Tak at 40 flaps. Lol

[@Brisco1]

Question for you-why were you flying so low after takeoff? More than a minute after taking off (@3:20) you said you were at 200 feet (4:25)...why not climb higher? Was the plane's performance degraded due to airport elevation or were intentionally staying low?

[@Aviation101]

bg11215 yes, degraded performance.

[@Brisco1]

Wow, it's one thing to read about aircraft performance in varying conditions, but it's quite another to see what it actually looks like. Great videos you post!

[@Aviation101]

bg11215 thanks!!!

[@ShadowAviator]

I am looking forward to trying out my Cessna 172K at Glenwood Springs.

[@onecircle1]

Nice to have someone in the right seat who knows what's going on.

[@travishorrell]

Come out to Montana and let's go fly in the bob Marshall wilderness you would love that. 11500 in a Cessna 172 every weekend. Great videos keep flying.

[@lucasmartin-heid8899]

After all of that you guys deserve a Big Bear City sweatshirt.

[@Aviation101]

lucas martin We had no choice. We were dressed for summer! :)

[@booniebuster4193]

+MrAviation101 Great video! You made the right choice. Personally, I'm not sure I would have attempted to take a C-172 out of Big Bear that day. It just didn't look good out of the windshield. But we have all had our moments. When I was flying regularly over the Sierra Mountains in my Cessna 210, I also put my coat on before take off out of Merced. I figured that if I went down, having my coat in the baggage compartment would do me no good. Especially if I survived and was trapped in the cockpit, and unable to get to the baggage compartment. Even in summer, the mountains can get very cold at night. I learned a lot about mountain flying in those day. But I hated it. The engine always sounded a little different once the flat land disappeared. Hope you have many years of safe flying.

[@TheBappy56]

Man, you guys are throwing around some crazy altitudes to me. The lowest airport I have landed at was 4875' elevation (KONM) and the highest was 6537' elevation (KGNT). You guys are landing at 3000' and cruising at 6500' and 7500'? I cruise at 8500' and sometimes 9500' at all times! Great videos in any case!

[@danielwu346]

11:48 haha pilot: "we can afford to go idle". copilot: "yeah...whatever..."

[@Aviation101]

Daniel Wu That's how we roll haha

[@flycubfly]

With over a mile of asphalt in front of you ,,, why do you “ have to “ use full flaps ?!?!?

[@gordonfeliciano4315]

Hey Josh. I was watching your departure out of Big Bear City again and a thought came to mind. During your run up, did you bother to lean the mixture prior to take off to make sure you had maximum power set? I'm sure you already know the importance of leaning your mixture when departing any airport above 3000' MSL. This takeoff seemed more tense that it actually should have been. As long as you prepare and follow the proper procedures, it should have been a normal, routine high altitude airport takeoff. One of the techniques I've used when flying out of some of the mountain airports here in Colorado is the "spiral up" method. That's where I bank the airplane in a climbing turn after reaching 500' AGL to gain sufficient altitude before attempting to depart the traffic pattern and cross any high obstacles or terrain. It also serves as a safety measure in case the engine decides to die since the runway is within gliding distance. Anyway, you two did a great job. Keep the videos coming and here's to many more happy and safe flights!

[@Aviation101]

Gordon Feliciano Of course! AIrplane was leaned on the ramp after start up. It wouldn't have been able to get off the ground if it wasn't leaned haha. Go watch the aborted takeoff video right before this one, then you'll understand why we were so tense ;)

[@TheDNick]

One of my favorite airports to fly to and out in my sim.

[@jackiechiles270]

Your co-pilot was scared shitless!!!! LOL.......Glad everything worked out for you the day before. As pilots we learn something every day and from your video from the day before I've learned to watch the wind sock more closely....

[@brandonmaso177]

Jackie Chiles Wouldn't quite say I was scared "shitless," but more like I REALLY didn't want to have to spend another night in BB.

[@christopherpechin8499]

Well done. Teamwork. Well photographed. Didn't hear radio responses. No tower?

[@ElAlcahuete]

L35 is untowered.

