Now that the border restrictions have been relaxed, Luisa was finally able to pick up her 2020 custom-built King Katmai. As she is operating off a hard-packed, short strip at a very high field elevation, she opted for a King Katmai with the smaller tires.
~ Todd
Bruce just headed north to Canada with his beautiful King Katmai. I have a feeling this one will be used on hunting trips.
~ Todd
Tobey is getting ready to take the new Red Baron, LLC King Katmai up to North Dakota.
~ Todd
Steve is taking his new King Katmai to Alpine Airpark just south of Jackson Hole, WY
~ Todd
A beautiful King Katmai heading to Washington state. Charlie plans on visiting the Idaho Backcountry with his new bird.
~ Todd
Charles is picking up his King Katmai which will live in the mountains of Colorado and Texas.
~ Todd
Peter is enjoying his King Katmai in the rare air of Colorado.
~ Todd
Tom is getting ready to head back to Illinois in his beautiful new Kenai.
~ Todd
Mark heading back to Montana with his new Kenai.
~ Todd
Steve with his new King Katmai. This airplane will call Pennsylvania home.
~ Todd
Peter will be basing his beautiful King Katmai between Scottsdale, AZ and Alpine Airpark, WY. I'm sure he will join us on our backcountry adventures.
~ Todd
John and Anne are getting ready for their flight back to New York in their new Kenai. The first they did on return was to remove the rear seat to make room for their beloved dog.
~ Todd
Brad finished his checkout and is getting reaqy to fly back to his home base in California. I'm sure he will be joining us in the backcountry.
~ Todd
Got this beautiful video from Colin Lind. A friend of his captured the Katmai arrival. He pointed out the classic depiction of the signature Katmai "flat" approach. Click on the image to enjoy!
~ Todd
Brian is picking up his new 260SE and getting ready to head out to his home base in Florida. This beautiful 260SE was once owned by Todd and Jo Peterson and it is super clean. All the best Brian and Happy Flying!!!.
~ Todd
A new Kenai just departed for Italy to join up with a King Katmai that was flown over to Italy last year. Sandro's Kenai is equipped with a BRS parachute and a full array of avionics. His Kenai will share hangar space with is other airplanes including his beautiful Challenger. Picture is Sandro on the left and his chief pilot Massimo.
~ Todd
One of the latest batch of airplanes we are completing. A beautiful King Katmai bound for its new home in Wyoming and Idaho. Ty’s “other airplane” is a Citation X. He has his bases pretty well covered now.
~ Todd
In the first picture we are warming the engines up at McCall getting ready for breakfast at Sulphur Springs on my first day of the 2016 Idaho fly in. The weather was beautiful and we had a great time.
~ Todd
Ty’s super nice King Katmai getting ready to head to the mountains of Idaho.
~ Todd
Danny (pictured on the right) picking up his 230 HP Katmai with the standard Cessna landing gear.
~ Todd
Ron getting ready to head back to El Paso in his new King Katmai. Ron’s “other” airplane is a TBM.
~ Todd
Michael taking delivery of his new King Katmai. It will be right at home in Wyoming.
~ Todd
Anotonello with his new King Katmai before its delivery flight to Italy.
~ Todd
Just a heads-up to all who expressed an interest in Katmai/Kenai caps and jackets ... apparel will be available for the remainder of the year and then it goes away. If you were thinking about getting a fine leather jacket, now is the time..
~ Todd
The February 2016 issue of Aviation Consumer magazine reviewed the safety and performance of utility STOLs. The Katmai was their TOP PICK for overall safety and utility in a 4 place aircraft. It beats Champion, Husky and even the Maule thanks to its "amazing STOL ability" and roomy cabin. Check out the FEB 2016 Issue for yourself ... www.aviationconsumer.com.
~ Todd
Todd just picked up his new King Katmai and is heading back to Nevada with it. Once back, it goes off to paint, interior and the avionics shop. We look forward to Todd joining us on our backcountry adventures.
~ Todd
Brady just took delivery of a beautiful King Katmai. It was great flying with him and we look forward to him joining us for some backcountry flying in the near future.
~ Todd
Plane & Pilot did a nice write-up on the Kenai last month. Here is the link to the article in case you missed it (click on the image).
~ Todd
Shawn just picked up his absolutely beautiful new Kenai and will be heading back to New York with it shortly. To say Shawn is accomplished in the business world is a huge understatement and we are proud that he selected us to build his new airplane. I really enjoyed flying with Shawn and both Jo and I hope to meet up with him for some fun flying in the future.
~ Todd
Kamal is taking delivery of his beautiful King Katmai and its new home will be in Africa. Marc is the ferry pilot who will be flying this airplane almost 6,000 miles to the Ivory Coast. Kamal’s strip is relatively short at 900 feet but the surface is good so he elected to stay with the standard tires and opt for more cruising speed. I’m sure that will also come in handy for the ferry flight. Hopefully Jo and I will be able to take up Kamal on his offer to come visit.
