PILOTS ONLY ALLOWED HERE

Here is a typical Alaska Bush Plane for sale - Any Takers?

July 3 – For Pilot’s Only – all Others Can Leave the Room Now.

FUN FLYING SO FAR: Today is the first day I did not fly in the last 17 days.  We had incredible weather – only a few hours for the entire time while waiting for the weather to pass or improve.  That is hard to believe with the normal weather patterns in Alaska and northern Canada.  Of course good weather in Alaska over the tundra is 200 feet ceilings with good visibility underneath, although the 91 guys go with one mile, and the 135 guys only need 500 and 2 (if they decide to be legal).  However one can get caught with weather that keeps them from flying the passes for days at a time, so we were fortunate.  We had weather delays planned for, but since we did not need to use any we could do more things – and I still didn’t do everything I would have liked to.  All my flying was VFR except for one leg I filed IFR from Winnipeg to Saskatoon on the way up.  We flew all through the north of Canada (not directly to Anchorage from Whitehorse) and cleared customs at Fairbanks.  Most small planes clear at Northway.  I was shocked when the customs officer came out and said the last I saw you was when you flew from Winnipeg to Saskatoon.  He was watching Flight Aware and followed me, however I filed VFR flight plans for every leg and he had no idea where I had gone in between.  He took me by surprise when he told me that.  In the past 17 days I flew over 89 hours – if I had done that many hours in the GV I would have gone around the world over two times – but not with the Citabria.  I had the time of my life, however and loved the trip – and I still have the return to look forward to. 

FSS STILL ALIVE AND WELL IN ALASKA: I did not realize until I got up here that Lockheed Martin is not in Alaska, but FSS is alive and well here.  They were not happy when I used Duats to file a few times, I found out, because they like to do the filing over the radio or phone they told me “to keep our numbers up”.  They informed me if I used Duats they will go the way of the lower 48 and they don’t want that.  Aviation in Alaska is a whole different ball game, and some things were pretty impressive.  The weather here changes every minute and is so localized with the mountains etc.  On occasion I was getting tossed around from winds blowing down a valley (which is often the case) at 45 knots or more and extremely rough, and not believing the AWOS at the next cove that was only 4 miles away which said there winds were calm.  This was all happening while I was at 600 feet AGL.  Sure enough I get around the ridge and landed with no wind at all.  Localized rain and clouds were the same way.  They have done an incredible job of installing hundreds of web cams all over the state – including very remote locations.  Take a look at the FAA web site sometime to have a look at them.  In addition to all the FAA have there are many other private ones also installed, and the pilots here use them regularly.  One can get a view in numerous directions at each location depending on approach paths etc, and there is always a clear image next to it to compare with the altitudes and distances of the mountains for comparison.  They are located in passes and at many airstrips.  They also have many RCO locations to communicate with FSS, and many weather reporting stations.   FSS is extremely helpful at remote locations and one time Travis even had them make a phone call to get updated weather at the remote airstrip he was going to.  One can radio them through the RCO’s and ask them to look at the web cams (I did that went I went through some of the passes) and they give a very good report based on the web cams and how it looks at that moment. 

CAPSTONE PROJECT:  Alaska is well ahead with the ADS-B OUT as well, and many aircraft have it installed.  They get weather and traffic, but it was quite impressive to see the ADS-B in operation like is. 

AIRPLANE HEAVEN:  It still amazes me how many aircraft there are in Alaska (the highest percentage of pilots in the world – and that doesn’t include those who fly and never got a pilot’s license J).  One seems them all over the place at remote villages and lakes.  The only connection many villages have is the airplane of course.  In Anchorage there are about 5 VERY busy airports and one Airforce Base all within about a 5 mile radius, including the International Airport.  There are planes flying all the time right over the city – these airports are located right in the city.  And there are hundreds (probably thousands) of small aircraft at Lake Hood, and Merrill Field.  Taildraggers are the norm here – a tricycle looks more out of place.  In fact the large Alaska bush tires are seen everywhere, some places that is all that you see. 

AIRSPACE MAZE:  It takes a while to fly in and out of Anchorage.  Most flights are VFR and that is how the controllers like it so it doesn’t get all bottled up.  There are very specific procedures, routes, and altitudes to make it all work with the busy airspace.  For instance there are “tunnels” for the military aircraft to fly through, and then descend to the airports, while VFR traffic to other fields is above or below that.  If you take a look at the AFD Alaska Supplement you can see how confusing it all is – but it works I guess.  They know when somebody new comes in.  I explained I was unfamiliar with all the landmarks and they were understanding and helpful the first time, but I was flying in extremely turbulent winds and was supposed to hold 1200 feet and when I showed about 1260 on my altimeter they informed me they showed me at 1300 and that was too high!  I think they were playing with the amateur a bit, but they are very strict.  ROGER