Winter in Washington

[akarmy]

While we generally have mild winters, we have had a stretch of sub freezing temps with nice clear skys! I was able to get up for a two hour flight in the foot hills of Mt Rainier this weekend. For those that know the area, this was taken just south of Eatonville and Alder Lake.

[SkySteve]

Andy,
Yes, know the area well. Looks like a nice flying day. Too cold here for me today (-12 F) and cloudy.

[Flienlow]

Andy-

Question:Would you feel safe flying the Kitfox over the cascades to eastern WA, or do you feel you would need a little more engine for that?

[akarmy]

In the winter or in the summer?

I fly across the mountains regularly. Both loaded and unloaded as have many others. My favorite route is to shoot east of Enumclaw and crest the hill just north of Crystal mountain ski resort, drops you in to the Naches valley of Yakima.

[cap01]

really have to pick your days in the summer and fly early in the day . will get rough as to that you dont want to be there if you pick a bad day . also you have to watch the winds around the mountain . the 912ul is plenty of engine , if you pick your routes you really dont have to fly all that high , 6500-7000 to get over white pass . the weather like weve been having is perfect for flying in the mountains . today with the temp inversion it was warmer a 5000 than it was on the ground . most everywhere was foged in except the hills , a nice day for flying .

[War Eagle]

I've flown from Nampa to Arlington several times and that is the route I've
always taken.

The added value in my opinion is that you can pretty much keep the hwys in sight so if there was ever a problem you potentially could have some place to set down if needed. (Given you can find a hole in the traffic).