Backcountry Pilot

Unlike conventional aviation authors and instructors I do not teach primary flying, crop dusting, pipeline patrol flying, bush flying, helicopter medical evacuation flying, and air to ground gunnery using instruments inside the aircraft as the primary situational awareness tool. Rather I teach Dutch rolls, slow flight and stalls over the runway, the energy management turns, use of ground effect on all takeoffs, the brisk walk apparent rate of closure approach, hover taxi in fixed wing aircraft, and low level low power mountain flying using sights, sounds, smells, and kinetics. Sight is used 99.9% of the time looking at the ground. Airspeed, nor any other instrument is used in takeoff or landing. This text teaches the art of flying in the old style at low level using ground references. Its author has over sixteen thousand hours of flying Army helicopters, crop dusters, and pipeline patrol airplanes at three feet to five hundred feet above ground level.

"Published in cooperation with the University of Arizona Southwest Center."

This book focuses mainly on highly advanced techniques and skills required to operate safely in remote, challenging and extreme conditions.Any pilot who is looking for training or mentoring in Bush and Mountain Flying skills and techniques should seek it from an appropriately skilled, experienced and knowledgeable pilot in this field and not a flight instructor whose claim to fame is flying around the ¿cabbage patch¿ or only flying charters or airliners. A flight instructor rating does not qualify one as an instant ¿flight guru¿, knowledgeable in all aspects of flying, nor does it make one an appropriately skilled, experienced and knowledgeable pilot in bush and mountain flying. The techniques in this book explore the very edge of the airplane's performance envelope and include flying close to stall speeds at low altitudes and thus are extremely dangerous to inexperienced pilots without the required skills and judgement.

"For more than a century, pilots have been intrigued by the challenges of flight in the highest mountains and the deepest canyons on every continent. Mountain, canyon, and backcountry flying allows pilots to get off the beaten path and enjoy the outdoors. It opens up a whole new world of recreation. Activities include airplane camping, hiking, fishing, and staying at guest lodges or bush camps in areas where there may not be roads or easy access either by land or water. Flying in these enticing environments often entail operations over relatively inaccessible terrain, and necessitates a mindset, discipline, and procedures necessary to operate efficiently and safely in a challenging and sometimes unforgiving environment. Operating over mountains, navigating through canyons, taking off and landing on unimproved, high altitude airstrips in confined areas, and maximizing airplane performance requires specialized skills. The authors and guest writers share information and tips gleaned from more than 150 years and 100,000 hours of collective experience as professional mountain and backcountry pilots and flight instructors. Recreational pilots to mountain flying instructors will find this book useful. Fundamental concepts include preparing for and conducting mountain and canyon flights, airport operations, situational awareness and emergency operations. Analysis of accident scenarios, accounts from the authors' own experiences, and contributions from seasoned backcountry pilots and instructors expand on material detailed in the text. Each chapter includes exercises to help the reader understand and apply the information to their own flying and beautiful illustrations to inspire pilots to seek out these awe-inspiring destinations."--Provided by publisher.

Since the dawn of aviation, Idahoans have employed aircraft to carry people, groceries, mail, freight, and livestock over inhospitable terrain. Idaho's airstrips are the stuff of dreams, offering pilots, anglers, hikers, and river-rafters access to deep wilderness less than an hour from the city. Aerial firefighting was born--and is based--in Idaho. Flight instructors in Idaho prepared thousands of pilots to fight in World War II. As the birthplace of United Airlines, with its famed "friendly skies," Idaho is one of the country's most aviation-friendly states. Government officials, private landowners, and volunteers have worked together to create and then preserve an infrastructure of big-city, small-town, and backcountry airstrips that are the envy of pilots worldwide.

Backed by Wien Airlines, former Navy combat pilot "Andy" Anderson pioneered post-World War II bush service to Alaska's vast Koyokuk River region serving miners, Natives, sportsmen, geologists, adventurers, and assorted bush rats. He flew mining equipment, gold, live wolves and sled dogs, you name it -- anything needed for life in the bush. He sweated out dozens of dangerous medical-emergency flights, "always at night and in terrible storms." Illustrated with 50 historical photos and co-authored by one of Alaska's most popular writers, ARCTIC BUSH PILOT is an exciting and sometimes nostalgic account of a pioneer pilot and his special place in Alaska aviation history.

Pilot and airline owner Wien "re-creates for readers his first-hand experiences flying top-secret missions for the Air Force, viewing the devastation of the Good Friday Earthquake in Anchorage, and the challenges of starting his own helicopter company"--Amazon.com.