Plane + Pilot Podcast: Denny Serie

Experienced bush pilot discusses the unique challenges of flying the Alaskan backcountry.

Plane & Pilot

Thursday, May 21, 2026 at 04:54 PM ET

Verified

Edited By: Travis Tingle

[Credit: Cayla McLeod]

Key Takeaways:

STOL champion Denny Serie emphasized that mentorship is crucial for mastering Alaskan backcountry flying, which requires specialized skills like comfortable low-altitude flight and proficiency in adverse weather, often challenging conventional pilot wisdom.
Serie shared that watching videos is key to improving STOL competition performance and recommended that first-time visitors to Valdez consider leaving their aircraft there to enable future return trips and further exploration.

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In the latest episode of the Plane + Pilot Podcast, editor-in-chief Cayla McLeod sat down with short takeoff and landing (STOL) champion Denny Serie for a fun conversation centered around flying in the Alaskan terrain and what skills are required to win a STOL competition.

After getting his pilot’s license, Serie’s friend and mechanic at his local hangar in Alaska would take small groups, for roughly five days each year, flying around Alaska. It’s in this setting, flying with an experienced bush pilot, that Serie learned to fly in the Last Frontier. Serie recalled his friend being able to point out each mistake he was going to make before he made it, greatly preparing him for what was ahead. Mentorship, he emphasized, is a crucial part of becoming a confident backcountry pilot.

Serie and McLeod discussed what it takes to fly the Alaskan backcountry and how some traditional schools of thought pilots are taught while first getting their license, such as “altitude is your friend,” can be flipped on their heads when flying through a mountain range in the Alaskan bush.

“You don’t want to be at 1,500 feet in a 3,000 valley because that’s where the wind can really be kicking,” Serie said during the episode. “You have to be comfortable flying at 5-10 feet off the ground. You have to be very comfortable flying in bad weather.”

Sitting at Valdez Pioneer Field (KVDZ), home of the famous Valdez STOL competition, Serie dished on his STOL secrets. One of the biggest things he said he did to improve his competition flying was to watch a lot of videos because, according to Serie, there can be a difference between what you think you’re doing and what you’re actually doing.

Among his recommendations for first-time visitors to Valdez, Serie said pilots should leave their plane in Valdez. The journey from the Lower 48 to Valdez can be a long one, and with so much to experience in the area it’s worth it to leave your aircraft and come back for another adventure a short time in the future, he said.

Catch the full conversation with Serie on the Plane + Pilot Podcast, available every week on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite streaming platform.