Take-Off Pictures from the Susitna River

In an earlier blog, "Coincidence........Fate", I mentioned that as I was taking off from a River Bar on the Susitna River, a tour boat was going by and slowed to watch my take-off.  That evening, I ran into Andrew from my B&B, who happened to be on that boat.  Andrew, gratefully, has forwarded the pictures to me and I wanted to forward them along via the blog.  This is the first time I have ever gotten a perspective of one of my take-offs from other than my view out the front window:

Here goes:

Eagle

Taxiing Back for Take-Off

Toward End of Take-Off Roll

Scary Take-Off Angle

Back Home......loose ends!

This is the Bush Pilot Shop at Fish Lake, where my float plane was based

Well, here it is Thursday, my original arrive home date.  I actually got back to Milwaukee yesterday at 8:30 AM on, a day early.  My return started in Anchorage at 9:30 at night on Tuesday, 5 hours to MSP, then 1 hour plane change and short flight to Milwaukee.


I did manage to accomplish, in 7 days of flying, everything I set out to accomplish:

Single Engine Sea Plane Certification

Tail Wheel Endorsement

Bush Pilot Endorsement

I had a difficult time on the drive from Talkeetna to Anchorage for my flight home.  I was very emotional for some reason.  Sad to be leaving.  Happy to be heading home.  I left behind great short term relationships with some people.  I was tired from very little sleep the night before.


I will miss Alaska and look forward to my next return, which will be soon.  I look forward to using the skills I acquired on this trip to further explore the beautiful Alaska landscape, both from the air, from lakes, and on the ground.


Thank you for your interest in the blog.  Knowing people were actually following the blog afforded me the incentive to be vigilant in my updates.  Further, I got to document my experience as a keep sake,  updates helped me stay busy and I think most importantly, because I set a goal of updating the blog daily, forced me to really think through what I was experiencing and what it meant to me.

Regards


Greg


I also want to plug my B&B, Grace & Bill's Freedom Hills Bed and Breakfast, https://gbfreedomhillsbb.com


Also, Above Alaska Aviation, http://www.abovealaska.com/

I was fortunate, just by chance on line, to pick these two.  I would highly recommend them.  

Sometimes you get lucky!

I am including some additional pictures of Alaska on this blog.  The first couple are from 2006.  Enjoy!

SUPER CUB....2100 RPM, 80 MPH, descending slightly from 2000' MSL

The helicopter used to recover parts of the B-17 that crashed in 1951 (previous blog)

One of K-2's Otters that heads to the Glacier on Mt. McKinley, when weather permits

The Champ

Tail Wheel of the Citabria

One of the Gravel Strips NW of Talkeetna we did not land on

One of the gravel strips we did land on (may have used this photo previously but I like it)

I brought back several rocks.  Not this one.  Have the photo instead.  There's a weight limit on luggage.

PACKING UP, LEAVING TALKEETNA

Well....finished my Bush endorsement this AM so my mission is complete.  I have to get on the road to Anchorage and I'm doubtful I'll have wifi at the Anchorage airport, so this is a quick post.  I'm adding some pictures for your enjoyment.  I'll update the blog to wrap things up either at the airport (if I have wifi) or when I get home tomorrow.

Drew Haig, owner of Above Alaska Aviation  fly@abovealaska.com

Looking for a Gravel Bar that is suitable for landing yesterday afternoon

This may be the one to land on?

After landing, we have to get out, survey the area visually and discuss where to taxi and where to lift off.  That's John.

That's me (it's raining and has been for 3 days)

Coincidence? Fate ?

I'm sitting in the huge lobby of the Talkeetna Lodge at 9:00 PM on Monday nite. Today I did three landings and take-offs on a gravel bar in the Susitna River outside Talkeetna (I'll give more detail later). On my last taxi back and take-off from the bar, I noticed a high speed tour boat on the river. It slowed, I'm sure, so the people on board could watch my taxi and take-off from the gravel bar in the middle of the river.

