Aviat Aircraft A-1c-180

Single Piston

The Aviat Husky is a high-wing taildragger built for serious backcountry flying, where short strips, rough terrain, and marginal weather are the norm rather than the exception. Introduced in the late 1980s and continuously refined by Aviat Aircraft in Wyoming, the Husky traces its lineage to the Piper Super Cub but incorporates modern materials, a beefier airframe, and a 180-horsepower Lycoming O-360 that gives it genuine short-field authority. With a stall speed around 44 knots in landing configuration and oversized tundra tires available from the factory, it excels at the kind of off-airport operations that define bush flying in Alaska, the Canadian north, and remote mountain valleys worldwide. The Husky's steel-tube fuselage and fabric covering keep it repairable in the field, while its tandem seating and large cargo area make it a practical workhorse for hunters, surveyors, and wilderness lodges. Pilots prize its docile handling, excellent visibility, and ability to operate from strips that would give a Cessna 172 pause. Though it lacks the speed of a Cirrus or the cabin comfort of a Bonanza, the Husky does one thing exceptionally well: it gets you into places other aircraft can't reach and gets you back out safely. SkyMeter has tracked 11 flights across 2 airframes and 1 operators, with activity spanning routes.