Hey guys,

I posted in the aircraft types discussion to get some input on what my first plane should be, and I basically realized that I don't know what the backcountry portion of my mission is.

What kind of backcountry flying is there in New England? I live in Boston and would probably be based at Beverly. I figure there must be some beaches, and I know there are some nice grass strips. Do those grass strips require a high wing, or can I generally get away with low? Are there gravel bars that I need to be able to access, or is that not really a thing around here? Do I need large tires for the kind of spots we have, or can I get away with standard? (This would rule out a LOT of LSAs).

I think some more intel on what kind of sites we have in the area would help me decide what features and capabilities I really need.

Thanks!

Steve

I flew out of a Vermont grass strip for 6 years before moving to Oregon. There are a lot of really nice grass strips and some fun farmer's field-type places to explore that don't require anything that special airplane-wise. I did a lot of that stuff in an old beater 150, and later in a 7GCBC with normal tires.
In the winter time you can have a lot of fun on skis in some places. I flew all over New England and enjoyed it all. It's obviously a lot less rugged terrain-wise than out West, and a lot of is is near sea level, so you can get away with less HP.

Unless you are way up in ME and maybe northern NH and VT, not sure there is a ton of real "backcountry" flying for us in New England as we just don't have any federal land and much of the undeveloped land is being farmed if flat enough, or not particularly kosher for landing. With that said, there are lots of private strips, including some particularly short ones to explore - just need to make the right connections to get access to them. I am working on that part now.

Thanks a lot guys! I'm mostly looking at aircraft like the PA28 and C172. My gut tells me to wait for a deal on a 180hp. Should I be looking at 160hp though? How about 145?

Thanks!

Steve

I would say a 172 is a great plane to start with. I'd stay away from any low wing if indeed you want to do back country flying.
Yes, there are a great deal of wonderful places to go to especially if your into camping.

Feel free tp PM me if you like.

Tom

I’m my opinion, If you want to do an extensive amount of backcountry or off airport flying in the northeast you need an amphibian or at least straight floats. There are numerous ponds, lakes and rivers within a 25 mile radius of my home in fairly populated southern New England. These places offer some backcountry experience at least going in and out of them. Many of them are pretty quiet and offer nice solitude and cool, clean swimming water for me and the kids. If I want to venture into upstate New York or Northern New England it gets even better. The Adirondack region and most all of Maine are a awesome places for an amphibian or floats.

Steve,

Lots of little gems all around, some of them just as challenging as any I have flown in other parts of the US... Im down at 28M and PYM. Reach out and I can show you around.

Greg-

When we were stationed in Maryland (twice) I flew my lowly old 172A all over the east coast. Never had a problem, but will mention that I never really found any 'backcountry' type areas other than farmer strips. My has a whooping 145 HP and it was never an issue.

Thanks a lot guys! I'll reach out via PMs.

49_sedan wrote:I’m my opinion, If you want to do an extensive amount of backcountry or off airport flying in the northeast you need an amphibian or at least straight floats. There are numerous ponds, lakes and rivers within a 25 mile radius of my home in fairly populated southern New England. These places offer some backcountry experience at least going in and out of them. Many of them are pretty quiet and offer nice solitude and cool, clean swimming water for me and the kids. If I want to venture into upstate New York or Northern New England it gets even better. The Adirondack region and most all of Maine are a awesome places for an amphibian or floats.

I've thought about floats, because my fiancee's family has a nice little camp on a lake in the Adirondacks. I know next to nothing about floats though, and figure it would also require a more powerful engine than otherwise... I'll have to look into it.

Steve

If you think finding a hangar for a wheel plane in the Boston area is difficult try looking for a place to tie down a float plane! Or if you have amphib floats that makes finding a hangar potentially more difficult along with the added cost’s associated. Just something to think about.

lawndart wrote:Thanks a lot guys! I'll reach out via PMs.

49_sedan wrote:I’m my opinion, If you want to do an extensive amount of backcountry or off airport flying in the northeast you need an amphibian or at least straight floats. There are numerous ponds, lakes and rivers within a 25 mile radius of my home in fairly populated southern New England. These places offer some backcountry experience at least going in and out of them. Many of them are pretty quiet and offer nice solitude and cool, clean swimming water for me and the kids. If I want to venture into upstate New York or Northern New England it gets even better. The Adirondack region and most all of Maine are a awesome places for an amphibian or floats.

I've thought about floats, because my fiancee's family has a nice little camp on a lake in the Adirondacks. I know next to nothing about floats though, and figure it would also require a more powerful engine than otherwise... I'll have to look into it.

