Flying in the Mountains of Eastern Europe
The Caucasus Mountain Range northeast of Tbisili
Our dailey journey to Yerevan, Armenia, crosses over
the mounain range and large inland lakes that follow the Georgian/Armenian
boarder. These mountains are not as dramatic at first glance, as
they are more rounded and worn. All you have to do to get "some respect"
for them is to glance at the altimeter and then at the ground rushing past
the bottom of the airplane at 15,000 feet!
The descent into Yerevan takes us down a valley.
Towering over this valley are these gently sloping "hills". This
curving landscape is dotted with small volcano cones that are perhaps 500
feet above the mountain surface. The far end of this picture shows us at
the same altitude as the peaks. The altimeter reads about 15,000
feet at this point in our descent!
Below is another shot, taken as we continue to fly
past the ridge. The surface here is much like that of the moon, with
little to no vegetation because the high elevation. Four days ago
there was no snow on this ridge. The first hint of what is to come!
Turning the camera out the front of the aircraft,
we see "Big" and "Small" Ararrat (in Turkey). Looking over the top
of Mt. Ararrat we are looking into Iran! The taller peak is close
to 17,000 feet above sea level. The city of Yerevan looks up to this
immense peak from only 2800 feet above sea level!
Turning out the right side window, Mount Aragat rises
to the north of Yerevan to about 14,000 feet, in a gentle slope that belies
the height of the mountain. I would NOT want to be flying a single
engine Cessna in this part of the world. Come to think of it, I have
not seen ANY piston powered aircraft since arriving here. I think
that the fact that you can only get jet fuel (no avgas is available in
this area) might also have something to do with it! The winds aloft
are generally under 40 knots, so (knock on wood) orographic turbulence
(severe turbulence caused by high winds over the mountains for you 'non-aviation'
folks) is not typical. Lots of snow and icing in the clouds IS common
here, though. The King Air is certified for flight in these conditions,
but being a coward I always look at the weather reports we get with an
eye toward "Plan B" in case it gets a little too exciting in hard IFR conditions.
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