Tonight, at the lodge, I ran into Andrew from my B&B, Audrone's son whom I mentioned in a previous blog. He asked me how my river landings went today (we had talked about it this AM) and said he and his Mom had seen a taxi and take-off of a Bush plane while on a boat tour of the Susitna River!!!! I asked if the plane was red and white? It was! It had to be me! He's got photographs of the take-off from the boat perspective and tomorrow AM we'll swap e-mail addresses so I can get the photos he took and post them to the blog .

It just keeps getting better!

The Longer you stay, the more your perspective changes.......

About the title (above).  I think this is the longest I have ever been in a community, other than my community back home.  Having as much time as I have to think about it, what with the weather not cooperating with flying and all, the more I'm becoming distanced from the tourists, and becoming more in tune with what's happening locally here in Talkeetna.

The people here are really genuinely fine, polite, intelligent, nice people.  Not that I didn't suspect that, but these attributes seem to be more apparent in those that I meet.  By contrast, my last two experiences in town, or at the B&B, with the general tourist population have been strained.  For instance, I had a later flight time this AM than I have had all last week.  This meant I could spend time here, drinking coffee and eating breakfast with the other guests.  The B&B is presently 4/5 full.  I had a difficult time getting into the conversation about California or South Carolina or whatever some of the guests were talking about.  As usual each AM, I am glued to Bill's stories about Alaska, even though I have heard most of them a couple of times.  In tourism's defense, there was a nice mother, son, twosome here this AM.  Audrone, is from Lithuania.  Their adventures in Alaska were shared with Bill and I, and I enjoyed hearing about the different parts of Alaska they have visited.  Made me want to venture out next time I come.

I was introduced to a guy who was visiting Above Aviation last week.  Mason.  He had taken flying lessons at AA last year and had stopped by for a visit.  I think he had some business dealings with John that he was taken care of.  Sarah, who works at AA, said he keeps coming back "like a bad penny".  I knew that was in fun because everyone showed Mason a lot of attention and smiles were seen all around.

I got to talking with Morgan and found out he had just returned from a back packing trip.  He and his dog (I don't know the dog's name), had just returned from a 500 mile, 2 month walking trip.  Mason mentioned where he had begun the trip but the name of the town escapes me.  I thought about the magnitude of walking that far, alone, except for your dog, carrying most of your daily supplies on your back. I had asked Morgan if he had a hand held GPS or something that he used to navigate with.  He explained that they don't work on long trips because you have to almost constantly refer to them and the batteries die.  Morgan said he was trained in finding his way in the woods and uses what he has learned to navigate.  Another thing he mentioned,, that I won't forget is that before a long hike, the 500 miles, he grew a beard and grew his hair long.  He said it was essential to prevent the mosquito's and other biting flies from biting your face and neck.  He explained that as his hair swings while walking, it's a natural bug shoo-er.

I was curious to find out how he contended with the Grizzly Bears and if he was nervous about being by himself.  Morgan said that his dog was his first line of defense.  Being alone in the woods, and being familiar with his dog, his dog would always give him an initial indication if there was something he should be concerned about.  Bear spray and a revolver was also accessible at all times on his belt.

I was leaving the Roadhouse in town today, early this afternoon.  I thought I'd walk down to Nagley's and get a bottle of water.  On the side of the main drag I noticed Morgan's dog.  I followed the dog right to Morgan.

 

I told Bill the story about finding Morgan in town.  He laughed and said it was scary that I been around so long I an recognize people's dogs.  

Morgan was in the process of taking inventory of his worldly possessions.  He had just landed a job and is going to head out of town.  He's going to lead some pack horses, on horseback himself, into the mountains with supplies for some of the hunting camps.  He will then use the horses to transport meat back down the mountain for processing. The hunters are hunting Dall Sheep. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dall_Sheep

Morgan's living his dream and I envy that.  Maybe I'll buy a float plane when I get back home!

I'm including some pictures here from Above Alaska Aviation.  I haven't gotten a picture of Drew Haig yet.  He's the owner of AA and for a young guy, very accomplished.  He has all his CFI licenses and has earned an Airframe and Powerplant Certificate (A&P). He rebuilds, re-fabricates airplanes.  This keeps him busy not only now but all Winter in Talkeetna.  He also has a really souped-up Bush plane (see previous blogs).

