![]() Very cool!Īvailable either as a kit or finished airplane, the Bear 360 is the fighter we’ve all been wishing for. Full flaps, a hard slip, and we thumped down on a long-abandoned pasture with 800-foot canyon walls all around us. Contact: HUSKY We were coming around a bend in the canyon, when suddenly, this tiny field was right there. The useful load has been increased to 925 pounds, which is a bunch, and on top of that, the aircraft has unique cockpit-protecting airbags! Price: $240,251 (200 hp) $196,811 (180 hp). In addition, it has new ailerons that utilize Pitts “Super Stinker” technology to produce a higher-than-normal roll rate without spades. Contact: Aviat HuskyĪviat seems to reinvent the Husky every couple of years, and today’s incarnation, the 180 hp “C” model, also is available with 200 hp and an MT composite prop. Yes, it’ll get on and off short, but it’s the perfect two-place bird to enjoy summer sunsets. Between the big wings, gigantic flaps and 180 hp Lycoming swinging a Hartzell constant speed, however, the airplane has left its roots behind to become a born-again STOL star. More than half a century ago, American Champion’s Scout started life as a lowly Champ. ![]() Whatever your adventure craving, with the proper training and instruction, you can fly to your heart’s desire. Today, such schools are in every major city. This is a major change from the past: Not that long ago, finding a school that taught aerobatics, especially high-performance aerobatics in high-performance airplanes, wasn’t easy. Those who want to test the limits of three-dimensional flight can attend one of the flight schools specializing in aerobatics. A wide variety of factory-built and amateur-built aircraft are available to satisfy your desire. This can come in the form of blazing speed or an emphasis on the vertical dimension, as in aerobatics. And they must prepare themselves for worse-case scenarios: What will I do if the engine quits this far out in the boonies, or if I stub my toe on landing?Īlong with bush flying, there’s adventure to be found in pedal-to-the-metal, hair-on-fire performance. Aviators also must be able to recognize when the generous margin they’ve built between the plane and the operating environment has been compromised. Whether it’s density altitude, oddball runway configurations or challenging topographical features, pilots must have the judgment to know when a landing/takeoff isn’t advisable. Also, pilots have to be as good as the airplane, with a thorough understanding of what each landing/takeoff entails, because each one will be different. Hard-core bush flying requires airplanes with outstanding takeoff and landing performance that can maintain their performance even when loaded. Pilots who engage in actual bush flying abide by the slogan, “We don’t need no stinkin’ runway.” Give bush pilots a few hundred feet of unobstructed, not-necessarily-flat land, and they’re happy campers. Through the application of specialized flying techniques, many airplanes designed with the backcountry in mind can be elevated to lofty “bush plane” status. The runways may be challenging-and located far from four-star hotels-but they’re not inherently dangerous (assuming that pilots hone their skills so that the features associated with backcountry airports-high density altitude, slopes, unusual approaches, etc.-aren’t outside their talent envelope). Runways may be rude, crude and nestled in tiny valleys, but they’re accessible to the right airplanes and pilots. Fortunately, many states have formalized their network of backcountry airports, and there are organizations to help intrepid adventurers. ![]() Much of America’s wilderness is accessible only to aircraft that are equipped to go where normal GA planes can’t. One of the more common forms of av-adventure involves sauntering around the seldom-visited backcountry. Fortunately, that’s one of the beauties of aviation: There’s some kind of adventure to suit all tastes similarly, there’s an airplane out there to serve as your ticket to adventure. ![]() Still, one person’s idea of adventure may be a $100 hamburger or monthly jaunt to Aunt Edna’s, while others might be weary of such flights, eager for trips that are outside of their normal experiences. In fact, the phrase “adventure aviation” may seem redundant to most people because aviation itself usually is seen as an adventure. “Adventure”-now there’s a word that’s open to interpretation.
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