CONTENTS 05.13 flighttraining.aopa.org VOLUME.25 / NUMBER. 5 FEATURES 34 COVER STORY » NORTH TO ALASKA Flying with bush pilots above the Arctic Circle. Join up in a cross-country flight through the incredible beauty of Alaska with bush pilots from Kingdom Air Corps. By Kathy Dondzila 40 MAKE ORDER OUT OF CHAOS Be smart—and safe—at a nontowered airport. There are two types of airports in this world, and the nontowered one can be intimidating. By Jamie Beckett 44 TIME IS MONEY The Hobbs meter is the instrument pilots love to hate. Flight time is reckoned by the reading on the Hobbs meter. By Jeff Pardo 48 TECHNIQUE Slips. A fun way to scrub off altitude. By Ian J. Twombly See page 34. "THE BEST BUSH PILOTS ARE ALSO AIRFRAME AND POWERPLANT MECHANICS, ABLE TO FIX SQUAWKS WHEREVER THEY OCCUR." —KATHY DONDZILA WHAT 'S COOKING UPSTA WATCH W E A T H E R EXCLUSIVE FOR MICROBURSTS BREWING IRS? IN THOSE CLOUDS p. 50 05.13 flighttraining.aopa.org ALASK A ON THE COVER » A Cub takes off during the Valdez, Alaska, STOL (Shortest Takeoff and Landing) competition. Photography by Dan Bailey. The ultimate training environment • How to Be a Bush Pilot p. 34 • Flying Wild Alaska’s John Ponts p. 72 • A Preflight Lesson p. 30 TICK-TOCK, CHA-CHING THE HOBBS METER p. 44 ! ORDER IN THE CHAOS NO TOWER, NO PROBLEM p. 40 MAY 2013 FLIGHT TRAINING /1http://flighttraining.aopa.org