Reward: Invitation to Basecamp Pancake Breakfast
Difficulty: Intermediate
Estimated Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
This reward is for completing the first part of the Denali Base Camp Charter mission. After taking off from Talkeetna, you can set the autopilot on the Maule to follow your GPS or NAV course. The autopilot can't see mountains though, so be sure to continuously adjust the altitude and heading hold. At this point, you need to climb to about 8,500 feet. Continue following the GPS course until you come within 2 or 3 miles of the mission compass pointer. You should be able to find a group of brightly colored tents over the next ridge. This is where you'll want to come to a stop.
Landing is the tricky part. You need to put the skis down and line yourself up to land uphill. You might be able to see a runway lined with orange cones guiding you toward the little village (it's okay if you can't, it's all just snow and ice up there). Since you don't have brakes, the trick is coming to a stop before you reach the tents, then taxiing up to them. Unless you angle yourself at 90 degrees to the slope, you have to leave the engine with a little power to keep from sliding downhill. Stop next to the village and let the plane unload, then taxi downhill and takeoff. You can start to follow the same course you came in on to get back out.
In a minute or two, your dispatcher asks you to pick up an injured hiker at the medical camp. For this reward, you can decline and fly back to the airport. If you want the Courage medal however, you'll have to accept.