I'm going to hunt some new areas this fall. Most areas are 200-300 miles from where I live. I have a friend who is trying to get a pilots license and needs to log as many hours as he can before he moves next month. He is itching for excuses to go flying, especially when someone would pay for the gas (ie, me).

Because of the distancea trip by flying would not only take way less time but also come out a bit cheaper than driving the truck. Have you ever scouted in a small plane like this? I know the game dept uses planes for 'areal surveys' of the elk herds, but I don't know if that necessarily means it makes for better scouting. The big benefits would be the time saved in traveling there and back, plus the aerial view. The downside would be that I couldn't spend a few hours per hillside and really get some deep glassing done. I know about MSN/Google maps but sometimes you can't get into detail on the clearcuts and the dating of the photos can also be problematic. Any ideas? Should I jump on this stellar opportunity or just drive over there and scout like good ol' fashion way? Thanks