One of the more common forms of av-adventure involves sauntering around the seldom-visited backcountry. Much of America's wilderness is accessible only to aircraft that are equipped to go where normal GA planes can't. Fortunately, many states have formalized their network of backcountry airports, and there are organizations to help intrepid adventurers. Runways may be rude, crude and nestled in tiny valleys, but they're accessible to the right airplanes and pilots. The runways may be challenging---and located far from four-star hotels---but they're not inherently dangerous (assuming that pilots hone their skills so that the features associated with backcountry airports---high density altitude, slopes, unusual approaches, etc.---aren't outside their talent envelope).

Through the application of specialized flying techniques, many airplanes designed with the backcountry in mind can be elevated to lofty "bush plane" status. Pilots who engage in actual bush flying abide by the slogan, "We don't need no stinkin' runway." Give bush pilots a few hundred feet of unobstructed, not-necessarily-flat land, and they're happy campers.

Hard-core bush flying requires airplanes with outstanding takeoff and landing performance that can maintain their performance even when loaded. Also, pilots have to be as good as the airplane, with a thorough understanding of what each landing/takeoff entails, because each one will be different. Whether it's density altitude, oddball runway configurations or challenging topographical features, pilots must have the judgment to know when a landing/takeoff isn't advisable. Aviators also must be able to recognize when the generous margin they've built between the plane and the operating environment has been compromised. And they must prepare themselves for worse-case scenarios: What will I do if the engine quits this far out in the boonies, or if I stub my toe on landing?

Along with bush flying, there's adventure to be found in pedal-to-the-metal, hair-on-fire performance. This can come in the form of blazing speed or an emphasis on the vertical dimension, as in aerobatics. A wide variety of factory-built and amateur-built aircraft are available to satisfy your desire. Those who want to test the limits of three-dimensional flight can attend one of the flight schools specializing in aerobatics. This is a major change from the past: Not that long ago, finding a school that taught aerobatics, especially high-performance aerobatics in high-performance airplanes, wasn't easy. Today, such schools are in every major city.

Whatever your adventure craving, with the proper training and instruction, you can fly to your heart's desire. Now, let's start lookin' at planes!

American Champion Scout
More than half a century ago, American Champion's Scout started life as a lowly Champ. Between the big wings, gigantic flaps and 180 hp Lycoming swinging a Hartzell constant speed, however, the airplane has left its roots behind to become a born-again STOL star. But it's more than that. Yes, it'll get on and off short, but it's the perfect two-place bird to enjoy summer sunsets. Price: $148,900. Contact: www.amerchampionaircraft.com.

Aviat Husky A-1C
Aviat seems to reinvent the Husky every couple of years, and today's incarnation, the 180 hp "C" model, also is available with 200 hp and an MT composite prop. In addition, it has new ailerons that utilize Pitts "Super Stinker" technology to produce a higher-than-normal roll rate without spades. The useful load has been increased to 925 pounds, which is a bunch, and on top of that, the aircraft has unique cockpit-protecting airbags! Price: $240,251 (200 hp); $196,811 (180 hp). Contact: www.aviataircraft.com.

Bear 360
Available either as a kit or finished airplane, the Bear 360 is the fighter we've all been wishing for. Designed by noted test pilot Skip Holm and Sergei Yakovlev (yes, that Yakovlev), it truly is a fighter. The engine is the well-known, thoroughly loved Vendeneyev M14P/F (360 to 420 hp), and the all-aluminum airframe is produced in Russia to military standards. The 210 KTAS 75% cruise speed is at sea level, so since the engine is supercharged, it must be a howler at altitude. Price: $185,000--$285,000. Contact: www.bearaircraft.com.

Cub Crafters Carbon Cub
And speaking of reinvention: The longtime home of the Super Cub, Cub Crafters, has reinvented the Super Cub as an LSA/S-LSA utilizing a 180 hp version of a Lycoming. The traditional steel-tube fuselage is engineered for crash survivability but is surrounded with space-age carbon fiber to bring the weight down to LSA limits. The airplane has performance to burn, with a 2,100 fpm climb rate, and 1,100 fpm at 10,000 feet! Price: $163,280. Contact: www.cubcrafters.com.

Found Expedition E350
With its 52-inch-wide cabin (nearly a foot wider than a C-182), the Expedition is the Winnebago of backwoods airplanes, and its performance is just as big. Using a 315 hp IO-580 Lycoming, it'll tote 1,500 pounds of useful load in and out of smaller-than-normal runways and still cruise at 155 KTAS for a 750-mile range with reserves. The all-aluminum airframe is wrapped around a steel-tube cabin section for safety. Price: $495,000. Contact: www.expeditionaircraft.com.

Icon Aircraft
A newcomer to the field, Icon Aircraft has introduced what it refers to as the "Jet Ski for the sky." A thoroughly modern and state-of-the-art two-place amphibian, the Icon A5's sophistication belies its LSA/S-LSA certification and challenges any factory's standard of execution and design. Its folding wings make for easy transportation and storage, and its 100 hp Rotax engine sips fuel. Price: $139,000. Contact: www.iconaircraft.com.

Maule
The fabric-fuselage, aluminum-winged M-4 Maules have been with us since the mid-1950s, and the family business in Moultrie, Ga., still cranks out one of aviation's better-known STOL airplanes. Everything about the airplane is traditional and simple, and the latest models have noticeably increased useful loads. The company is unique in that it produces models with engines ranging from 160 hp to 420 hp turbine-powered versions (Maule's 260 hp versions are the best known). Price: $212,900 (260 hp); $173,900 (180 hp). Contact: www.mauleairinc.com.

Peterson Katmai
Peterson's Performance Plus in El Dorado, Kans., produces one of the most impressive STOL airplanes ever conceived. This extensive modification of the ubiquitous Cessna 182 includes aerodynamic mods---the most noticeable of which is the canard---and engine conversions (260 hp is the most common, with 300 hp available). As a result, the King Katmai delivers nearly unbelievable short-field performance and outstanding slow-speed handling. Also, at 170 to 180 mph, it's faster than it has a right to be. Price: $92,000--$101,000. Contact: www.katmai-260se.com.

Pitts S-2C
Aviat's S-2C Pitts presents adventure seekers with more performance than most people have ever experienced. With its cat-shot takeoff, 2,900 fpm climb rate and 150 KTAS cross-country speed, the S-2C offers impressive performance. Its real adventure quotient, however, is evident the instant the finger-light controls are tweaked and the horizon is twirled around at will. Gravity becomes a temporary inconvenience as the pilot invents new ways to experience aviation. Price: $290,850. Contact: www.aviataircraft.com.

Yaks
Many cool round-motored toys come from the Yakovlev Design Bureau---notably, the Yak 52 two-place aerobatic trainer and the hell-for-stout Yak 50 and 55 single-place competition aerobatic machines. The four-place Yak 18T also is capable of serious aerobatics. And they all use that wonderful Vedeneyev M-14P motor!

Quest Kodiak
This unique aircraft was designed for humanitarian missions, serving missionaries in the world's backwaters. Quite a few have been delivered, and their ability to carry heavy loads into short, rough strips has served them well. Capable of carrying 3,100 pounds (including 4x8-foot sheets of plywood), the Kodiak isn't a small aircraft, but its 750 hp PT6 gives it the power it needs. Price: $1,450,000. Contact: www.questaircraft.com.