Drew's Moose Sheds.  (Which will get mounted on the new office).

Sarah from AA.  She works hard.  Does he office work, scheduling, painting, staining and general organization.

Inside the shop at AA.  All this will eventually be re-constructed into an awesome airplane!

Carhartts

I just decided I'm going to Fleet Farm when I get home and get me a couple pair of Carhartt pants, and a pair of quality, waterproof work boots.  That seems to be the dress of all the Bush and Float Plane pilots I've met so far.

I'm siting in the Roadhouse, having my (almost daily) cup of coffee and a Frosty.  Swear I've gained at least 5 pounds since I've been here.  No gym here, however, I have walked and ran the 3 mile trail near the B&B twice.  Not enough to negate the extra calories I'm taking in.

Coffee and Frosty, very addicting!

It's 12:00 Noon.  I was up early, had breakfast with Bill and 4 other guests. They weren't up early enough to see the Moose return, this time with her calf.

Moose......................Calf

I met John at the PATK at 9:00.  Rain,  Overcast.  Clouds.  We walked over the the FSS (Flight Service) building at the airport.  This FSS is staffed by real FAA people at PATK, who are intimately familiar with the area and have their own take on the weather and the longer term Terminal Aerodrome Forecasts, which traditionally come out of US Weather service centers and are informational for larger airports, like Anchorage.

FSS Building at PATK

Before I take off from the airport I fly out of at home, I always call FSS for a weather briefing and to get other pertinent information about weather in route and any Airmets or Notams (precautionary advisories). I usually talk to someone in Grand Rapids, MI who works for Lockheed Martin, sbcontracted by the FAA.  Here in Talkeetna, you can walk right into the building and talk directly to the person others would call, and debate whether flight in any direction are advisable.  While we were in FSS this AM, a Cherokee took off toward the mountain.  It was a scout plane that flies out to assess the weather on different Glaciers so the various Scenic Aviation companies can determine if their going to send flights up there.  That's how they make their money.  The Cherokee was back withing 15 minutes, apparently getting turned away by the weather.  With the weather being as bad as it was, we just hung around the shop.  I checked e-mails and called in briefly to the GM meeting at Tax-Air Milwaukee.  Shortly after calling into the meeting, John said we should give a flight a try.  We'd take off and assess the weather ourselves.

We taxied out and took off to the north.  We were going to stay in the pattern at PTKA for a bit so I could practice landings on the gravel there.  Normally, after take-off, I would climb to 800 feet, turn right, fly out a bit until I was at a good distance from the runway, turn right on downwind, continue to climb to 1,100 feet, then level off and set up for right base and decent for landing on the other end of the runway.  After take-off, it was obvious that 800' was going to put us into the clouds to the right.  Also, looking back at the other end of the runway, which was supposed to be our approach end, the clouds were even lower.  I opted to level off at 600', only about 300' above the ground, fly straight out, where the clouds over the Susitna River were higher.  There was like a window above which allowed me the opportunity to climb to 2,500' and circle within that opening so we could decide what to do. There were no easy options, with clouds pretty much surrounding us.  We could go out over the tops of the clouds, but there was no guarantee, especially with the weather the way it was, that if we would fly away from our visual reference, we would have the opportunity to later descend back for a landing.  I did several 360 degree turns, then settled in for an approach back to the runway I had taken off from, only in the opposite direction, in order to avoid the clouds at the other end.  We had very little wind so direction of landing was not critical.  After landing, we filed a pilot weather report (Pirep) for any other pilots seeking information that FSS might not have.  It's always better to get recent weather information from the pilots that have been up in the weather.  All other FSS reports, except for Radar, are based on ground observations, which can be deceiving.

So now I'm killing time till 4 pm, our next window of opportunity.  The weather has to clear-up, either tonight or tomorrow AM.  I'm heading for Anchorage tomorrow at noon and I still need around 2 more hours of instruction to get my Bush endorsement.  Hate to come all this way and miss that one.