About Us - Backcountry Aerosports - Trikes, Ultralights, Instruction In Spokane, Seattle, And Cheney Washington Area

About Us
History:
Denny Reed is the owner of Backcountry Aerosports, Inc. He was the 1st FAA Certified Flight Instructor in Eastern Washington & Northern Idaho. He was a Design Engineer in the watercraft industry for 6 years. Denny is now a broker in the construction lending industry. Denny grew up in a small farming community in Eastern Washington where his folks ran an auto parts store & enjoyed their kids. He went to Whitworth College, a private christian liberal arts school on a football scholarship. With hopes of becoming an engineer, yet worthless as a student, he screwed off most of the time but still managed to graduate with degrees in Business and Physics. He moved to Seattle as a an intern engineer for Bayliner/Maxum Yachts and then as a development engineer at Triton Engineering for 6 years. Sick of traffic, rain, & the corportate grind, he took full advantage of a voluntary lay-off. He cashed in his 401K & sold everything. Since buying an ultralight trike is obviously the most logical re-investment of retirement funds, that's what he did. Shortly thereafter, he got totally ripped off on his first trike by Don Reinhard of Personal Flight in Chelan, WA. Knowing the sport had promise, he packed up the trike & drove to Kemmeries Aviation in Phoenix, AZ (via 6 weeks skiing in the Rockies & 2 weeks in Lake Havasu for Spring Break, of course...) where he realized he was flat broke... So, he squatted in a tent in the desert for 4 months, lived on cup-o-noodles, juggled credit cards & became a Trike Instructor just like any other aspiring engineer would do when he has no good reason to prioritize anything... He started Backcountry Aerosports Incorporated on September 10th, 2001. The next day, the World Trade Center was attacked & the nation's airspace was closed for the rest of the season. The only other place to fly was Europe, so he went there to learn where the sport developed & where it should go in the US. Then, he came home & hit the road with the trike & a dream (aka nothing better to do) & started setting the trike up at any venue the would allow it, even some that didn't... The next year he launched the operation at Davenport, WA next to the skydiving operation where the number of trikes quickly out-numbered the airplanes. And, after 2.5 years of countless meetings with the City Council after a client buzzed the Mickey Rooney concert at the local fair grounds, it was time to move on... One day in the Fall of 2003, a random flight with a couple of flying compadres landed them atop Prosser Butte just outside Spokane, WA & proximal to a small college town called Cheney, WA. They stood around until someone asked the question: "Can a flight park be built on top of a hill?" You bet your ass it can.
Our Niche, Goals & Objectives:
It is our Niche to offer an truly experienced, yet unbiased education of the top 5 brands of trikes & culture that surrounds them. It is our Goal to be genuine, trustworthy & fun to work with while accepting the risk of sharing the dream of flight with you. It's our objective to operate as a nationally respected trike operation while developing the culture in Washington, Idaho & Oregon. We will offer the most balanced combination of equipment, education, research & development and events in the Pacific Northwest.
Statement of Values
Backcountry Aerosports believes integrity is as vital to success as profitability. Our lives as well as our clients' lives often depend upon the integrity of our operations, products, and pilot education. We have learned there is simply no substitute for quality in this sport and it's not free. There is a very distinct difference between Price & Value. We are here to support those who recognize the difference, as we do.
General Vision:
Aviation in general, the ownership of a trike, and the participation in the sport is a natural progression through 3 phases. Phase One: Discovery & Research Phase Two: Training & Ownership Phase Three: Support & Affiliation The vision of our company capitalizes on these phases. In Phase One, we focus our energy on promotion, events & warm invitation to who we are and what we do. We will establish ourselves as a fun, yet reliable and predictable resource to the our clients. In Phase Two, we will focus on the Training & Education necessary for the client to make an unbiased & informed decision on an aircraft while we indentify the training technique necessary for each unique client. Phase Three of our operation focuses on continuing support & education along with aerotrekking, expeditions, & events both domestic & international. Throughout these phases, we will continue to assist our manufacturers with design improvements & industry development through field reports, competition & testing.
Overall Mission & Purpose:
"Expedition Quality." With a genuine passion and respect for the sport, it is Backcountry Aerosports' mission to promote only the safest, elite quality personal aircraft & services available. We are ultimately committed to the lifestyle and people pursuing the essence of pure adventure, as we do.