[@bobvonbuelow9983]

very interesting. I live a stone's throw from KAPV and we often drive up to Big Bear, sometimes on the highway and sometimes on forest roads, so I'm very familiar with the terrain. I only fly flight simulator but my 'standard' C-172 flight is KAPV to L35. Yes, it's a fun flight, even on the simulator. The eastbound route out you took out of Big Bear pretty much follows the highway down to the desert floor to Lucerne then west to Apple Valley and was a great choice. I know you also fly out of San Marcos TX and as a former hill country resident I'm also familiar with that area so I really enjoy those flights as well as this surprise visit to my California local airports. Good stuff!

[@Rangband1]

Good job delaying departure. Might want to think about slowing the N # call out a tad couple of occasions it's slurred together making it hard to comprehend on the other end of the radio and causing more unnecessary "stumbles" in your radio communications.

[@Aviation101]

Rangband1 N number is unimportant on CTAF, nor is it even required. Only pertinent info is airport, type aircraft, position/altitude, and intentions.

[@christianorehek5841]

Awesome video! That defiantly looked like a sketchy departure over the lake. I noticed on flight aware you did some stops in New Mexico. Is it possible you could post the videos from NM? As always thanks for the great video!

[@VicariousAir]

That is a nasty area for sever down drafts, insane up drafts and harsh cross winds. In 1997 I hit a downdraft that was all I could do to get out of only to hit the updraft component and get sailed 4000 feet (with power off) in less than a minute. I diverted to Apple Valley and had to crab in due to 30 mph gusting cross winds. I tied it down and rented a car to drive home then picked up the plane a few days later. Only a few months before that, I lost a friend to Lucern Valley just a few miles south of there after she iced over and stalled. She crashed in a near vertical attitude that left 2 foot divots in the dry lake bed. 4 perished in that crash.

[@skyhawk_4526]

Hey Josh. Glad you guys were able to head out. I have a question about the flap setting... Looks like flaps 10 for takeoff and climbout. I was always taught to use flaps up for short field takeoffs and 10 for soft fields. I'm a student flying a C172M. Is the flap setting beneficial to the climb performance? I would have thought the drag created would cancel out the benefit of the added lift.

[@Aviation101]

Skyhawk _452 I was never taught that. I was taught 10 degrees for both configurations. My main goal with flaps were to get the airplane off the ground and out of ground effect quickly. I'll definitely look into this though. Seems like it's split between people who do it with 10 and people who do it with flaps up.

[@skyhawk_4526]

Thanks for the reply. I know lots of instructors have different views on some techniques. Happy flying!

[@Aviation101]

Same to you!

[@johannesweissdorn1431]

Take off roll gets shorter, but rate of climb decreases (at least for this type of aircraft), i.e., 10 deg flaps only make sense on really short runways with obstacles at the end.

[@igclapp]

You are correct. In a 172, 10 degrees flaps should only be used on soft or rough fields when you want to get your wheels off the ground as soon as possible. 10 degrees flaps gives your wing a worse lift/drag ratio than with flaps up, so as you say it's going to add more drag than it's worth, and this is an especially bad thing at high altitude where your available thrust is suffering. Even in the Citation 500 series you have to use zero flaps for takeoff above a certain altitude/temperature.

[@itsDKRG]

Nervousness is easy to read from Brandon`s eyes :) I don`t know about you Josh since you had you sunglasses on :) But seriously you guys have done a great job! Even I got excited when you made takeoff roll announcement, i was looking at the airpseed ind. to see how fast airspeed would build :D Good job, Fly safe!

[@andrewmackaybryan]

Brilliant video. I am very surprised that you got snow in June but given the altitude maybe that is normal. There is no doubt about the relief you showed when you climbed out of the airfield and got above the obstacle zone. But can you help with a question: in the last video you seemed concerned with the higher temperatures and the lower density air. But at 0 degrees Celsius wouldn't the air be nice and dense and the aircraft better able to climb - even at the higher altitude? Andrew

[@Aviation101]

Andrew B At any altitude, if the temperature is above standard, then the density altitude will most likely be higher than the field elevations.

[@AlexChristian]

Hey Josh (MrAviation101) were you all flying the ODP? Just curious. Heard Brandon give you some vectors and figured that's what you all were doing, but I wasn't sure.

[@Aviation101]

No, he was just giving me a heading to Apple Valley, and I was dodging the terrain.

