Route
Departure Airport
Identifier: U42
Name: South Valley Regional Airport
Location: Salt Lake City, UT, USA
Distance: 32 nautical miles
PilotEdge ATC coverage: SLC Approach
Arrival Airport
Airport identifier: KSPK
Name: Spanish Fork Municipal Airport/Woodhouse Field
Location: Spanish Fork, Utah, USA
For All Flights
Weight and CG
1 passenger (180 pounds) in the front seat. Full fuel. No baggage.
Advanced
Weather Reporting
SPK airport has an AWOS-3PT system. What does the 3PT indicate?
Intermediate
Suggested Reading – Mountain Flying
AIM 7-6-6 (j) Mountain Flying
What is a mountain wave?
Fill in the blanks: “All it takes to form a mountain wave is wind blowing across the range at ___ knots or better at an intersection angle of not less than ___ degrees.”
Intermediate
Suggested Failures
- X-Plane:
- If using G1000: G1000 PFD pilot-side: Set mean time until failure: 25 minutes (Recommended reading: REVERSIONARY DISPLAY OPERATION in the G1000 pilot’s guide)
- If using steam gauges: Vertical speed indicator: Set mean time until failure: 25 minutes
- MSFS2020: There are no instrument failures in FS2020, so consider using an add-on such as RandFailuresFS2020
For VFR Flights
Weather
If real-world weather is IMC, then set the weather with a ceiling of 9000 MSL and visibility of 10 miles.
Airspace
Use extreme caution for the Class B airspace! There may be numerous aircraft arriving or departing SLC airport.
Sectional Chart Symbology
What does the symbol boxed in red indicate?
Aeronautical Chart Users’ Guide, Airports Section
What If?
If you had an engine failure midway through the flight (near the city of Lehi), what might be some suitable landing options? Consider using satellite images on Google Maps to see what is available.
For IFR Flights
Weather
If real-world weather is VMC, then set the weather to:
- Wind layer 1: 090 at 10 from surface to 7000 MSL
- Wind layer 2: 050 at 20 from 7000 MSL upwards
- Cloud layer: 6500-8500 MSL stratus layer
Approach Plate Symbology
Review the meaning of this symbol on the approach plate.
What does the highlighted note mean?
Accident Report
Read this NTSB accident report about an instrument-rated pilot who, despite having completed approximately 370 flights along the same route, was fatally injured after attempting to cancel his IFR in adverse weather conditions and proceeding to his destination under VFR, impacting terrain along the way.
This occurred in Alpine, UT, which is just to the east of the route our mission takes to Spanish Fork.
