Come join us on
an amazing adventure

Backcountry Flying Tips


This are tips I learned thru practice, Im not an instructor, so its just my personal judgement.

Practice and get to know your plane in slow flight, partial flaps , full flaps and at different power settings.

The Cessna 182 is nose heavy, if flying just just pilot,or pilot and copilot and no one in the rear seats,adding 50lbs or so in the baggage compartment helps reduce the stall speed (changes the center of gravity towards the rear), feels like if you are getting more elevator authority at landing speeds.

Lower tire pressures (22 psi or less if tire is bigger) helps rolling thru rough terrain, also absorbs roughness of terrain.

Fly light, makes a big difference specially the amount of fuel in the wings.

Keep moving while taxiing, even if doing a run up, or the prop will suffer nicks from the rocks and debris in unimproved strips.

For short take off,20 degrees of flaps, add them before starting the roll out, too much distraction vs benefit by adding them while on the take off run.

Landing, pitch for speed , power for altitude , come steep 40 degrees of flaps, I use the bottom of the green arch 15MP on final, then playing with power to loose altitude, and with pitch to maintain the airspeed I want for the landing.

Usually I like to add a touch of power during flare, to make smoother landings.

Also (personal preference ) I land with full aft trim, some pilots dont like this because it makes go around more challenging.

Practice stalls, full flaps power on , power off, different flaps settings, to get a feeling for the airplane.

Canyon Turn


  1. amazing flying. I’m a student pilot in Wyoming, and have only logged a little over 4 hrs flight time. Isn’t it great to get to see that kind of scenery from a plane? Sincerely, Cade Pflughoeft, age 16, Lusk, Wy, 82225

  2. excelentes videos, soy piloto aviador actualmente vivo en honduras y sigo activo en la fuerza aerea de mi pais, me gustaría poder volar con ustedes y tener ese tipo de experiencias, me gusto mucho salir de camping y los deportes de aventura extrema,. EXCELENTE MUCHAS FELICIDADES

    • Hola Luis vivo en Seattle, si algun dia estas por esta zona, con gusto te puedo llevar.
      Mi avion es un Cessna 182 con varias modificaciones.


      Larry Larrabure

  3. I mostly use Angle of Attack indicator , so dont look at the airspeed indicator too much anymore.
    So I am guessing about 60 to 70 mph depends on weight, temperature and how tight is the place I am landing in.

  4. I concur on your comments regarding nose heavy Cessnas. They were engineered for backseat and baggage loads, and flying them light with one or two in the front seats has them far forward in the envelope, and on some aircraft, even outside the envelope. I recommend the extended baggage mod to everyone that flys their Cessna under the typical loading of one or two people. The Selkirk version allows 50 lb, load it with survival gear and some tools and enjoy a better flying airplane. Nice 182!