Backcountry Pilot

A true modern day bush pilot working a Pilatus Porter in the mountains of Papua Indonesia gives us a glimpse into what he considers to be the ultimate pilot's life.

We've jokingly called it a "Burning Man" for airplane junkies, but it's got everything you care about: Bush planes, wide-open backcountry landing zones, campfires, guns, explosions, and a free t-shirt.

Two big-engined Cessna 170s venture out to explore the Nizina river valley, a narrow region between the massive Wrangell and St Elias mountain ranges that is a pilot's paradise of airstrips, public cabins, and the natural wonders of Alaska.