The Day Mountain Flying Finally Became Real
Mountain flying had fascinated me long before I earned my pilot's license. Bush flying and STOL operations were what originally drew me into aviation nearly five years ago. Like many pilots, I started with a PPL before adding an ultralight license later on. Step by step, I worked toward the kind of flying that had inspired me from the beginning. Eventually, I discovered Henry Bohlig and HBAir. After completing my tailwheel endorsement on the Zlin Savage, I knew exactly where I wanted to go next. The goal had always been mountain flying. Finally, the day arrived, and my first mountain flying training began at the grass airfield of Ehingen-Schlechtenfeld.
The First Challenge
Before our first flight, my instructor Alex Franke explained the techniques we would use. One thing immediately surprised me: approach speed. While I normally flew approaches at around 80 km/h, we used approximately 100 km/h for the uphill landings. Keeping that speed required far more power than I expected. Again and again, my approaches became too slow. Alex kept pushing the throttle forward while my instincts told me the opposite. The visual picture was completely different as well. A rising runway, unfamiliar terrain, and a new approach profile made everything feel strange at first. Slowly, however, things started to click.
"We're landing. Why would we add power now?"
Learning Commitment
As the landings became smoother and more precise, another lesson emerged. Ehingen-Schlechtenfeld teaches commitment. On short final, a go-around simply isn't an option anymore. Once you pass a certain point, the terrain and runway geometry make the decision for you: you're landing. That may sound intimidating, but it was one of the most valuable lessons of the entire training. It forces you to think ahead, manage your energy correctly, and commit only when everything feels right. Over two days, we experienced crosswinds from both directions, tailwinds approaching ten knots, and constantly changing conditions. Every circuit taught me something new.
100 Landings Later
One of the highlights came when Alex stepped out and let me continue flying circuits on my own. That first solo session was unforgettable. Flying low through the valley, rarely more than fifty meters above the ground, felt like the kind of flying I had dreamed about for years. By the end of the second day, I asked Alex over the radio how many landings we had completed. His answer was simple: ninety-two. My response was immediate: "I'm not leaving before we reach one hundred." Eight circuits later, the logbook showed exactly one hundred takeoffs and landings. Looking back, I couldn't have imagined a better introduction to mountain flying.
