Dangerous Flying Over Devils Tower on a Gusty Day

There are many aviation channels on YouTube where aviators of all types share their adventures. In the view below, a couple that had met in Florida, and moved to Alaska flew their tiny plane back to Florida, and now are on their way back to Alaska again.

On this leg of the trip, they fly from Rapid City, South Dakota, to Gillette, Wyoming. Along the way, they battle heavy winds, which slow their small plane down to a speed that would actually be a bit slower than a car on the ground.

You'll see an amazing view of Devils Tower and an extremely difficult landing in strong and gusty headwinds. They were not able to make the landing on the first try, so they went around. They made the second landing, and it was a real nail-biter.

There are a few rules for flying over and around Devils Tower.

A voluntary no-fly advisory is in effect for Devils Tower National Monument, requesting pilots to avoid flying directly over the tower. The advisory includes a 2-nautical-mile radius year-round, expanding to 3 nautical miles in June to protect cultural sites. Additionally, all drone use is prohibited within the monument.

Flying over Wyoming can be hard, especially for a small plane. The winds can be strong, gusty, and turbulent with dangerous wind shear. But is is 100% worth it on the beautiful days.

A pilot who goes through training in Wyoming, during its worst weather, can fly just about anywhere after that.

You can find these two pilots on their YouTube page Fly8MA.

Scroll down to see other great Wyoming airplane adventures.