Having the opportunity to fly a particular aircraft and then share the story with the public is one of the perks of being a media personality and a pilot.
CubCrafters, the Washington state-based maker of tailwheel-equipped aircraft synonymous with backcountry flying, knows this and created a Media Evaluation Program that permits select members of the aviation media community temporary access to company-owned aircraft for independent evaluation, review, and content creation.
One of the pilots participating in the program was Roland Steadham, chief meteorologist for KBOI-TV in Boise, Idaho. On January 27, Steadham and passenger Dallin Laufenberg were killed in a crash while flying a CCX-1865 Carbon Cub FX (N126C) in a remote part of the Payette River in Gem County’s Black Canyon. According to the Gem County Sheriff’s Office, the small airplane clipped a power line just before 11 a.m. MST Tuesday morning…