Backcountry Flying

In May 2020, Bearhawk Aircraft launched the latest addition to its line of kit-built backcountry-ready airplanes with the Model 5—a six-place tailwheel aircraft “designed to fly fast and land slow,” according to a company release on March 1. That news shared that the first four of the Model 5 kits had gone out to customers, […]

My relationship with the mountains began on hikes with my family, camping trips up into the farthest corners of Glacier National Park that could be reached with a 7-year-old (me) and a toddling 4-year-old (my little brother) in close formation. We took what we could carry in our little packs—supplemented heavily with the resources my […]

Flying in the marvelous high country of the United States and around the world has drawn pilots into it for decades for its adventure and requirement for developing skill. With those masters of the craft posting their stories on social media, more and more pilots have expressed the desire to join them. American Legend Aircraft […]

Almost 50 years ago, Nancy and I and a couple other would-be hippies, brother and sister, flew to Baja California, Mexico, in a Beech Musketeer, N298M. Whatever happens to obliterate airplanes must have happened to that Musketeer, because N298M is now a Cessna. My philosophy of travel is to leave as much as possible to […]

Blessed with nearly 100 pristine wilderness airstrips within easy reach of civilization, Idaho is the premier destination for recreational pilots from every corner of the planet. But the first time Galen Hanselman tried landing at one of those strips, he nearly crashed. Flying out of Hailey, Idaho, he often heard his pilot friends talk about […]