Destinations
Be-Utah-Ful! Backcountry Flying In Utah
Author Yasmina Platt with Matthew Kalm and his Rans Coyote S-6S and another Rans aircraft at Mexican Mountain.
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by Yasmina Platt
Copyright 2021. All rights reserved!
t’s a great day any time I can be in the mountains. It’s a great day when I fly. It’s a fantastic day any time I can combine the two. And it’s the absolute best when I can combine the two, plus camp! Let me tell you Yasmina Platt about a fantastic day I had in the Utah backcountry. As you may remember from previous posts, it’s often hard to find flight schools that allow you to take their aircraft to unpaved airstrips. I have a solution for you. Give the “West Desert Aviators” a call next time you’re in the area. My partners in crime were Matthew Kalm and a Rans Coyote S-6S, although Mark and Alina Pringle also came along in their own Rans. Utah has over 75 backcountry airstrips. Yes, you read right! It’s not a typo! So, on this trip, we just barely touched the surface of what’s available in the Beehive State. “Elsewhere, the sky is the roof of the world; but here the earth was the floor of the sky.” – Willa Cather. The route was West Desert Airpark (UT9) to Cedar Mountain to Mexican Mountain. Neither of the backcountry airstrips have FAA identifiers and the best information about them (including recent condition reports, although keep in mind these, like some PIREPs, are somewhat subjective) can be found on the Utah Back Country Pilots Association (UBCP) website. UBCP also organizes work parties and flyouts to UT backcountry airstrips. It’s a fantastic organization! 30 APRIL/MAY 2021 MIDWEST FLYER MAGAZINE
As typical backcountry airstrips, neither of these airstrips have any services, so keep that in mind when planning your route: no restrooms, no water, no weather info, no lights, no cell phone service, and no fuel! Both have windsocks though and be sure to use them! We started heading southeast out of UT9, across Utah
The route was West Desert Airpark (UT9) to Cedar Mountain-Mexican Mountain. Neither of the backcountry airstrips have FAA identifiers and the best information (including recent condition reports, although keep in mind these, like some PIREPs, are somewhat subjective) about them can be found on the Utah Back Country Pilots Association (UBCP) website: https://utahbackcountrypilots.org/ Source: ForeFlight