[@JeffDale613]

Love how you guys are sporting the Big Bear swag on the flight. Hahahah Good video guys.

[@Mirandorl]

0:55 - ".. and not endure another night of accidentally waking up in the spooning position. Thank god you don't have to make eye contact in planes". Motels = Mot-hells! 13:30 - chirp chirp ahhhhhhhhhhh

[@ApartmentKing66]

I really like Josh. He seems like a really cool guy to hang out with.

[@mickybobby]

Nice work mate. Glad to see you made it.

[@Isaiah2000A]

Do you ever plan on flying to south Florida

[@danielhawley6817]

Having done a bunch of this flying in under powered plane in mountains...it sucks to have to plot escape paths. Flew down a wash in Winslow AZ when the plane didn't want to out climb sinking air. Make mine turbine with a 2,000 FPM climb rate at 10,000 DA at gross. Suggestion: When flying in the mountains in ANY season, dress like you're going to crash land and be out at least two nights before rescue..

[@greatlakesgliding7901]

I L-O-V-E that used every inch of runway unlike your aborted attempt the day before. really shows you are learning from your lessons, great job and thanks for sharing. Fly Safe

[@granskare]

I recall a video of 2 guys who flew in the Colorado mountains. they did crash and were not found until a couple years later...sad. Also I knew a guy who lived at this lake.

[@amsch3000]

I think you should come to austria and fly in the beautiful landscape of the alps. Its also very challenging to depature and land at the small austrian aerodrome because most of the runways are hardly 600 meters long and made of grass. But it brings a lot of experience and of course fun :) Would be a difference to the long american fixed runways :)

[@filip1880]

Directly bought a sweater there :p

[@MrFloatPilot]

Did you do a max power lean prior to your T/O roll?

[@Aviation101]

Of course, I'd expect any pilot to do so.

[@MrFloatPilot]

+MrAviation101 You would be amazed at the number who do not. Particularly lower time pilots. BTW..Nice camera and audio work

[@boogerwood]

Josh is cool as a cucumber. Brandon... not so much lol. Loved this video! Also, you remind me of that guy that's in the background of Just Plane Silly's videos all the time. Weird, huh? 😉😆

[@wurlitzer895]

Josh, this is probably a stupid question, but at about 5.25 you say in your radio message that you're 'making a descent through the pass'. Why were you descending rather than continuing to climb? Also, may I ask what was your rate of climb during that early stage of the flight? Thanks for your response. Great vids or Big Bear Airport! Take care! Peter from London

[@ranrachvl]

Hey Josh, Why 10°of flaps on takeoff? My POH for my C-172H does not recommend flaps for any takeoff situation except soft field.

[@lgj1443]

Randy VanLaar Short field takeoff

[@quikstop4347]

Exactly - flaps out compromises climb performance, Vx and Vy for this aircraft are both for a clean config, there didn't appear to be any runway limitations other than high elevation. Don't test pilot flight performance, do what the manual says otherwise you're navigating uncharted territory!

[@igclapp]

​@@lgj1443Short field takeoff in a 172 from a paved runway is done with flaps up.

[@timothysinclair3670]

If only the UK had extreme aerodromes like this... My airport has an elevation of 622ft, and it's the 2nd highest in the country!

[@timothysinclair3670]

***** Yes! Do you fly from there too?

[@timothysinclair3670]

***** Strangely enough, no. My dad is also called Andrew though.

[@timothysinclair3670]

***** Don't know about that yet, but I'll be up there on the 20th of June for the red arrows.

[@timothysinclair3670]

***** Will do!

[@scottmoseley5122]

but at least you have AeroDOMES wish we had a few of those.

[@MrRose-nr3ez]

Another interesting video, thanks josh

[@DirtNerds]

Big Bear is awesome!

[@NeonsStyleHD]

Most pilots die around the 200-300 hour mark when they just become confident in their abilities. Don't let that be you. Fortunately you had the smarts to see a bad situation developing. The DA the day you took off must've been bad as that climb rate didn't look much more than 200 ft/m.

[@raybankes7668]

haha it was 5 degrees C the D-altitude was not high, the actual altitude is.... The cool weather helped. altitude is 6752 Ft MSL and its a C-172.