~ Todd
After years of pilots asking if we could put a King Katmai on floats it has finally been done. The initial flight tests are extremely good and we will continue the flight test program over the next month or two. Look for details on this new line of King Katmai's in the near future.
~ Todd
Doug (left) and Gayle along with Gayle’s flight instructor just picked up their new King Katmai. Their King Katmai will have good company as their “other” airplane is a new Epic. I think Doug is going to have a hard time getting on the schedule to fly this one. Gayle is already claiming it. Hopefully we will meet up with them in the backcountry.
~ Todd
We just heard from the Disciples of Flight online magazine folks. They sent us a link to their recent article by Crista Worthy on the King Katmai. Check it out at: https://disciplesofflight.com/king-katmai.
~ Jo
Tim and his daughter stopped by for a visit while enroute to Michigan to see friends. Tim is enjoying his BRS-equipped 260SE and we look forward to visiting with him at the Sedona, AZ fly-in later this year.
~ Todd
Jack picked up his new King Katmai and headed off for Montana just before we departed for Idaho. Hopefully we will see Jack on some future backcountry trips.
~ Todd
Arnold's upgrade from an IO-470 powered Katmai to a King Katmai is about complete. The new IO-550 should be should be ready for its first test run shortly, followed by its break-in and LOP flight testing.
~ Todd
Jo and I just got back from the Idaho backcountry and it was great. While hot later in the day the weather was good and we got quite a bit of flying in. Saturday morning had us going to the Big Creek breakfast and as always it was worth the trip. The food and company could not have been better and our Katmai group made a substantial financial contribution to the Big Creek rebuild project. Colin got things rolling by agreeing to match any contribution made that day and the money just started rolling in from our group. By the time everything was said and done, Colin and our group put around $30,000 toward the project. It’s great to see our group have such a good impact on this very worthwhile effort.
Sunday morning we headed off to the Root Ranch for breakfast and once again it was a great experience. This is a strip I had never been to so it was a lot of fun. All in all it was a great time. I also had time to fly with Gary Glodowski who is a flight instructor at McCall Mountain Canyon Flying Seminars. He has given our owners flight instruction in the past but this is the first chance I had to fly with him and go over all the unique flight characteristics of the King Katmai. As a result of this, Gary has become our first certified King Katmai backcountry flight instructor. It was a pleasure to get to fly with Gary and I look forward to him coming out to our facility for a visit in the near future for some additional training. For anyone that would like to get a little dual in the backcountry I highly recommend Gary. He can be reached at 970 216-0821 or sierra18769@gmail.com. The picture above was taken at Root Ranch.
I cannot sign off without mentioning that our good friend Jay Minor made it to the event. It was absolutely great getting to see him again and do a bunch of visiting. Rick brought Jay over in his Skywagon and joined in on many of the backcountry strips we visited. I hope to see Jay many, many more times in the future. He is doing well and it was well worth the trip just to see him again.
Pictures of the Idaho trip are now up on our website in the Album section.
~ Todd
P.S. Our new Chat Room is now functional. You can access it via the Menu Bar at the top of the screen.
Tim Rigby just picked up his beautiful 260SE/STOL and headed back to California with it. Tim’s checkout went very well and we hope to see him at the Sedona, AZ fly in later this year. His airplane is equipped with the BRS parachute and folding rear utility seats. Tim has quite an interesting career as a movie stunt man and stunt coordinator. If you want to see some wild stunts pull his name up with the word “stunt man” on the internet. He has done work in tons of major films. Welcome to the “family”.
~ Todd
Arnold just finished getting checked out in his "new" Katmai and he did a great job. He will be flying his Katmai to his summer home in North Dakota. Arnold already has plans to bring it back for an upgrade to a King Katmai with the installation of our IO-550. We hope Arnold can join us for some backcountry flying in the future.
~ Todd
The majority of interested pilots favor the weekend of May 15th through the 18th to reschedule our Utah Backcounty Adventure. I have already changed my hotel reservations to that weekend. If anyone has any questions, give me a call. (Pictured: Sulphur Creek).
~ Todd
We have a factory IO-470 engine with a new Hartzell prop that was installed in 2008.
This engine is in great condition and is being removed for the installation of our IO-550 upgrade.
The engine and prop have 198 hours TT with no damage history. Here is a chance to own an almost new
factory IO-470 with all the accessories and prop for less than half the price of new.
If you have a tired IO-470 or are looking to build a 260SE this is a great deal.
Only $20,000 with your old core. Call Todd or Jo at 316-320-1080.
