Backcountry training
When we hear the term “backcountry flying”, we usually think of places like Idaho, Montana, Alaska, and a few others - certainly Northwest Arkansas is rarely on the short list. However, more and more folks are discovering the great backcountry flying and recreational opportunities right here in the center of the country.
Arkansas consists of nineteen million acres of forest covering close to sixty percent of the state, so no matter where you are in Arkansas, it only takes a few minutes to get out of town and away from it all. Thus our title, “the natural state”, is well deserved. Our backcountry programs are based out of the Bentonville airport (KVBT) located in the northwestern corner of the state. From here we have access to over fifty airstrips within an hour's flight - some of them just a few minutes away.
At FLY OZ, we believe that there is a lot more to backcountry flying than just taking off and landing short. It involves a completely different pilot mindset which encompasses things like survival, stewardship, planning, and assessment to name a few.
Our goal is to provide a well rounded introduction to the backcountry flying environment. We do this with a combination of ground and flight training utilizing your aircraft or ours.
Our program begins with a ground discussion focused around developing your backcountry mindset.
The first flight with one of our highly experienced instructors, will be to assess the performance of the aircraft we are flying and get a feel for the various gaits of flight.
The second flight involves assessing and polishing our STOL skills through work on spot landings, and soft and short field work.
Finally, in our last flight we move on to explore some of the nearby airstrips and put the skills we have developed to use.
When you are done for the day, Bentonville offers a host of nightlife and recreational opportunities outside nearly every doorstep. Mountain biking, world class museums, restaurants, walking and hiking trails are all easily accessible.
We offer individual backcountry training, or if you have a group interested in meeting up in the Ozarks to polish their skills, let us know!
For more information or to schedule your Intro to Backcountry course contact us using the button below.