About Alpine Flight Training
About our flight school, how we work, what we think...
Alpine Flight Training operates at Eagle County Regional Airport and provides flight instruction in accordance with FAA Part 61. Every element of our operation emphasizes safety. We operate a modern Diamond DA-20-C1 aircraft under a rigid maintenance program. The Diamond DA-20-C1 is touted as having the best safety record in the business as well as excellent economy.
For many years now, we have successfully provided flight instruction in the Colorado Rockies and the Western Slope of Colorado. With a good deal of intuition and patience, we prepare our student pilots and private pilots for the FAA Written Exam and Checkride for private pilot and instrument ratings.
Our extensive training programs familiarize first-time fliers with aerodynamics, aircraft systems, airspace, a variety of flight maneuvers, and every other aspect necessary to become a safe and proficient pilot.
A few things about us:
- Our friendly and professional staff is available 7 days per week by appointment.
- We operate modern aircraft.
- We are located at Eagle Airport, near Vail Colorado
- Our flight instructors are patient, friendly, and highly skilled professionals.
- We instruct all levels of students from private to ATP.
- We teach mountain Flying in customer owned aircraft as well as our rental aircraft.
Instructional Philosophy
The last 15 years of watching and participating in the business of flight instruction has brought me to the conclusion that the instructor community is does a poor job of teaching students good reasoning and decision making skills. The message in the most basic sense is that instructors are constantly making decisions to protect students rather than allowing students to gain valuable decision making experience.
Instructors look at the weather, instructors cancel flights, and instructors tell students what to do during the entire course of training. Then, the student takes a check ride, the instructor is gone from the picture and the student has not learned how to effectively manage and evaluate the flight environment. The result is often that the student hurts him or herself and often others.
There are numerous real-world examples of the kind of critical thinking skills that are not being taught. For example, most pilots have the idea that airplanes must land on runways at airports. Some pilots may recognize that a taxi-way is also acceptable, but consider how many private pilots make VFR flights into IMC as a futile effort to make it to an airport. Students need to be taught to think outside the box and consider a variety of alternatives such as... when the weather started to get bad turn around. If it's too bad to turn around where is the nearest airport. Ok, weather is getting even worse... while we can still see something a good decision would be a landing on the road of choice rather than a flight into the mountain.
Here in the Rockies, each year at least one pilot flies the direct route into high terrain without evaluating the variables (density altitude, aircraft performance, terrain elevation). The result is a perfectly good airplane and an otherwise capable pilot hitting a mountain in the remote wilderness. More times than not the result is death.
Our primary goal when working with pilots (ATP's or students) is to teach the pilot what the variables are, how to evaluate the variables and the decision making to resolve the problems rather than rote teaching of hard fast rules and hands on skills. This isn't to say hands-on skills are not important, but as John and Martha King say.... Bad technical skills will result in a trip to the insurance agent, bad decision making skills will kill you.
It is our goal to teach students to recognize when and how variables play into certain situations, and impart a true understanding of how airplanes, the environment, and the pilot have to function together to make flight safe and enjoyable.
Our Instructors
Loren French
Probably the most important thing to know about me is that I learned to fly in the Colorado Rockies, and I have spent the last 15 years flying and teaching extensively in the mountains. My students fly a variety of aircraft ranging from Malibu's to 152's, and everything in between. I also have a BS Degree is Aeronautical Science, was part of the engineering program for the Eclipse 500 Jet, and was formerly a Master CFI, FAA Air Safety Counselor, and a Cirrus Certified Instructor Pilot.
Ratings:
- Airline Transport Pilot – Single Engine Land
- Commercial Pilot – Airplane Multi-Engine Sea, Single Engine Sea, Gliders.
- Flight Instructor: Airplane Single Engine, Airplane Multi-Engine.
- Endorsements: High Performance, Complex, Spin Instruction, Self Launch Gliders.
- Ground Instructor: Advanced and Instrument
Mountain Flight Training in Colorado
If you're interested in flight training with an emphasis on extending your knowledge with some mountain flight training then Colorado is the place to come to, and Alpine Flight Training can provide the instruction. We operate from Eagle County Regional airport, located in the central Colorado Rockies. Whether for several hours, or for several days, Alpine Flight Training instructors will show you what it takes to fly safely in the mountains. Each mountain flight training instruction session is specifically tailored to the student. We can provide training in your aircraft or our rental Katana.
