My taste of General Aviation in Alaska

N918KT

N918KT

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Hey all. Sorry I have not posted in awhile. I have been on a cruise to Alaska. I have heard that most people need GA to get around to cities and towns in Alaska and that is very true.

One thing I noticed is that there are a lot of seaplanes in Alaska especially along the Pacific Coast around Juneau and Ketchikan. There are a lot of seaplanes taking off and landing, and I think some of the seaplanes are used for flightseeing tour purposes.

One of the excursions we did was a helicopter ride from Juneau Airport up through the mountains to a glacier. I have never been in a helicopter before and it was pretty cool. I got some video footage of the helicopter ride as well.

We also stopped in a small town of Skagway. There is a small airstrip not too far where the cruise ships park. At Skagway Airport, I saw two planes a Cessna Caravan and a Piper or Beechcraft Bonanza single-engine airplane landed (can't tell if its a Piper or a Bonanza). I saw a few people getting dropped off at that airport then that small single-engine airplane taxied out and flew away.

So yeah, that is what I saw in Alaska with regards to general aviation. Anyone ever flown in Alaska by GA?
 
Yup, flew up there and back from California in our plane as well. We stayed at Lake Hood which is right next to Anchorage International and in the summer the seaplanes are constantly in and out of there all day long into the late evening - didn't get dark in mid June until around 11 PM. We did a lot of flying there and all I can say was that it was spectacular. I've never seen so many Beavers in one place in my life, I took a tour around Mt McKinley in one and landed on a glacier. There are just so many neat things to see and do up there if you love aviation. It's a paradise.
 
I got right seat in this Piper going from the Haul Road back to Fairbanks a couple of weeks back.

I wonder how they stop corrosion in those sea planes since they seem to be used heavily in salt water.
 

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Last summer I flew from LAS up through Canada along the Al-Can Hwy through Watson Lake, Whitehorse, to Northway AK, Merrill Field in ANC, down to Homer, Talketna, Fairbanks and then back through Canada to home.

Spent an evening walking around Hood Lake.

Whitehorse, Yukon Territories to Skagway is a standard air route, and there is a train between the two cites. I'm including that and a trip to Dawson YT on my next trip.
 
N918KT said:
Hey all. Sorry I have not posted in awhile. I have been on a cruise to Alaska. I have heard that most people need GA to get around to cities and towns in Alaska and that is very true.

One thing I noticed is that there are a lot of seaplanes in Alaska especially along the Pacific Coast around Juneau and Ketchikan. There are a lot of seaplanes taking off and landing, and I think some of the seaplanes are used for flightseeing tour purposes.

One of the excursions we did was a helicopter ride from Juneau Airport up through the mountains to a glacier. I have never been in a helicopter before and it was pretty cool. I got some video footage of the helicopter ride as well.

We also stopped in a small town of Skagway. There is a small airstrip not too far where the cruise ships park. At Skagway Airport, I saw two planes a Cessna Caravan and a Piper or Beechcraft Bonanza single-engine airplane landed (can't tell if its a Piper or a Bonanza). I saw a few people getting dropped off at that airport then that small single-engine airplane taxied out and flew away.

So yeah, that is what I saw in Alaska with regards to general aviation. Anyone ever flown in Alaska by GA?
Click to expand...

Yep...learned to fly in Juneau. In later years, I rented planes from Pat Gillespie at Merrill Field in ANC and flew down the Kenai Peninsula to Homer.

Bob Gardner
 
When stationed at Sitka I borrowed a 180 from time to time, and logged perhaps 65 hours, that is my only GA experience there. But flying in AK is a pretty amazing experience. I was lucky enough to get three tours up there in my career. Two at Kodiak, (one helo, one C130), and one at Sitka, (helos). Challenging is the word that comes to mind when I think back on those days, but I wouldn't trade them for anything.
 
I wonder if you could tell from your visit, if there was a real CFI to check people out in the planes that may come there to visit.

I read that so many have taught themselves or friends have. Maybe if they had a plane one was familiar with, you go up with the owner and check out.

I have been thinking about flying to Anchorage and renting a motorhome for a week and possibly trying to fly around a little.
 
DaytonaLynn said:
I have been thinking about flying to Anchorage and renting a motorhome for a week and possibly trying to fly around a little.
Click to expand...

When you do that, arrange some time for an airspace fam. with a CFI
 
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