Mountain, Canyon, and Backcountry Flying - Paperback

by Amy L. Hoover (Author), R. K. Dick Williams (Author)

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, including airplane camping, hiking, fishing, and staying at guest lodges or bush camps in areas without roads or easy access by land or water.

Flying in these enticing environments often entails operations over relatively inaccessible terrain in a challenging and sometimes unforgiving environment. This necessitates the proper mindset, discipline, and procedures to operate efficiently and safely. 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, and college and university professors can use the text to supplement their classroom instruction. Fundamental concepts include preparing for and conducting mountain and canyon flights, airport operations, situational awareness, aircraft performance, risk management, 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 color illustrations will inspire pilots to seek out these awe-inspiring destinations.

Author Biography

Amy Hoover has been flying commercially and teaching backcountry flying for more than 25 years. She has over 7,000 hours of flight time, more than 2/3 of it in the Idaho backcountry, and is an original co-founder of the Mountain/Canyon Flying School in McCall, Idaho. Hoover has published more than 25 articles and manuals on mountain and canyon flying, and given more than 100 presentations in various forums throughout the U.S. She holds a Ph.D. in Education and is a Professor of Aviation at Central Washington University. R. K. "Dick" Williams has been a licensed pilot since 1972. He holds all fixed wing and instructor certificates, several turboprop and jet type ratings, and has flown over 18,300 hours as an instructor, charter, government, and corporate pilot. He was also an FAA Designated Pilot Examiner for 10 years. Williams started one of the first mountain flying schools in Idaho in 1985 and has over 8,000 hours flying and instructing in mountain and canyon terrain. He is the author of "Notes From The Cockpit."