Bracing for the Backcountry

The most important resource for your safe and successful backcountry aviation adventure is… you. It’s up to you to acquire the skills and knowledge to operate safely in the backcountry. Here are some suggestions to help you prepare for wilderness flying.

If You’re Coming to Idaho, Join the IAA

Established in 1989, the Idaho Aviation Association (IAA) is the lead organization that preserves and protects airstrip access in Idaho.

Your support helps it keep airstrips open, period. It also funds the work parties that maintain the state’s irreplaceable airstrips. Plus, you’ll have the opportunity to enjoy members-only events like a special fly-in breakfast at the beloved Sulphur Creek Ranch (ID74), which is otherwise closed to drop-in flights, in Cascade, Idaho. 

The IAA website is a multipronged resource that will help you prepare to fly safely in Idaho. Yearly dues are $45, which provides full access to everything the comprehensive website offers. 

These services include:

• Dozens of webcams all over the state. Of course, a webcam won’t replace a good weather briefing, but it will give you a look at the airstrip and current conditions.
• Full access to The Flyline, the monthly newsletter of the IAA (full disclosure: I’m its editor). Every month, the IAA’s district directors fill you in on what’s going on in their region. Their contact info is included so you can ask them questions. Plus, the newsletter includes aviation events from fly-ins to work parties, local meetings, airshows, banquets, and more. Articles on safety, maintenance, history, local aviation businesses, and travel round out the most comprehensive aviation organization newsletter in the U.S.
• IAA members can find a list of CFIs who specialize in backcountry instruction across the Northwest. There simply is no substitute for flying with an experienced backcountry CFI, in your own airplane, to the more technically challenging airstrips rather than attempting to tackle them by yourself. Even local pilots with decades of experience hire a backcountry CFI at the start of each season to help them knock off the rust and show them new places to fly. To access a skilled instructor go to the “Resources” tab, and click on “Instructor Directory.” CFIs can add themselves to the list, too.
• A comprehensive calendar of aviation events in Idaho, plus some in neighboring states. Summer weekends usually offer a plethora of choices, and the calendar will help you plan ahead. The IAA website store sells an Idaho aeronautical chart that shows many airstrips not shown on the FAA sectionals. 
• Interactive map and descriptions of Idaho’s airstrips. The PIREP page offers tips from other pilots—for instance, if a particular strip is muddy, has ruts, or has just been mowed. You’ll also find weather reports, a borrow-a-bike program, stuck-n-stay (where a local pilot will pick you up to stay at their home if weather or a mechanical issue prevents you from completing your trip), an AME directory, fuel discounts, and more.

Mountain, Canyon, and Backcountry Flying

Speaking of CFIs, two of the best collaborated on a must-have book for pilots who want to fly in mountain and canyon environments.

Amy Hoover is an FAA National Flight Instructor of the Year, co-founder of the Mountain/Canyon Flying School in McCall, Idaho, professor of aviation at Central Washington University, and in high demand for speaking engagements nationwide.

R.K. “Dick” Williams, a member of the Idaho Aviation Hall of Fame, holds all the fixed-wing and instructor certificates and has flown over 18,300 hours as an instructor, charter, government, and corporate pilot. Williams was also an FAA Designated Pilot Examiner for 10 years.

Fly Idaho! and Fly Utah!

Years ago, the late Galen Hanselman decided to fly to a wilderness ranch for breakfast. On his landing rollout, he realized he had come in too fast because he didn’t know how short the strip was.

He stomped on the brakes, skidding to a halt just before the end of the no-go-around strip. Legs shaking, he headed inside for a slice of pie. Then and there, Hanselman decided that all pilots deserved a comprehensive resource that would give them verified data and information about each airstrip.

The result became Fly Idaho!, also known as the “backcountry bible,” a book now in its third edition. This little two-volume handbook Hanselman authored offers photos, diagrams, and data on Idaho’s public airstrips, plus recreational information and hilarious historical accounts of early pilots, plus “hermits, heroes, miners, legends, ne’er-do-wells, ladies of ill repute,” and more.