[@maxbootstrap7397]

When I used to fly in California, BigBear was always a great place to stop for fuel because you get to keep almost all the altitude you gained climbing to a good cruise altitude (and burning up a bunch of fuel to do). I was always flying in 152s and 172s and never had any trouble *at all* climbing out, which makes me wonder how much luggage you two dudes have stowed away in back! :-o Pretty much all high altitude airports are great for similar reasons... plus they are away from busy traffic, plus the environment is always a lot prettier. Which makes me wonder... what happened to the water at BigBear? I never flew in when the lake didn't look like a pretty blue lake! :-o

[@tomedgar4375]

They flew out east over Baldwin lake, it is dry most years. Big bear lake is west

[@scottmoseley5122]

how long did it take you to deice the the plane? What methods did you use. Any Anti Freeze available?

[@jackiechiles270]

I have a Cessna 182RG. I've never had to abort a takeoff but I have had 2 go-arounds. Fortunately I had set the plane up perfectly and the go-around was uneventful. During the flare a rear quartering gust of wind hit me. The rear of the plane went straight up and sideways. At that point I couldn't have been more than 1.5 feet off the runway. I went full throttle and came back around. I had a corporate pilot tell me once to PLAN on a go-around and let the landing be the exception. Luckily I had heeded this advice.

[@CozynBelgium]

13:39 Nosepick haha

[@pappydroneairsoft6098]

Geebus, Brandon looks like he is going to poop himself with worry on takeoff! Question, Brandon says you need full flaps on final, you disagree. What are the reasons for both sides of the argument?

[@brandonmaso177]

Pappy SLAP Based on our previous day's experience I probably felt that way too! With regard to flaps, the only reason I suggested it was because he didn't have them fully down but was still high and having to do S-turns. In my opinion, s-turning should be done only after using flaps.

[@pappydroneairsoft6098]

Brandon Maso fair enough...thanks for the info! Watching you guys fly is making me really wanting to finally get my private. I have a fear of falling, and when the plane bounces around (like during my discovery flight) it makes me really nervous. I have heard that goes away as you get used to it, especially in GA flights....thoughts?

[@Aviation101]

Pappy SLAP On the other side of the argument, full flaps in 991 will make the airplane fall way too fast in my opinion, and I believe it's due to very rough paint on the top of the wings that causes terrible aerodynamics and destroys lift prematurely at low speeds. Hopefully this will be fixed in a couple of months when the airplane is freshly painted.

[@pappydroneairsoft6098]

MrAviation101 awesome...thanks for the reply, and the awesome vids!

[@dwhiteheadd]

MrAviation101 Does your plane have 40 or 30 degree flaps when full down? I'm only used to 30. I've used 40 once and I didn't really like it

[@Purplexity-ww8nb]

The only thing I don't like about Cessna's is those cheesy push/pull throttle/mixture controls. Very interesting video.

[@vagrante13]

Good job! Didn't you have wheel fairings before?

[@bassque]

@10:25"That's pansy sh!t compared to Colorado." Lol!

[@nickromanick]

Hey Josh and Brandon, how do you the faro vs the Sierra? I'm looking to get my own headset soon and I was wondering if the Sierra is worth the extra dough

[@garikbabayan]

There is a reason why we all can't just fly there without checkout with a CFI who has been there before and got checked out to ))

[@glock19gen3]

between yourself, and many other aviation you tubers, I am so wanting to get my Private pilot certificate.

[@merkaking1]

Nice flight

[@biggieb8900]

Setting up this exact flight in MSFS2020

[@rileywoods6801]

Awesome video!

[@GregoryMaule1998]

Slow down on the radio its not a race. (calm and collected) also why S turn when you still had 20 degrees of flaps left? You should land if possible with full flaps every landing for many reasons. Thoughts?

[@Aviation101]

I don't like going full flaps unless I'm ridiculously high. Now I slip more often than S turns, but still hardly ever do full flaps. And I agree, sometimes I could slow down on the radio.

