Mountain-Flying Expert Missing, Search On For Cessna 180

[canwhitewolf]

Mountain-Flying Expert Missing, Search On For Cessna 180

Officials in Montana are searching for a Cessna 180 flown by Sparky Imeson, author of the Mountain Flying Bible; the plane has been missing since Tuesday afternoon. Imeson was reportedly alone aboard the airplane, and his last known radar position was about 18 miles north of Bozeman, Mont., at about 2:23 p.m., over the Big Belt Mountains. He had taken off from Bozeman with a destination of Helena, about an hour's flight away. An aerial search was conducted on Tuesday evening but no sign of the airplane was found, and no ELT signal was received. Snow in the mountains made it more difficult to spot the airplane, which is white with a blue stripe, officials said.



The search was continuing late Wednesday afternoon, with no sign yet of the airplane or the pilot. Imeson and another pilot survived a crash in the Elkhorn Mountains in June 2007. In that crash, Imeson tried to walk out of the mountains to find help, but was found by rescuers.


http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archives/a ... tml#199985

[iflyforpie]

That guy is my hero. His teaching got me home last night.

[Airtids]

I'll second that. Sparky's concepts helped get me out of more than 1 jam. They also formed the foundation that our own Mountain Flying Program was based on that taught hundreds of pilots over the years how to get from point A to point B safely through the rocks. I met him a few years ago when he was through my old stomping grounds

This is terrible news to wake up to. Hoping for the best...

[180]

Let's hope he's surviving somewhere right now and planning his next book.

His mountain flying book is staring at me from my bookshelf right now.

Fingers crossed for him...

[Cat Driver]

It would appear he did not survive.


http://www.helenair.com/articles/2009/0 ... _plane.txt

[Airtids]

Wow. Sad day .

[username:]

Wow, that is sad I went to one of his seminars a few years back. Learned alot. Didn't he start up a flight school in Pitt Meadows called Cobalt Aviation?

[Cat Driver]

It appears he crashed very close to the same area he had the accident in about two years ago.

And there is talk that last Sunday he was suffering from hypoxia at FL220 in his Cessna 180.

According to someone in that area ATC talked him down to 14,000 feet where he started to talk normal again.

It is not only sad to hear of his death it is distressing that he got into such predicaments in the last couple of years.

[username:]

FL220 in a 180?

[Cat Driver]

That is what is being claimed on another internet site.

[username:]

Oh, I see.
He was also a Citation pilot. It would make more sence if he got hypoxia in that.

[cessnafloatflyer]

FL220 in a 180?

I supoose if it's cold enough...

Anyhow, let's remember that our skills are not always at the same level, day to day and year to year. And though i am young enough still, i know that as we age our skills and judgements can become impaired in that we think we can still do what we used to do, but we can't.
One thing i have learned is that some days we are an expert and then others, well... not so much.
Also, solid judgement (situational awareness) is the most important skill of all.

CFF

[mcconnell14]

FL220 in a 180?

I'm just starting my flight training, but can a cessna 180 sustain lift at FL220?

[iflyforpie]

No, a normal 180 cannot maintain level flight at FL220. A 185 maybe (my slightly heavier but similarly powered 206 lists a service ceiling of over 17,000 and makes it easily to 13000). A 210 made it to over 40,000 feet but it was turbocharged.

Not the right season for thermals and ridge lift doesn't go that high. Really high mountain wave maybe?

[canwhitewolf]

the book "mountain flying bible" by Sparky Imesons

get it here or other places

http://www.mountainflying.com/

info http://www.aerotraining.com/html_gif/211.htm

good for all to know whether mountain flying or not

[canwhitewolf]

data about sparky

http://www.mountainflying.com/Pages/the ... author.htm

[fogghorn]

Wow - 220 in a buck80, thats some rarified floaten around Id be a babbling idiot in under 60" or more likely out colder than a mackerel with no 02 or can pressurization up there

[Rufus28]

That's really sad to hear.

I was looking forward to seeing and learning from him in July:

http://www.copanational.org/non-members ... %20AGM.htm

I wonder what/who they are going to replace him with?

[Rudder Bug]

Very, very sad,

My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends and I just ordered the book.

RB

[mag check]

Preliminary reports from Sparky's close friends, who have seen the crash site, are speculating that it appears he had an inflight engine fire, and he made a forced landing in a clearing, but impacted a berm and the plane flipped over.

[Cat Driver]

There is a picture of the wreckage on an American forum and the airplane appears to have hit at a very high speed but there was a fire for sure.

[Blakey]

Here's the link. The tail tells a story.

http://www.helenair.com/articles/2009/0 ... _plane.txt