Throughout each session, we will build on your aviation knowledge and airman-ship by presenting opportunities for hands-on practice and application of learning on some of Colorado's mountain airports including Steamboat, Eagle, Aspen, Telluride, Glenwood Springs, Gunnison. We'll also show you how to navigate the mountain passes and give you strategies for dealing with mountain weather in a small aircraft.
Mountain Flying Checkout in Colorado
Colorado is a great place to learn the ins and outs of mountain flying and get a mountain checkout. While there is no formal FAA rating or endorsement for a mountain checkout, many insurance companies will still require such checkout before pilots are allowed to fly into high terrain. At Alpine Flight Training we follow a curriculum that follows the topics developed by AOPA Air Safety Foundation. In Fact, we recommend every student coming for mountain flying to take the online ASF Mountain Flying Course prior to mountain flying with us. Doing so will make your mountain checkout count towards a wings phase of pilot proficiency, and that can mean a reduction in insurance premiums.
Any mountain checkout should consist of a combination of ground and flight instruction. Topics should include weather, performance limitations, specific maneuvers, strategies, practice landing and departing mountain airports with a variety of challenges, and practice flying mountain passes.
Eagle Airport - Flight Instruction, Ground Instruction, Aircraft Rental, Mountain Flying
Rates for flight & ground training as well as aircraft rental at Eagle Airport
| Aircraft Rental | |
| DA-20-C1 Katana Evolution Rental* | $129.00 / Hour |
| Instructional Rates | |
| Flight Instruction in Alpine Flight Traning Katana | $50.00 / Hour |
| Flight Instruction in Customer Owned Aircraft | $75.00 / Hour |
| Ground Instruction | $40.00 / Hour |
| Other Fees | |
| Overnight Trip Rate - Billed for instructor to accompany a pilot on overnight trip. | $350 + Expenses |
| *Aircraft are rented wet, meaning fuel and oil costs are included. Multi-day trips are billed at rate of 3.0 hours per day if the actual flight time is less. Ask us about the discount we extend to licensed pilots for maintaining their currency in our aircraft. If you are a licensed pilot and fly the aircraft at least 1 hour every 30 days we will discount your rental rate. | |
Flight Lessons in Vail Colorado, Eagle Airport
Learn to fly in the mountains at the Eagle Airport, located near Vail Colorado
Whether you are learning to fly for the first time, or simply looking to add mountain flying to your skill set, Alpine Flight Training located at Eagle Airport can help. Alpine Flight Training offers private pilot ground and flight training as well as instrument training at the Eagle County Regional Airport located in Eagle Colorado. Our training features a Diamond DA-20 Eclipse, one of the safest training aircraft in the industry, The DA-20 is the primary choice of flight schools through the nation as well as the training airplane for the US Air Force initial flight screening program.
If you are looking to lean more about Mountain Flying, Call and talk to the instructors at Alpine Flight Training. We will build a training plan ideally suited to any pilot’s skill level and experience. Our instructors can provide mountain training in our rental aircraft or in your own aircraft. Additionally, we can arrange to meet you at an airport east or west of the Rockies on the way from where you are coming from.
Our location at Eagle County Regional Airport is ideal for new pilot training and a convenient drive from Vail, Eagle, Glenwood Springs, Edwards, Minturn, Avon, and Gypsum, Colorado. Students learning to fly at Eagle Airport will learn mountain flying first hand from our team of professional instructors. Our proximity from Aspen, Glenwood Springs, Rifle and Steamboat Springs provides our students with a diverse selection of airports and challenges ideal for learning safe mountain flying. Learn more about Alpine Flight Training by visiting our website or call us today at 970-401-5105.
Alpine Flight Training is conveniently located at the Eagle County Regional Airport. We a re a short driving distance and the best location of choice for leaning to fly in the Vail Valley, Vail, Beaver Creek, Gypsum, Minturn, Eagle, Avon, and Edwards.
Cross Country in a Diamond DA-20
I recently had the opportunity to reposition our Diamond DA-20 from Baltimore Maryland to the Colorado Rockies. This is a neat little video, traveling over the mountains of Maryland and West Virginia, through Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado and right into the Colorado Rockies, ultimately landing in Eagle Colorado.