[@tonyroulston1244]

Hey Guys I continue to enjoy your videos and I have a question for Brandon if I may. Brandon, as a CFI how do you detach yourself from the different flying technique of a buddy and former student. I am not talking about situations, if they arise, of errors your role as Copilot requires that you speck up, but we all have slightly different approaches to the say, same approach? You definitely seem to have the right demeanour for it, but it must be hard not to be a backseat pilot at times? For instance, in this video, I seems that you would have managed entering the pattern differently. Good job both of you, I learn something new with every video. Tony

[@brandonmaso177]

Tony Roulston It's tough to articulate, actually. Josh and I have been flying longer than we've been friends, and so I am not his original instructor (who gave him is private). So in this particular case, that makes things easier. That said, when we're flying in HIS airplane on a x/c trip with a specific purpose, I tend to keep my mouth shut far more often than I ordinarily would, because I know he knows what he's doing. Simply put: I trust him! But, I'll admit it is VERY difficult at times because, yes, there are some things that I would do different in various circumstances. But as an instructor, you have to keep two things central to your train of thought: 1-- Are the other pilot's actions unsafe? 2-- Are they illegal? If the answer to both of those is "no," then I keep my mouth shut unless I think it's a horrible habit that'll cause issue in the future.

[@tonyroulston1244]

Thanks Brandon for a comprehensive reply. Again, great job and really enjoyable series. Tony

[@brandonmaso177]

Santiago Escobar Having only worn that headset on a couple of occasions, I don't want to pass too much judgment on it. It's certainly nice, but depending on what's important to you, it may or may not be the best headset... Josh actually has more experience with it than I.

[@brandonmaso177]

If you're just starting out, try David Clark's-- good, (relatively) inexpensive headset.

[@PercivalFakeman]

Did you guys do any mixture leaning?

[@tambb57]

As always great vid

[@N9710A]

That’s the way to get a 172 with 2 adults and fuel out of Big Bear (L35). Use the cold air, the lake and in VMC.

[@CzStudioGaming]

Hi Josh, what does mean "1-1000, 2-1000, 3-1000"? Is it some sort of seconds counting?

[@austin543_8]

There is a switch to lower and raise the flaps and he counts for the different degrees of flaps

[@bishoppolycarp9684]

@@austin543_8 So is there no internal dial to show where the flaps are at? Or, is he counting so as to not take his eyes off the runway? Thank you

[@austin543_8]

Bishop Polycarp If I recall there is no flap degree indicator so he has just memorized that 1 second is 5° of flaps or something along those lines. (I don’t know the actual numbers.)

[@jstewhd]

So was it the density altitude that was impacting your climb rate in this situation? Because you guys are taking a while to gain altitude. Oh and I passed my check ride June 4th!

[@Aviation101]

jstewhd CONGRATS!! And yes, DA was around 7,500ft when we took off.

[@jstewhd]

MrAviation101 Thank you so much for the reply. Huge fan! I'd start my own channel but I really do not have the time. The army really takes a lot of my free time away. I would definitely like to fly in formation with you guys one day... After I get more experience of course!

[@alllfav]

MrAviation101 That's high ;) How did you lean before TO and at what speed did you climb?

[@benpadelski4321]

The language. Sheeeesh!

[@groad6551]

Aloha Josh! Great video. Very informative and fun to watch. I'd like to ask you what model yoke mount you're using. I like how your iPad sits on the yoke. I started flying a Cessna 172 and would like to use my iPad mini 2 with Foreflight. I'd like to get a Stratus 1 or 2 but it's too expensive. I'm thinking of getting a Bad Elf Pro 2 instead. Any thoughts? Mahalo.

[@brendenlothamer1680]

when was this video from because i live near big bear and it was pouring rain yesterday

[@ednesbit2988]

by the way fuel is cheaper if you go east 15 mins out of big bear at 29palms airport cheaper than big bear and apple valley $1.50 per gallon cheaper

[@masoncallen]

I'm finally getting over being sick when I'd go up and fly, now I can finally get goin on my private license.

[@yoracerguy]

Great video!

[@aureliomarsili3902]

Nice videos, thanks for your work. These video seems like something "flight adventures", i like very much the way you made them !!! I'm a novice flight simmers (FSX) from Civitanova Marche, Italy.

[@Jaguar79gt]

snow fell down and josh wear shorts.....hmmmm :)))

[@andrewmackaybryan]

***** I was thinking that until I read Josh's reply to a comment above: they were dressed for summer.

[@hakonboen]

You two seem like really nice guys! I would love to meet you :D