Backcountry Pilot

A friend called, almost in tears, to say he witnessed a mid-air collision at the High Sierra Fly-in north of Yerrington, NV at "3 Shot Gun Shells" this morning. Facts are sketchy, but a C-170 and Avid...

With the FAA "lightening up" on installation of safety devices (as they did over a decade ago with shoulder harness installations in classic aircraft), there's been a renewed interest in AOA indicators. I...

I have a BBW tailwheel tire (just the tire and a spacer if that's needed) I'd sell. Removed as I fly off a lot of pavement and I didn't want to wear out the BBW. Less than 10 hours on tire. bumper

Pretty cool, very skilled pilot. He quit on the spot. Obviously that hooker guy was not into flying and ill suited for the job. I'da said, "Let's do that again! This time use the other leg,...

I guess CAP does make exceptions, though. Maybe it's about money, or position, or power, I don't know. During the search for Fossett, I flew my Husky down to the Flying M ranch. They had chartered...

I've watched numerous Spot tracks while waiting to see if gliders are going to make it home. Unfortunately, Spot doesn't send altitude, so not much help with determining if the glider is in real doo-doo....

If reliability and additional features like two-way text is important, InReach is a better option than Spot. The iridium satellite network is intrinsically better than GlobalStar that Spot uses. bumper

Okay, and she's brave too! When I trashed my plane in the backcountry back in '06, that evening she asks, "What color is the new one going to be?". Yup, she's a keeper. bumper

Bouncing is most often a result of too high a landing speed. You mentioned your ground speed was 58 mph, which seems on the high side - - air speed is what you need to be concerned with, BTW, as the airplane...

Many years ago, there were times that I'd have preferred and indecent instructor . . . of the female persuasion, of course. :D bumper

I use a cell phone switch as well, leave the planes plugged in all winter, but only turn the heaters on the night before flying. I also put an old sleeping bag (with zipper removed) over the cowls and...

The Lyc O-320, and the O-360 too, are a family of stone-ass dependable engines. Flown often, and with the oil kept over 180 F to get rid of moisture for at least part of the flight, and you can all but...

I used some black polyurethane tape (McMaster-Carr on-line) on the forward portion of the V-brace tubes on my Husky. Works nicely and seems to be impervious to the typical tape issues in the heat and UV,...

My first Husky GoPro attempt, strut mounted Hero 3. Starts going south over Alpine County airport than a left descending turn into the canyon. Mid afternoon, so not smooth enough to allow slow enough...

Also just curious has anybody tried one of the Sahara headsets thinking about getting that for a copilot spot But also don't want to step down a whole bunch if the difference is quite substantial. Would...

Somebody with too much money. I know what the definition of "rich" is . . . 25% more than you happen to have . . . but what is the definition of "too much money"? Just asking 'cause I guess it wouldn't...

Nope, it was 2.5 in smoke when I checked earlier. Doesn't look promising for the rest of the week. Sure wish they'd hurry up and and finish burning CA and get it over with. Ain't good to exercise in...

If you haven't yet, do a search on and . There's a lot of good reading available on these subjects including books. In general, bush flying is several steps up from simply learning to fly and getting...

Thanks Gump, I really appreciate that. Two cups of coffee - - tried to read and comprehend all that and now my brain is scrambled and it's all your fault. bumper

So far it sounds like you're talking about "backcountry" strips like Johnson Creek, where lots of people sometimes congregate. How about even *more* backcountry strips? One etiquette rule I've heard...