As the video progresses you'll see the air get clearer and clearer - the haze of the moisture layer from Missouri disappears as we get into Kansas. As we reach Colorado the air is crystal clear and the view is vibrant. The flight through the mountains is probably the best of the footage. As I crossed over Leadville, the density altitude at the field was 12,800, at 13,500 where we were cruising the density altitude as well over 16,000 feet.
If you have interest in flying through the Rockies as we did in this video then I suggest getting formal mountain flying training from a local company like Alpine Flight Training - 970-401-5105.
Cross Country Flying to Colorado Mountains
Take a quick 5 minute journey from Baltimore Maryland across the USA to the Colorado Rockies
I recently had the opportunity to reposition our Diamond DA-20 from Baltimore Maryland to the Colorado Rockies. This is a neat little video, traveling over the mountains of Maryland and West Virginia, through Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado and right into the Colorado Rockies, ultimately landing in Eagle Colorado.
As the video progresses you'll see the air get clearer and clearer - the haze of the moisture layer from Missouri disappears as we get into Kansas. As we reach Colorado the air is crystal clear and the view is vibrant. The flight through the mountains is probably the best of the footage. As I crossed over Leadville, the density altitude at the field was 12,800, at 13,500 where we were cruising the density altitude as well over 16,000 feet.
If you have interest in flying through the Rockies as we did in this video then I suggest getting formal mountain flying training from a local company like Alpine Flight Training - 970-401-5105.
Aircraft Rental in Vail Eagle Colorado
Aircraft rental at the Eagle County Regional AirportAlpine Flight Training offers pilot training and aircraft rental in the Vail Valley. Our aircraft is a Diamond DA-20 Eclipse, commonly referred to as a Katana and is the later generation of the tried and true Katana aircraft. The original Diamond DA-20 Katana was equipped with a 90 hp Rotax 912 engine. The Eclipse version we have at Alpine Flight Training is the C1 model equipped with a 125 hp Continental IO-240 that delivers excellent performance especially useful for Mountain Flying. Our Katana Eclipse, with it's larger engine delivers similar takeoff distances as a Cessna 172 SP, but provides superior climb performance, a faster cruise speed, and a fuel burn nearly 1/2 that of the Cessna 172 SP and a slower landing speed. The Katana was originally inspired by european glider design, and also features superior glide performance of 22:1 compared to the 17:1 glide ratio of the Cessna 172 SP as well as excellent visibility through it's bubble canopy design.
Learning to fly at 16, 17, or 18 years of age, what's the right age?
When is the right time to have your son or daughter learn to fly?I occasionally get asked what's the right age to get my son or daughter into flight lessons. Having just had this discussion a couple hours ago, I figured this would be a great topic to add to the blog.
First, let's look at the legal age requirements to learn to fly... FAR 61.103 states "To be eligible for a private pilot certificate, you must: Be at least 17 years of age for a rating in other than a glider or balloon."
Keep in mind, that regulation applies not to instruction, but the completion of private pilot training. Meaning a person cannot take the practical test to get their license until they are 17, but it doesn't state anything about learning to fly before that date. If we dig a bit deeper in 61.83 and 61.87 we'll see that in order to solo a person must posses a student pilot certificate and in order to get a student pilot certificate a person must be 16 years old.
So, the short answer is 16 to solo, and 17 to get a license, but that answer is simply the legal aspects of getting a license and doesn't really address when to start the learning process.
So when should your son or daughter begin learning to fly? I think a good deal of this is dependent upon their motivation, time commitments, and burn out rate. Having three kids of my own I know that my children have occasion to get hyped up about things, then burned out a short time later. If your son or daughter really wants to learn to fly and they have interest in aviation that you want to help cultivate then my advice is to take it slow as to not be the cause of their burn out.
Why do I say that? Pilot training can be somewhat rigorous. There are motor skills to develop (flying the plane), knowledge to acquire, practical and written tests to take, and all of these things will require effort from them. There's no question that your son or daughter could learn to fly in a 4 week period over their summer break. The issue is whether or not that crammed learning experience would (1) allow them retain that knowledge and (2) burn them out on aviation in the process.
So with that said, I believe taking your time is a better strategy - it has less opportunity to lead to burnout and the quality of the training is higher.
For many years I've said that cram type training is no good. My belief is that pilots that cram their training into a short duration don't remember as much as pilots who spread the training out, and ultimately these pilots that leaned to fly in a cram session are simply not as safe.
