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| Preface | |
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| Acknowledgments | |
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| Introduction | |
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| Mountain flying is different | |
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| Mountain flying can be done safely | |
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| The statistics of mountain flight | |
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| Causes of mountain flight accidents | |
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| Flatland pilots are at greatest risk | |
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| Hence this book | |
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| Altitude | |
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| Effects of altitude | |
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| Some aircraft performance charts | |
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| Effects of altitude on aircraft engines | |
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| Density altitude | |
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| Fuel mixture management | |
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| Turbocharging | |
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| Engine cooling | |
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| Effect of altitude on aerodynamics | |
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| Effect of altitude on aircraft performance | |
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| Speeds to fly change with altitude | |
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| More airplane is better | |
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| One more time | |
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| Effects of altitude on pilots | |
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| Hypoxia | |
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| Susceptibility to hypoxia | |
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| Dangers of hypoxia | |
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| Hyperventilation | |
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| Avoiding hypoxia | |
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| Acclimatize | |
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| Supplemental oxygen | |
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| Pressurized cabin | |
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| Oxygen systems | |
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| Constant-flow oxygen | |
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| Diluter demand oxygen | |
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| Dehydration | |
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| Fatigue | |
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| Hypothermia | |
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| Cumulative effects | |
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| Cold-weather operations | |
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| Above freezing | |
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| From freezing to 20[degree]F | |
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| Temperatures below 20[degree]F | |
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| Temperatures below 0[degree]F | |
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| Temperatures lower than -30[degree]F | |
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| Reminder about hypothermia | |
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| Cold-weather accident precautions | |
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| Mountain weather | |
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| Global weather | |
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| Weather predictions and current information sources | |
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| The Internet | |
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| The Weather Channel | |
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| Airport weather computers | |
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| Flight service | |
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| En route weather information | |
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| All the above information was incorrect! | |
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| Observe the weather | |
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| Reading mountain weather | |
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| Observing weather | |
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| Clouds | |
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| Cloud Types | |
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| Cumulus-form clouds | |
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| Where cumulus clouds form | |
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| Other concerns with cumulus clouds | |
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| Cumulus cloud types | |
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| Typical cloud heights | |
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| Cumuluslike mountain cloud types | |
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| Stratiform clouds | |
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| Temperature inversion layers | |
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| Lenticular clouds | |
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| Cloud caps (or Foehn walls in Europe) | |
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| Pileus clouds | |
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| Mountain wave | |
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| Conditions favoring wave formation | |
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| Wave dimensions | |
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| Flying in wave conditions | |
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| Nacreous clouds | |
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| Kelvin-Helmholtz wavelets | |
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| Small-scale mountain winds | |
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| Katabatic/anabatic winds | |
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| Temperature inversions | |
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| Thermals | |
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| Ridge lift/rotor | |
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| Venturi | |
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| Anomalous reverse-direction winds | |
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| Reverse-direction convective wind | |
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| Reverse-direction deflected winds | |
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| Reverse-direction pressure drainage winds | |
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| Microbursts and gust fronts over ridges and passes | |
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| Summary of anomalous reverse-flow winds over passes | |
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| Mountain Flying Strategy | |
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| Flying the mountain environment | |
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| Time of day | |
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| Time of year | |
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| Think behind | |
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| Takeoffs | |
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| Takeoff technique | |
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| Density altitude | |
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| Uphill/downhill takeoffs | |
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| Soft field (grass, dirt, snow) | |
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| Go/no go | |
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| Take off twice | |
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| Departures | |
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| Traffic | |
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| En route | |
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| Route planning | |
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| Navigation | |
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| Lost? | |
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| En route flight techniques | |
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| Narrow valleys | |
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| Climbing a narrow valley | |
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| Climb speed | |
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| Clear the pass at the head of the valley? | |
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| Canyon turns | |
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| Unlikely methods for canyon turns | |
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| Chandelles | |
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| Half lazy eights | |
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| Wingovers | |
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| Hammerhead stall turns | |
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| All canyon turns | |
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| Flying up a canyon in poor visibility | |
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| Keep your back door open! | |
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| Crossing a pass | |
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| Bad visibility at a pass | |
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| Crossing a ridge or mountain range | |
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| Altitude needed to cross a pass | |
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| A day I guessed wrong | |
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| Too late to turn back? | |
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| Traffic at mountain passes | |
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| Instrument flight in the mountains | |
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| Don't | |
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| Turbulence | |
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| Minimum en route altitudes | |
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| Published departure climbs | |
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| Missed-approach procedures | |
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| Approach procedures | |
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| Minimum descent altitudes | |
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| Mountain icing | |
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| Mountain wave icing | |
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| Single-engine IFR in the mountains | |
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| An IFR strategy to avoid | |
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| Specific mountain weather concerns | |
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| Flight above the clouds | |
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| VFR on top unlikely in summer | |
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| Flight above low stratus clouds | |
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| Avoid flight above building cumulus clouds | |
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| Flight under the clouds | |
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| Cloud suck | |
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| Mammata | |
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| Why pilots find themselves in trouble beneath the clouds | |
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| Scud-running | |
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| Conditions for scud-running | |
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| Beware of artificial obstructions! | |
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| How to scud-run | |
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| Saving yourself when scud-running traps you | |
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| Fly toward low terrain | |
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| Fly in low circles | |
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| Climb | |
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| Precautionary landings | |
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| Walking out | |
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| Fly around inclement weather | |
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| Night flight over the mountains | |
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| Fly on another day | |
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| Almost home | |
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| Descents | |
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| Engine management | |
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| Avoiding shock cooling | |
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| Avoiding overcooling | |
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| Speed control | |
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| Carburetor icing | |
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| Descent planning | |
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| Approaches | |
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| Descent into a valley | |
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| Predicting areas of turbulence | |
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| Descending through lift | |
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| Planning an approach for conditions of reduced visibility | |
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| Traffic | |
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| Finding the airport | |
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| Arrivals | |
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| Avoiding turbulence on final approach | |
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| Going around | |
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| Landings | |
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| Landing speed | |
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| Speed control on final approach | |
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| Uphill/downhill runways | |
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| Downhill landings | |
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| Short field landings | |
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| Rough field/soft field landings | |
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| Off-field landings | |
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| Only in the mountains | |
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| Unconventional operations | |
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| Flight close to terrain | |
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| Search and rescue, aerial photography, game spotting | |
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| Search and rescue | |
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| Sideslips | |
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| Descend canyons | |
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| Bridges, wires, and arches | |
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| Trim for climb | |
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| Look ahead | |
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| Avoid heroics | |
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| Soaring flight | |
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| Ridge lift | |
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| Thermal lift | |
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| More advanced mountain flying | |
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| Practice | |
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| Graduated exposure | |
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| Advanced mountain flight instructions | |
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| Further reading | |
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| Summary | |
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| Do | |
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| Don't | |
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| Postscript | |
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| My first solo flight | |
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| Index | |