C-152 N65440 Devils Thumb CO July 4th 2024

You hear that kids? Thats Uncle Juan saying cut the shit.

The pilot was flying on my turf. I’ve done it safely for 55 years. And even in a Cessna 150. He has had zero mountain flying training. Westbound on that route in the afternoon is a fools errand. In addition, there are a few more benign routes nearby. Both of his approaches were into the back side of a wall. Guaranteed rotors in both locations. We don’t fly that route after noon, or when it’s hot, or when the wind is over 20 mph. God smiled on a fool today.

The statement that this is disrespectful to aviation is spot on. I rent from the same establishment and live in a town where a large portion of the residents hate the airport with a passion and are constantly looking for excuses to denounce it's existence. I feel honored that people trust me to fly them and even their kids over these passes and take these terrain crossings very seriously. While this clip is wildly entertaining, it is also thoroughly frustrating because I know this will be going through people's heads when I talk about mountain flying.

Density altitude doesn't just affect engine and airfoil performance, it affects the performance of the decision making system behind the yoke.

The most scary thing about him is not that he almost died the first time but that he went right back into the same situation during the same flight. He is a danger to any passenger who flies with him.

The first attempt showed a serious lack of judgement. The second attempt suggests an even more serious psychological issue regarding recognizing risk. I cannot imagine hiring him for any position involving piloting or even renting aircraft.

I fly out of the flight school this plane is from. I patted it on the strut today. I’m glad the pilot and plane are still with us. Unbelievable.

Pilot shows exceptional ability to likely increase my insurance rates even more. 😔

I feel like we need a “you’re not stalling you’re falling” shirt

Very, very, lucky. Picked up way too many folks who failed that maneuver on the Collegiate Peaks in Colorado. That aircraft should not have been anywhere near that flight path. He didn't kill himself this time, but he will do so in the future if he keeps making bad decisions like this.

Way back in the day,, as a student wannabe pilot, my instructor said we were going from Lincoln (Ca) up to Reno Nv. in the school's Cessna 152 (N67321 --- after nearly 40 years I still remember the tail number --- and I did not just look that up!). It is a route up Hwy 80, following the freeway up the mountain. It was no way near 11,000 feet, but my instructor said 'we are going EARLY' due to density altitude. We had plenty of altitude/ground clearance, and all went well, but it taught me that mountain flying can be difficult and the need for care is paramount. The funny thing was: While taxiing out at Reno, we were behind a couple of National Guard F-4's. Needless to say, the Cessna did a little bumping around even while we were standing still on the ground! --- this was a memorable trip in more ways than one...... those were wonderful days!

Oh I've done something similar. I was 18 years old and a friend asked me to fly some ice cream up to some hikers in the cascade mountains of WA state. We found the hikers and dropped the ice cream and it hit very close to them. We were pleased and only then did I start thinking about getting out of there. I was climbing up a valley looking up to trees on both sides and no way to turn around. By the grace of God I survived this lack of forethought, (this was back in 1963) I went on to do other stupid stuff in airplanes but I'm still here.

Dang, I'm impressed the 152 held up to those aerobatics!

Thanks for posting this. I live in Grand Co. Sky-Hi News posted this on their Facebook page. I got shelled for mentioning that he was being stupid, not “brilliant”. I’m going to direct the uninformed to this page! And, another thought, I’m thinking the club at Rocky Mtn airport in Broomfield may not want to rent him another plane….

I've got plenty of time in the Rockies at High DA in a C150, but I'd never have attempted that ridge crossing. And I was flying two C150/150s (150HP upgrade) with STOL LE extensions, wing fences, wing tips, gap seals, extended range fuel tank, and a climb propeller. They were very fun aircraft, but sometimes you still have to take the long way around.

I love the “just how stupid that was” reviews. Especially when the pilot lives to see it. Good luck

in my youth I walked around Rollins Pass. what I remember was seeing aircraft parts up there of someone who didn't make it.

1500 hr is a lot of time to build bad habits vs being picked up earlier by airlines to entrain good habits

As a former hanggliding pilot, I thought it might be worth mentioning lee rotors that can form on the lee side of the mountain. You can get hit with a strong downdraft some distance from the ridge, followed by an equally strong tailwind driving you down into the quickly rising terrain. Don't ask me how I know.. 😲

"Dude, Juan says you're an idiot!" "Whoa.......I'm FAMOUS!"