~ Todd
Ryan is taking delivery of his new King Katmai and we have high hopes for him joining up with us in the backcountry. His checkout went extremely well and I have no doubt he will do just fine with the mountain strips we will be visiting in late June.
~ Todd
David’s King Katmai finished up its detailing and test flight program and now it is off to Avionics Specialists for a new panel, avionics and autopilot installation. I’m quite sure this King Katmai will be among the best equipped airplanes in the fleet. Needless to say we are looking forward to seeing David on our upcoming trip to the Utah backcountry in late April.
~ Todd
Tim’s beautiful 260SE/STOL is heading to the shop for an upgrade that includes the installation of a BRS parachute recovery system along with utility folding rear seats. We agree with Tim that the 260SE’s slow speed safety combined with the BRS makes this the worlds safest airplane. While we probably won’t see Tim in the backcountry hopefully he can make it to the Sedona, AZ fly in we are having later this year.
~ Todd
The detailing and flight test program on Doug’s new King Katmai is now finished and once the GAMI flight tests have been completed for LOP operation it will be ready to head home. We’re looking forward to having Doug join us for some spectacular backcountry flying this year.
~ Todd
David’s upgrade to a IO-550 powered King Katmai is now finished with five hours of test flight time logged on his new engine. Wow, there is nothing like 550 cubic inches of fuel injected GO power. This King Katmai is now ready for a detailed inspection along with the installation of the stainless steel leading edges on the landing gear legs and graphics. Once that is finished it’s off to the avionics shop for a complete avionics upgrade. When I asked David what he wanted in his new panel his answer was pretty simple, “I want it all.” ... My kind of guy!
~ Todd
Jack’s new King Katmai just came out of the interior shop and is back at our shop for its final QC inspection and servicing. This King Katmai not only has one of the most labor intensive paint schemes we have ever done it also has a very customized leather interior. To say it is beautiful is a huge understatement. Like most of our King Katmais it has a custom Garmin avionics installation with an Stec 55x autopilot. We still have the GAMI flights left along with detailing and servicing work so hopefully it won’t be long before I’m checking out the new owner. Hopefully he can join us for our backcountry fly ins.
~ Todd
We’re in the final stages of upgrading David’s Katmai to a King Katmai with the installation of our IO-550 engine. After flying with us in the Idaho mountains David found he needed more performance and safety than his 0-520 could provide so our engine upgrade was the logical choice. In addition, his King Katmai is getting an annual inspection, stainless steel leading edges on the landing gear legs, extended baggage and a host of other backcountry improvements. Once the test flight time is over it’s off to the avionics shop for a completely new Garmin panel. When finished this will be a truly great King Katmai and we expect to see it on many of our backcountry fly-ins.
~ Todd
Ryan’s King Katmai is going back in the shop for our last QC inspection prior to painting the areas we have modified. With the avionics and interior finished we are on the home stretch of finishing up this really nice King Katmai. As soon as we get a reasonably calm day we’ll also finish up the dynamic propeller balance and the LOP GAMI flight tests. It won’t be long before we see Ryan joining up with us for some backcountry flying. Hopefully he can work the Utah fly in into his schedule in late April.
~ Todd
We’re in the final stages of upgrading David’s Katmai to a King Katmai with the installation of our IO-550 engine. After flying with us in the Idaho mountains David found he needed more performance and safety than his 0-520 could provide so our engine upgrade was the logical choice. In addition, his King Katmai is getting an annual inspection, stainless steel leading edges on the landing gear legs, extended baggage and a host of other backcountry improvements. Once the test flight time is over it’s off to the avionics shop for a completely new Garmin panel. When finished this will be a truly great King Katmai and we expect to see it on many of our backcountry fly-ins.
~ Todd
Let’s plan on April 25th and 26th for the Utah trip with a rain date of May 2nd and 3rd. Jo and I plan on being arriving Moab on the 24th and we will head home on the 27th. We also need to start thinking about a date for the Idaho fly in. I figure the last part of June to be the best window for that. Hopefully the mud will be gone and it should be prior to the fires starting up. We could shoot for June 27th & 28th with a rain date of July 4th and 5th or we could move everything back and do it a week earlier. Anyone thinking about joining up take a look at your schedule and see what might work best for you. For those of you that can’t hit either of these we will also be visiting the Buffalo River Wilderness area in Arkansas for some backcountry flying along with reconstituting our fly in at Sedona, AZ later this year. At Sedona it doesn’t matter what tire size you have which is nice.
As I have some new names on the backcountry list I will find the list of the Utah strips we might visit and repost them. I will also get the lodging information out shortly. If you don’t have Hanselman’s Fly Utah book you will need to get it. Hopefully we can visit the Gateway resort for lunch on one of the days. It sounds world class and should be fun. The other day we could visit either Monument Valley or Marble Canyon for lunch.
~ Todd