My recommendations - Anytime after the 15th birthday I think the time is right to learn to fly. Much younger than 15 the child will develop good hands on stick and rudder flying skills, but I have found that kids that age have a hard time grasping the regulatory aspects, as well as the mathematics required. Certainly you can have your 12 or 13 year old flying, it just means they will spend a lot of time flying with the instructor before they are able to get a license.
Once they hit high school the math and regulations seem to click for most. Starting at 16 is a great age, they can take their time, do a lesson a week and a little bookwork (1-2 hours) on the side and this will lead them to easily accomplish the training by their 17th birthday when they are legal to get the license.
Keep in mind they are kids.... The idea is to not burden them with copious amounts of aviation homework when they have so much other demands on their time from school. FLYING SHOULD BE FUN FOR THEM... Not a burden of one more thing for school they owe a teach on.
In some families, soloing on a 16th birthday is a right of passage. If your child wants to solo on their 16th birthday then I recommend them starting regular flight lessons at 15 1/2. First once a week, leading up the birthday they will probably fly twice a week.
So what about after the private pilot's license and the 17th birthday? If they have successfully obtained their private pilot's license then I recommend going on to an instrument rating. If they decide to fly for a career then they will need an instrument rating, if they don't fly for a career then an instrument rating makes them that much better and safer a pilot.
Hopefully that's helpful. Just my perspective based on training kids of all ages over the years. If you have any questions feel free to contact me.
Alpine Flight Training is conveniently located at the Eagle County Regional Airport. We are a short driving distance and the best location of choice for leaning to fly in the Vail Valley, Vail, Beaver Creek, Gypsum, Minturn, Eagle, Avon, and Edwards.
Renewing Your Pilot's License | Recurrent Flight Training in Eagle Colorado
The process to get flying again after you have been out of it for years.
Frequently I am asked what type of process is involved in getting back into flying after a person has been away for 5, 10, 15 or even 20 years or more. The process is surprisingly practical and straight forward. Unlike the initial certification process, this process is entirely based on proficiency.
Perhaps you may have noticed, US pilot licenses are issued without expiration. This is different from driver's licenses and a source of confusion on the topic. Where as a driver's license needs to be renewed every couple years, the pilot's license does not need to be renewed, however the regulations do require the pilot to have had a flight review in the prior 24 months and be current in the category and class of aircraft in order to carry passengers. Additionally, a pilot is required to have a medical.
So as a flight instructor, how exactly do we help get a rusty pilot back into the air? Our strategy has always been to go back to reviewing the basics - we start just as we would start a new student. Straight and level, turns, climbs, descents. We move on to slow flight, stalls, ground reference maneuvers, and finally landings. Along the way, the communications skills come back naturally, as do navigation skills through the process of simply flying. On the ground we do a similar exercise, reviewing regulations, airspace, weather, performance, flight planning.
Ultimately the graduation from recurrent training occurs when the pilot has at a minimum demonstrated the basic skills we would expect from a freshly minted private pilot. We treat the final flight as a flight review consisting of 1 hour of ground and 1 hour of flight. As the instructor, we simply sign the logbook as a successful flight review and at that point the pilot is cleared for flight assuming they have also received a new medical.
The last element being currency in make and model is really not an impediment to flying, but rather a requirement for carrying passengers. Technically speaking, a pilot can get a flight review in a single engine land airplane, even though they also have a multi-engine land rating on their license. Where the currency becomes relevant is if the pilot who is considered current in single engine land wants to take passengers in the multi-engine airplane, then they must perform three landings in the last 90 days in the multi-engine airplane, and similarly, if the pilot wants to carry passengers at night then the landings must have been at night to full stop.
So there you have it. No written tests, no checkrides. Simply work at your own pace with an instructor until the skills return. I think you'll be surprised as to how fast they come back. In general I've found that getting a pilot back to currency and getting a review done requires 1.5-2 hours of ground and 1.5-2 hours of flight per year they have been away from flying. So, a pilot who has not flown in 10 years will probably require between 15-20 hours of instruction in ground and air to return to currency.
If you would like to learn more about recurrent training to get back into the air please contact us. We operated from Eagle County Regional Airport and service the areas of Eagle, Vail, Glenwood Springs, Gypsum, Edwards, Avon, Minturn.