It's officially official- Alaska!

colomtnflyer

colomtnflyer

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iAM in AK!
Hitting the road on Apr 17th, heading to the Great White North!

All the i's have been dotted and t's have been crossed...

Will be heading to Talkeetna, to work for a company which does 135 type work around Denali- climbers to Base Camp, tourists around the mtn, as well as glacier landings, inter-village transport, etc...

Can't wait to get on the road (6 days, averaging about 600 miles p/day), running up through WY, MT, to Calgary, through Banff (weather permitting), and then NW along the Alaska Highway. Indoc and ground school begins on the 25th...

Stay tuned for pics!
 
colomtnflyer said:
Hitting the road on Apr 17th, heading to the Great White North!

All the i's have been dotted and t's have been crossed...

Will be heading to Talkeetna, to work for a company which does 135 type work around Denali- climbers to Base Camp, tourists around the mtn, as well as glacier landings, inter-village transport, etc...

Can't wait to get on the road (6 days, averaging about 600 miles p/day), running up through WY, MT, to Calgary, through Banff (weather permitting), and then NW along the Alaska Highway. Indoc and ground school begins on the 25th...

Stay tuned for pics!
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Way to go, Talkeetna Air?

have a great trip, must have things, a pass port to cross the border, paper paint mask, camera, mile post magand bring your own booze.

and get to know Alaska flyer, and Tim Berg. both good guys they can teach you many things.
 

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Tom-D said:
Way to go, Talkeetna Air?

have a great trip, must have things, a pass port to cross the border, paper paint mask, camera, mile post magand bring your own booze.

and get to know Alaska flyer, and Tim Berg. both good guys they can teach you many things.
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Thanks, Tom-
Actually, K2 Aviation... I'm planning on looking up AF when I get the chance, not sure I know who Tim Berg is... But regardless, I'm looking forward to this as an incredible experience!

Got my MilePost, got my weapon transport declaration, lots of cameras, passport is current, not so worried about booze, but what's the deal with a paper paint mask?
 
colomtnflyer said:
Thanks, Tom-
but what's the deal with a paper paint mask?
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when the bugs are thick they fly up your nose. and into your mouth.

Tim Berg, flys a C-170 off the float pond at Fairbanks (china Marina) on floats during the summer and skis during the winter.

looks in here once in a while.
 
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Does this mean we should have a CO-POA event before you leave for parts Up There?
 
TMetzinger said:
Dear ColomtnFlyer, (sorry I don't know your first name)

You Suck.

Love, Tim


Congratulations!
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Its Ric.

My cousin lived in Tallkeetna for about 20 years. Have a blast enjoy and suck it all in who knows perhaps you will land a job at Era Alaska and hang with Ariel :thumbsup:
 
Congrats Ric. Definitely look me up if you drive through this way.

Actually check that I'll be away to the lower 48 when you come through. Ah well we'll connect this summer I'm sure.

Also if you end up flying government missions to base camp you'll probably hear about me sooner or later. Probably not in a good way (I'm the guy who pesters the hell out of vendors and employees about our aviation safety program. )

Did you find a place to live?
 
I'm pretty sure I won't get to Rifle, or Houston or wherever you are now before you leave so have a fantastic time! :thumbsup:
 
Jealous!!!

Have fun, and stay warm! I always keep Yellowknife, NT in my phone's weather app so that I can feel good about Wisconsin weather. Major fail right now, though - currently, it's 23ºF here in Milwaukee, and it's 30ºF in Yellowknife! But it's only 7º in Sidnaw, MI so I guess I can still feel good. :D
 
flyingcheesehead said:
Jealous!!!

Have fun, and stay warm! I always keep Yellowknife, NT in my phone's weather app so that I can feel good about Wisconsin weather. Major fail right now, though - currently, it's 23ºF here in Milwaukee, and it's 30ºF in Yellowknife! But it's only 7º in Sidnaw, MI so I guess I can still feel good. :D
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Well it's supposed to be 40f or warmer in Talkeetna tomorrow :rofl:
 
Ric,

Have a great time! That sounds like a real blast. I know I love my Canadian flying out in uncontrolled airspace, and I can only imagine Alaska to be even more fun.

And when you reclaim the King Air manuals from Tim, can I borrow them? I promise not to forget your name. ;)
 
Ted DuPuis said:
Ric,

Have a great time! That sounds like a real blast. I know I love my Canadian flying out in uncontrolled airspace, and I can only imagine Alaska to be even more fun.

And when you reclaim the King Air manuals from Tim, can I borrow them? I promise not to forget your name. ;)
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Ted, if you want to borrow them, I'll be happy to send them to you although I will want them back. I'm grateful to Ric for giving them to me.

But he still sucks.
 
Man, what a fun adventure! What kind of experience do they require of new hires? Will you be flying a lot of tailwheel?
 
That's very COOL ! You will be having quite an adventure and getting paid... pretty good deal all around I'd say.
 
Congrats on moving someplace with worse wx than I got. Yeah, maybe Ariel just found her MAN!
 
steingar said:
Congrats on moving someplace with worse wx than I got. Yeah, maybe Ariel just found her MAN!
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Haha... I am older than her father! And I don't think I could stand to be around an airhead for very long... one of the local boys can have her, thanks....

Yes, LOTS of TW! We have 2 turbine Otters, a round engine Beaver, a Navajo, Cherokee 6-300, and a bunch of C185's. All except the Navajo and Cherokee are on skis.
Supposedly I'm going to be the lead in the Navajo, but they have already told me they will do my TW endorsement and SES there, on the company nickel! I'll be getting acquainted with the 185's as soon as I get there...
 