Steve

Oh goodness....floats, now that is an addiction!! Might want to check insurance rate BEFORE you start researching float flying. My first year on floats (Champ on PK1500s) the insurance was astronomical. This was for a beginner in floats and nearly 10 years ago, the insurance was just shy of $4,000 for hull/liability!! I was not a beginner pilot, but new to floats.
I will say, it is the most fun I have ever had in an airplane though, but then again, there are probably more places to land in MN when on floats then there are with wheels.

lawndart wrote:Thanks a lot guys! I'll reach out via PMs.

49_sedan wrote:I’m my opinion, If you want to do an extensive amount of backcountry or off airport flying in the northeast you need an amphibian or at least straight floats. There are numerous ponds, lakes and rivers within a 25 mile radius of my home in fairly populated southern New England. These places offer some backcountry experience at least going in and out of them. Many of them are pretty quiet and offer nice solitude and cool, clean swimming water for me and the kids. If I want to venture into upstate New York or Northern New England it gets even better. The Adirondack region and most all of Maine are a awesome places for an amphibian or floats.

I've thought about floats, because my fiancee's family has a nice little camp on a lake in the Adirondacks. I know next to nothing about floats though, and figure it would also require a more powerful engine than otherwise... I'll have to look into it.

Steve

If there is a camp on the lake, you are probably all good with floats. There are a bunch of cool lakes where you can land float (or ski) planes, but many of the backcountry lakes are off limits to all motorized vehicles. Out of curiosity what lake is her camp on?

Pete

Went to look and see what Lake Amphibians were on the market after reading this thread. You give up some things to own a Lake, but gain amphibious convenience in a package that fits in a hangar. There were two Lakes in Trade-a-Plane in the 50-60K price range. Also a 172 on straight floats with an O-360.

I am flying a stock 160hp C172P in New England. Relatively low time guy (~280 hours) and can get in and out of 1,600' grass strips with no problem and think I am feeling comfortable enough to start dropping that down to working 1,400' to 1,500' strips now. Mostly working on slow flight skills to be able to get in nice and slow and then back out in ground effect with the "zoom" once Vy is hit to climb quickly over tree lines, etc.

As many have said on here, getting a 172 or something similar and learning how to really fly it would be the best bang for your buck at this point in your flying. More than enough airplane for the majority of what we have in New England. Hell, I've seen guys do more with a 150 here than I am doing in the 172.

Pinecone wrote:Went to look and see what Lake Amphibians were on the market after reading this thread. You give up some things to own a Lake, but gain amphibious convenience in a package that fits in a hangar. There were two Lakes in Trade-a-Plane in the 50-60K price range. Also a 172 on straight floats with an O-360.

You'd have a blast in a Lake. They're undervalued and you get alot of value for what you pay for. You can get them for as little as...oh...$55k, and a nice one for $80k. If you're new to float\sea planes, you might not be aware of how important pre-buy inspections are. In particular, I am speaking of corrosion issues...mostly related to planes that have operated in salt water.
You get an amphibian that can carry a great useful load (mine does 980lbs)...which is four adults and 30-40gals fuel, or, two adults and a dog or two and full (54gals) tanks. I burn 8.5 to 9gph at cruise. They're not fast, about 105kts. 200hp. This airplane rides the step quite well, and doubles as a fun speed boat on the water. On top of all that, a big portion (including mine) are IFR certified. It really covers all your bases.

There's some haters out there, and it is undeserved. You have opposite pitch and power moments with the engine up on the roof. This can cause porpoising if you do a big power change close to the water, and the nose dives in a go-around and such. It's not a big deal, but it caused a rash of accidents back in the day.

Replacement parts are not hard to come by, and not outrageously expensive.

If this sounds intriguing, look up the "Left Coast Lakes" group on Facebook.
There's also the http://lakeamphibclub.com/

What's the performance of the Lakes from terra firma? Do you take yours onto grass runways? Decent short field performance?

The Lake has very good STOL performance on land. Stall at gross is 39Kts. While the main gear are quite stout, I feel the nose gear is not. Therefore I avoid strips that are rough. Smoother non paved strips no problem, little concern for FOD damage to the prop from ground debris. Good front visibility without an engine or prop in front of you.

There’s lots of back country flying in New England if you know where to look








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pburns wrote:
If there is a camp on the lake, you are probably all good with floats. There are a bunch of cool lakes where you can land float (or ski) planes, but many of the backcountry lakes are off limits to all motorized vehicles. Out of curiosity what lake is her camp on?

Pete

It's on Cranberry Lake. Her dad says he's seen float planes land there many times before, and they have a motor boat. I'm not sure if there are other legal considerations though.

I hadn't considered Lakes at all. I'll have to look into them. I don't know how often I'd actually fly there, and the insurance does sound pretty steep to me. I will do some research.

While you’re up visiting at Cranberry Lake, you have an excellent spot about 20 miles away.

Stillwater Reservoir has no homes; a lodge at one end, another inn/restaurant and gas station at the other. Many miles of beaches and islands in between.