Winging It with the New Backcountry Barnstormers longreads.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from longreads.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Throughout the lower 48, recreational bush pilots are using their nimble planes and social media influence to spread the word about bold frontiers in flight: touching down on remote federal lands, flocking to little-used runways in designated wilderness, and drag racing one another for pure sport. Their capstone event each season, the High Sierra Fly-In, never fails to deliver hair-raising thrills.