3hrs from nowhere? That puts you right smack in the middle of the Rockies. You can travel from Fort Collins to Pueblo in 3hrs. Can't find a single club in between there? You can get from Denver to Trinidad in 3hrs. Are you 3hrs from Fort Collins? 3hrs in any direction puts you within 45 minuets or an hour from the closest field. Colorado is peppered with flying clubs. They are everywhere. In all honesty, I think this is a BS post. You can't be 3hrs from the nearest club, no matter where you live in Colorado. It's just not possible. So, I think it's an excuse to go it alone and try to learn to fly without joining a club.

But, if you insist on going it alone, I will try to help you. I learned to fly at 6000'. I've flown in Silverthorne at about 8500' and I've flown in Leadville at 10,400'. I think I'm experienced enough to give you some advice on high altitude flying.

You need a HUGE engine to get enough thrust. RPMs don't mean squat. It's the thin air density that is going to cause a loss of thrust. I flew an LT-40 at 10,400' and only filled the tank up 1/2 full to save weight. It took me every damn inch of 600' to get it off the ground. All flying was done over 3/4 throttle. Anything lower than 3/4 throttle and it started to sink and get mushy. Landing speed was approaching 15-18MPH at about 1/2 throttle and sinking like a brick filled with lead ballast.

I'm an experienced pilot. I've been flying for close to 8yrs now. I fly giant scale gassers and 40 size 3D and I still have a hot rod LT-40 with a TH .75 that I like to flop around when I feel like slamming on a plane, but don't want the shaky nerves that go along with flying a $2500 gasser.

I flew my 80" Extra 300S w/G-62 powerplant and it was NOT fun. You guys think those things land fast at sea level? Try it at 10,000' [X(] Landing a 16 pound aerobatic plane in those conditions is like trying to land a guided missle on a poker card. Probably 30 MPH landing speed at 1/2 throttle and eating up runway like a dragster going down the 1/4 mile track. The runway gets real short in a big friggin' hurry.

I'll tell ya, flying at that altitude is not for the inexperienced or faint of heart. I highly recommend you just knuckle up and go find a club. The premise that your 3hrs from nowhere is simply untrue. Unless you live 25 miles up a dirt road on the backside of the continental divide and it takes a Hummer and 3 bulldozers to get down the driveway in the wintertime--your NOT 3hrs from a club. Can't be. You might be an hour from a club, and I realize how much of a mess it is to drive that far just to go flying. I used to drive an hour in HEAVY TRAFFIC in Denver just to go flying. I know it's a pain.

But, you need some help if you want to succeed at this. You just do. You've got extreme conditions to deal with and you have no experience. Get some help. If you insist ono going it alone, I'm afraid your just setting yourself up to fail. You don't have to fail. You can succeed, but you really need some help. I doubt you'll find any plane/engine combo that will land at slow enough speeds for you to actually learn by yourself and not tear up a bunch of planes in the process. There is just not enough air to get them slowed down to a reasonable landing speed.

You need to learn how to fly first. Get 10hrs of stick time on and get soloed first. Then go fly in the hay field out back.

I know this isn't what you wanted to hear. But, it's the truth from an experienced pilot who has flown at those kinds of altitudes. Trust me, I had my hands full. Thats no way to learn how to fly and land. You just have no idea how much runway your going to need and how FAST a plane is going to come down to land. Just steering it on the runway after you land is almost imossible. Think of the landing speeds that jets guys have to deal with. 30MPH? 40MPH? 60MPH? It's not a cake walk to control a plane on the ground at those speeds. You better be one smooth pilot, or your going to run that sucker right off the side of the runway and rip the undercarriage out of the plane.

Just get some help. If you were down in the middle of a wheet field in Kansas at 400' elevation--I wouldn't be telling you any of this. 9000' is a recipe for disaster--even for the most experienced pilots. I got lucky, and I won't be doing that again anytime soon.