After I received my commercial pilots license, I knew I wanted to continue my education to become a flight instructor. Mostly, because I wanted to help introduce others to the joy of flying and give them the opportunity to become a pilot if they chose to do so. Another perk of being a CFI (Certified Flight Instructor) is you get to do “flight reviews”. A flight review is something the FAA requires all pilots do at least once very 2 years to remain current and proficient in their flying skills. While I may be a CFI, that definitely does’t mean I’ve flown more than the pilot I'm doing a flight review for..... and this was definitely one of those cases.
I flew down to Moab in the trusty Citabria to meet a gentlemen who owns a gorgeous Cessna 185. This pilot in particular has been flying for more years then I have been alive, and owns a gorgeous plot of land, with a hanger on it, just south of Moab in Spanish Valley. He and his wife have been flying into Moab for years, and have watched it slowly grow from the sleepy town it was many years ago to what we recognize today. And true to the tight-knit community that is 'General Aviation', he actually shared the skies with the owner of Kavu’s family, the Barr’s, while they were both in Alaska during the same time period working in the fishing industry. It’s common practice to use airplanes (and now helicopters) to spot the fish from the sky and tell the boats where to go. It must have been an exciting and lucrative way to make a living..... if you could find the fish!
I arrived late morning from Salt Lake City in the slow, 100hp Citabria, so we waited until evening to do the flying portion of the flight review. The regulations stipulate we must complete at least one hour of flight training, and one hour of ground training to meet the minimums time requirements, but most often it takes longer to do a thorough review. After spending a few hours reviewing in the middle part of the day (which isn’t great for flying anyways due to the heat and thermals), the sun began it's decent and it was time to fly.
Moab is full of unique topography that you won’t see other places in the world. And, all of those special spots can be enjoyed from the air! Looking down upon these marshmallow shaped rock spires reminded me of another planet you might read about in a sci-fi book.
No flight in a backcountry-equipped taildragger is complete if you don’t land on a dirt runway somewhere, so we definitely needed to check that box. In case you aren’t familiar with the term “taildragger”, it means the little wheel..... which on more modern planes is under the aircraft's nose.... is under the tail. Taildraggers are also known as 'Conventional Gear' aircraft because original production aircraft when aviation was still in it's infancy were all built this way. There are some challenges that come with flying a plane of this style, but the pros outweigh the cons as soon as you start to venture away from paved runways.
We finished up the ground portion of the flight review while enjoying the peace and solitude of being out in nature. When you get two people together who love aviation, time goes by quickly as stories are shared, techniques discussed, and at least one conflicting opinion needs to be debated.
Soon it was time to return to the air and make our way back to the little airstrip this 185 calls home. We climbed back into our trusty steed, fired up the engine, and accelerated down the dirt runway before smoothly climbing back into the warm evening sky.
On the way home we flew over the Rockland Ranch. Some may recognize it from TV series “Three wives, One husband”. It is a very unique Mormon polygamous compound in the middle of the desert where the homes are actually built into the rock!
You really need to zoom in to appreciate how wild this spot really is. These aren’t rough cave type dwellings like you may first think of when you hear about living in a “rock”. These are full-on modern homes that if you just saw the front of the house, you might not even realize how unusual it really is.
After flying a circle over the ranch, we cruised back to home base and made a smooth touchdown on the dirt runway where we'd spend the night in the plane's hanger. As you can guess, it’s not just airplanes that end up in hangars, but dirt bikes, RVs, boats, cars, and the rest of the fun toys that are too big to keep at home. Most pilots dream of having a hanger like this one day, as it really is necessary if you are going to be an aircraft owner and want to have a dry, safe place to store it.... as well as for completing necessary maintenance.
The next morning I woke to calm winds and KAVU skies, making for good flying back to Salt Lake City in the Citabria. It’s always a special adventure when you get to fly somewhere new, and this trip down to Moab was exactly that. I’m fortunate to get to meet many interesting pilots during my adventures as a flight instructor. A positive attribute of any pilot is one who enjoys the continual learning process and always strives to be better. I, and the owner of the 185, became better pilots during our flight, and that is what flying is all about. Good times with good company enjoying aviation at it’s finest.
So, I pointed the Citabria into the wind and bounced my way down the short dirt runway before becoming airborne and heading north back towards my home base. I was a little sad I couldn’t spend more time in Moab this trip, but that’s what keeps us going back to places we enjoy. I have many fond memories from this short but unique trip to one of the coolest spots in Utah, and can’t wait to visit again for more KAVU Days!!
Neil Amonson
FB
IG
Absolute Flight Training
© 2026 KAVU
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