Fly Idaho! and Hanselman’s Fly Utah! are available at RRAviation.net/shop.

Bound for the Backcountry Books

Anyone who is deeply interested in the history of Idaho’s backcountry airstrips would want to own both Bound for the Backcountry and Bound for the Backcountry II. Many refer to these as the encyclopedias of Idaho’s backcountry history.

Author Richard Holm has spent decades delving into every detail and left no stone unturned. Both titles are available on Amazon. 

Images of Aviation: Idaho Aviation

Yes, I did write this book, because it’s amazing how many pilots across the U.S. still don’t know about Idaho’s backcountry. Still more amazing is how many people who have visited, even those who frequent our backcountry, don’t know the answers to these questions: Who built these airstrips, and why? 

Why are they still here when so many other states lost their wilderness airstrips?

This fast-paced book is filled with 277 photos that show how barnstorming pioneers jump-started backcountry aviation by figuring out how to get hunters, fishermen, mining supplies, firefighters, mail, and groceries into a wilderness so rough there are still very few roads.

The first smokejumpers, first airmail, early airlines, longest runway, ag flying, wildlife management, and more are covered, along with the people and organizations that kept Idaho’s airstrips open, even inside the largest contiguous federal wilderness area in the Lower 48. 

Find out how the Idaho Division of Aeronautics (Aero) supercharged aviation with the first state-sponsored courtesy cars and its “Airport in a Day” program. It’s when a small town would close all schools and businesses, and the whole town would come out and, along with heavy equipment provided by Aero, build an airport in a day.

Idaho Division of Aeronautics

As mentioned, Idaho boasts one of America’s best aeronautics departments. Its staff has developed a series of standard operating procedures for the state’s most popular backcountry airstrips: Big Creek, Johnson Creek, Garden Valley, Smiley Creek, Cavanaugh Bay, and Stanley.

Stop by the division’s office at Boise’s Gowen Field (KBOI) and pick up the brochures for free, or call and request them to be mailed to you before your visit. Aero has also produced YouTube videos to help pilots understand operating procedures at most of the above airports. Go to https://itd.idaho.gov/aero/ and click “Standard Operating Procedures.”

Recreational Aviation Foundation

In 2002, a group of six pilots around a campfire realized that recreational airstrips in many parts of the U.S. were in trouble. The following year, the Recreational Aviation Foundation (RAF) was incorporated as a charitable organization and since then has grown to well over 10,000 members.

RAF volunteers not only help maintain recreational airstrips nationwide, they work to identify private and public land for the development of new airstrips. They also help the organization find ways to fund projects to build or improve airstrips, educate pilots on backcountry safety, fund efforts to officially recognize backcountry aviation and airstrips as a legitimate use of public lands, and provide information to members of Congress and their staff.

The RAF has state liaisons across the country who are excellent resources for pilots wishing to learn about backcountry airstrips in those states. 

Airfield Guide

The RAF has an online Airfield Guide. Just register online—it’s fast, free, and offers photos, data, and descriptions of recreational airfields across the U.S. Zoom in and out on the map to just look around, or type in an identifier. You can use it for trip planning, too. Create a Content Pack and upload to ForeFlight (https://airfield.guide.theraf.org/).

Other Organizations

Depending on your interests, you may want to check out state-specific aviation organizations like the Utah Back Country Pilots Association, Montana Pilots Association, Washington Seaplane Pilots Association and Nevada Aviation Association.

Another good backcountry-specific organization is Backcountry Pilot.

Facebook Groups

Most of the organizations listed, including the IAA and RAF, have their own Facebook pages.

The IAA Facebook page always features beautiful photos (I’m responsible for this page, too). But as the summer flying season ramps up, you’ll find lots of flyers and announcements about fly-in breakfasts and other events.

One of the most active backcountry aviation pages on Facebook is Backcountry Pilots of Idaho, a private group that you can join that offers lots of new posts and discussions every day. 

Bottom Line 

Got a question about flying in the backcountry? The only bad question is the one you don’t ask, and now you’ve got plenty of places to get your answers.

This article first appeared in the January/February 2025 issue of Plane + Pilot magazine.