High Sierra Fly-In Special Gallery

A Piper Super Cub looked lonely in this shot, but it was one of nearly 200 airplanes, mostly taildraggers, whose owners congregated on a remote lake in the high country of Nevada for the High Sierra Fly-In. PHOTO: Deon Mitton

The night sky behind a Cessna 185 is lit up by a homegrown but still spectacular fireworks display. DIY is the name of the game at HSF. PHOTO: Deon Mitton

High Sierra Fly-In founder Kevin Quinn is delighted at the success of the get-together, and when he discussed the kind of flying he and his friends like to do says simply that "...backcountry flying is what's going on in aviation today." PHOTO: Alex Wells

A 1959 Broussard, a French postwar liaison plane built by Max Holste Avions, took home the unofficial title of rarest bird at Dead Cow this year. PHOTO: Deon Mitton

Snowcapped foothills (these don't pass for real mountains in these parts) tell the weather tale for the event...brisk and dry. PHOTO: Alex Wells

A Kitfox S7 low and fast (well, fast for a Kitfox) over the surface of the playa at HSF '17. Kitbuilt airplanes like the Kitfox and Just SuperSTOL were in plentiful supply. PHOTO: Deon Mitton

Taildraggers, tents and fleece layers were the order of the day at HSF '17. Here a 1969 Citabria and a 1977 Scout provide a great-looking contrast to the desert backdrop. PHOTO: Alex Wells

Aircraft of all kinds are welcome at HSF, like this powered parachute doing an early morning fly by of the encampment. PHOTO: Alex Wells

A twilight departure from Dead Cow Lake underscores the scale of nature out west. PHOTO: Alex Wells

Nosegear airplanes, like this pretty 1959 182, do just fine at Dead Cow Lake---the lakebed is like a gigantic paved surface with a runway in any direction you care to land. In the STOL drag race, however, STOL taildraggers still get the edge. PHOTO: Frank Testa

A Kitfox V done in red, white and blue slips it a bit at the finish line of the STOL Drag Race, the accepted technique for getting slowed down for a quicker and shorter landing roll. PHOTO: Alex Wells

The dry lake is a good surface for tying down light planes. Only one plane suffered damage from the winds on Thursday night, with gusts estimated at around 70 knots, and that was a result, reportedly, of a faulty rope and not the anchor. PHOTO: Deon Mitton

We don't know if there was an award for baddest Super Cub, but if so, our vote would have gone to Jake Bunting's big-tired beauty. PHOTO: Deon Mitton

Despite weather that challenged many enroute to Dead Cow and prevented many others from coming, the 2017 event was very well attended, with more than 200 airplanes and several hundred people, not counting dune buggies and dirt bikes that stopped by the playa. PHOTO: Joey Myers

Aviators check out the winds. Hangar flying is the number-two favorite activity at HSF, next to the actual flying, that is. PHOTO: Alex Wells

It's the best kind of tailgating, and when at Dead Cow, when the weather is brisk, well, a hot bowl of chili seems fitting. PHOTO: Alex Wells

High winds kicked up the dust on the playa early in the week. After they got home, HSF-goers were eager to report on the amount of playa they carried home with them. PHOTO: Joey Myers