Don't forget to take all your fur-lined stuff.
 
wabower said:
Don't forget to take all your fur-lined stuff.
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From what I experienced while there last summer, it can actually get pretty warm! But coming from winter in the mtns of Colorado, I'm not so worried about what temps I may encounter during the summer up there... but I will have a few extra layers to make sure! :fcross:

Anybody up for some "stink-flipper"? I'll make sure I get the recipe from Ariel..... :vomit:
 
I spent about 10 mins in Talkeetna. Land, taxi, pitstop, take-off. Beautiful scenery around there. Sounds like a fun gig. Congratulations.
 
Well, less than 60 hrs till I'm on the road...! (singing..."6 days on the road , and I'm a gonna make it home tonight...)

The packing is getting done, ski school locker is cleared out, ski gear stored in a U-Stor-It unit, all the final details are about finished, just some last minute packing to do...

One bummer- after talking to a Canadian Firearms Officer on the phone, my 2 revolvers are not legal to transit through Canada. Though they are nominally listed as 4" barrels by the manufacturers, the Canadian requirement is 4.1" (105mm). Both came up just a hair short... I was told they are pretty tight about this requirement. So I have made other arrangements to get them to AK, and will only travel with my (Canadian non-restricted) rifle.

The first week will be flying from Talkeetna down to ANC each day for company indoc and ground school. Then it's TW training, and soon enough, my SES. It is expected that I will fly 80hrs+ each month. Sure hope the weather permits that, and maybe more!

This is going to be the most fun I have had in ages!
 
Congrats. It's a big move. This coming from a guy who lives and works 20 miles from where he grew up. I can't imagine what it's like but if you need a copilot, give me a call!
 
Wow, Ric! What an adventure!

Have fun, be safe, and post lots of pics and stories!
 
Now I can't help but think of you whenever I watch Flying Wild Alaska. Have fun! :goofy:
 
Well, I made it into Talkeetna yesterday afternoon- pretty much on schedule and with no significant drama. Had to get a tire repaired in Calgary for a screw I picked up somewhere, but other than very strong headwinds, it was smooth drive! (Look out for the frost heaves on the road between Destruction Bay YT and the US border! You can catch air off those suckers!)

Absolutely amazing scenery along the way (Alberta excepting... very flat and boring) through BC and YT. Had snowflurries to blizzards, to sunshine and CAVU, awesome lakes, very impressive mountains, and extremely light traffic the whole way, until I hit rush hour in Wasilla! lol There was snow all along the route, ranging from patches to areas measured in many feet! Almost every lake and river was still frozen over, some reporting ice as thick as 5+ feet.

I was suprised that I didn't see many animals - some stone sheep, a few eagles, a few deer, and only a couple of small herds of caribou. Not a single moose the entire way! And the first reports of bears being seen have just begun coming in around Talkeetna.

Will begin company indoc and ground school first thing Monday morning, with the company flying us back and forth to Merrill Field each day. The parent company has a training facility down at Lake Hood, which is one of the busiest seaplane bases in the country.

The training will include visits to the local National Park Service HQ, for orientation to flying around Denali and the other nearby parks.

Price of gas up here is comparable to what I was paying in Vail, about $4.13 for 87 octane, while a gallon of milk here is $4.39! (was 2.79 in Vail) Guess I'll be hitting COSTCO every time I get into ANC....

Will try to figure out how to post some pics of the drive...
 
colomtnflyer said:
The training will include visits to the local National Park Service HQ, for orientation to flying around Denali and the other nearby parks...
Click to expand...

Say Hi To Richard "aka" Alaska flyer for me, he's park police, in the Ranger uniform, I believe. (I've never seen him at work)
 
colomtnflyer said:
I was suprised that I didn't see many animals - some stone sheep, a few eagles, a few deer, and only a couple of small herds of caribou. Not a single moose the entire way!
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You don't want to see a moose while you're driving. :no:

(Hint: You WILL lose. If you're lucky, you'll only lose your car and not your life. :hairraise:)

Will try to figure out how to post some pics of the drive...
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Please do! :yes:
 
The few days I spent in Anchorage earlier this month, I saw two moose crossing the road (in Anchorage). I am sure you will be seeing them soon enough. Looking forward to seeing some pics of Talkeetna and "the mountain"...
 
Well, now ground school is over, and I must admit- after dealing with SIMUFLITE, this was a piece of cake! 5 days of class room, but now it's time for the hands on training to begin- flew my first hr in a TW about 3 hrs ago, and though I'm very happy with how the air work went, maybe my expectations for my first TW T/O's and Ldgs were a bit high. Not that I pranged up the aircraft, nor did the IP have to get very involved, but it did happen a bit differently than anything I had done before. 3 hops scheduled for tomorrow, then 2-3 more on Monday... Expected to obtain my TW endorsement by Tue or Wed... Then comes the actual Mt McKinley training- ride alongs, more in house training, and more TW experience.
It's still snowing up here- as we were flying back and forth from Talkeetna to Anchorage each day, we ran the gamut of great weather to snow and rain... pretty typical for this time of year, as far as I can tell....
Found a place to live, about 10 miles from the airport, but it's nice, new, warm, but not a stick of furniture... (I took care of that while in ANC)... plus it has electricity and indoor plumbing- and it's own washer and dryer! That's quite something in this place!

Still working on getting the electricity and tv / internet into my name, so right now I'm sitting outside a SUBWAY sandwich shop, using their open internet connection.

So more will be forthcoming when I can.
 
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