Once the plane was completed and engine broke in, I flew it to may wonderful locations including, Montana, Idaho, Colorado, Arkansas, Kansas and Alaska!
I was honored to be asked to tryout for the most difficult aircraft/pilot skill challenge - ArkanSTOL. In this event, the pilot makes a timed circuit run that includes 4 different runways, all situated in a deep, narrow valley of the white river. Just to qualify is a huge accomplishment for the plane and pilot. I qualified and ran the course finishing 3rd in my class.
Below is a video clip of the ArkanSTOL qualifying trails from the inside of the plane:
One of my favorite places to fly to is the Montana and Idaho backcountry. The ability to see something interesting on the ground and have the ability to safely land there to explore on foot is beyond description. I have landed on 15' wide ridge tops and even the old main street of an abandoned old west mining ghost town. The clip below is Cow Creek in Montana:
Trip To Alaska:
With a good friend and fellow pilot, we flew 'Kilo-Whiskey' to Anchorage. 3-days up; 5 days of fun while there and 3 days back. This is an amazing travel machine! Because we had the baggage area, and short field performance, 170KW was the 'pickup truck' these outings. Even with this added laod and two persons on board, we were able to demonstrate shorter take off distances than Husky's and Super Cubs!
