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Solo VFR trip to Alaska

seattleworm

Well Known Member
Sponsor
I have been reading Vlad's Alaska report, and wanted to do that some time. Finally I put that in action, and did a quick one week flight to and from Alaska. Amazing experience! I wish I could have spent more time in Alaska, didn't make to Barrow due to bad weather. I will save that for next trip. I took 900+ photos along the trip, and combined some photos and video and uploaded it to youtube. The plane performed flawlessly, what an amazing machine. For those who are still building, keep on it, you will have an magic carpet that can take you anywhere. The video is bit long.

https://youtu.be/GxZG-5HjziU
 
What a great adventure!

And what a great video! You have created some awesome images. I could not help thinking how wonderful it would be for you to narrate the video. There must be many stories behind the images. Thank you for sharing your adventure with us.
 
Nicely done! What kind of camera gimbal did you use? It really helped the professional look of the video.
 
Steve, I did hear many stories that I normally don't hear in lower 48. I have a lot more to tell than the 12 min video. I feel I have learned a lot about flying, nature, history, people from this trip. And while flying alone, in the wildness, I have been always appreciating that what an amazing machine RVs are.
 
All photos and videos are taken using my Samsung phone, no additional filtering. No gimbal was used, just holding it using one hand.
 
Wow! What a wonderful trip! The video was excellent, too. I'd be interested in hearing more of the details. Fuel used, longest legs, stuff like that...
 
FAA cam in Alaska

I am still getting all the numbers, hours, miles, gallon's of fuel, etc. But one valuable resource for flying in Alaska that I wasn't aware of before leaving is the FAA cam across Alaska. These are very valuable resource for weather info, much better than METAR, TAF because the weather there can change pretty quickly. Almost every pilot in Alaska knows about the cam. Here is the link to the cam website.

avcams.faa.gov
 
Lived and flew in Alaska for 30 years...

You captured the state perfectly. Your excellent video is a great motivator for those of us still building.
 
Based upon Shawn's thread, I looked up the requirements for flying from the lower 48 to Canada. They seemed kind of daunting to me. Passport...insurance...customs...flight plans...special Canadian airworthiness forms. Am I overly concerned about the hassle? Are you allowed to carry a survival firearm through Canada?
 
Nicely done Shawn!

Great video thanks Shawn! I am already missing the flying paradise. Smart man didn't go to Barrow on top. Those clouds are loaded with hard water could easily trap anybody above them. One week is very tight for a trip like that. Picturesque route I watched your video couple times and found places I've been over. It looks like you knew folks there in Alaska before the go am I right? :) Did you meet Dave at Kotz? A&P building a Zenith?

Shawn%20to%20Alaska%20-%201.jpg
 
Based upon Shawn's thread, I looked up the requirements for flying from the lower 48 to Canada. They seemed kind of daunting to me. Passport...insurance...customs...flight plans...special Canadian airworthiness forms. Am I overly concerned about the hassle? Are you allowed to carry a survival firearm through Canada?

John don't overthink it just pack and go! Plan at least two weeks. It's a chunk of good old US there waiting for a great cameraman like yourself. You would be pleasantly surprised how easy it is. :)
Super friendly Canadian Customs.
 
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Great video thanks Shawn! I am already missing the flying paradise. Smart man didn't go to Barrow on top. Those clouds are loaded with hard water could easily trap anybody above them. One week is very tight for a trip like that. Picturesque route I watched your video couple times and found places I've been over. It looks like you knew folks there in Alaska before the go am I right? :) Did you meet Dave at Kotz? A&P building a Zenith?

Yes, layer over Barrow has been very solid and thick. On the day I tried, the ceiling was 1000, it is pretty good for Barrow, but I couldn't pass the mountain (maybe hills more appropriate), once passed the hills, I should be fine. A little disappointed, but don't mess up with mother nature, my RV7 is not IFR equipped.

And yes, I saw two Zenith CH701 at Kotz, they are building the third one. I might have met Dave, if he is one of the only few mechanics in the field. After landing and taking off at Noorvik gravel field, I found some prop damage by stones. Taxied to Bering Air for help, a tall guy (I forgot to ask his name, because I was concerned about the prop damage) came and took a look at my prop, and said that's nothing to worry about. He showed me what a real nick looks like, a prop blade with about 1/4" deep cut, just like being cut by a knife. He still took out files and smoothed out the "nick" for me, for free. A great guy!

I knew one person in Kotzebue, and that is why Kotz was a destination. Also met a lady working in FSS at Kotz who knew about my trip from a pilot group on facebook. She is also member of that group. She was gladly surprised that I made it all the way to Kotze when she heard my radio call and tail number. Not many RVs in that part of country, mostly Cub variants and C207, Caravans. I had very good tour in their FSS office, very impressive.
 
Based upon Shawn's thread, I looked up the requirements for flying from the lower 48 to Canada. They seemed kind of daunting to me. Passport...insurance...customs...flight plans...special Canadian airworthiness forms. Am I overly concerned about the hassle? Are you allowed to carry a survival firearm through Canada?

John, Flying to Canada is actually much easier than it sounds. AOPA site gives a pretty good list, just go get them and put everything in an envelop. The few times I flew to Canada, no one actually inspected anything. Just landed at an airport of entry, then called CANPASS, they give you a report number and you are good to go. Rarely they will actually have someone to inspect you, but you do need have all the documents just in case. The documents are not hard to get, just take some action and time. Returning to US actually takes more time, US custom officers like to see your passport, pilot certificate, medical, registration, decal, and randomly check you luggage.

Flight plan is required in Canada for flights over 25nm. With foreflight, it can be done easily, but it did happen once that the plan I filed via foreflight didn't go through. Found that out after taking off, when I asked radio to open my plan, they said I don't have a plan. Had to land and file again. Overall, Canadian ATC is very friendly. When I camped out at Watson Lake, I walked to Watson Radio station and the guy there showed me around. The radio is manned 24 hours by 3 shifts.
 
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Thank you Shawn for sharing. Very inspirational & Very well done. I really enjoyed it.
It's on my bucket list.

Idaho/Montana 2018.
Alaska 2019.
 
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excellent video. only a good pilot can do that trip.

added: and I like the V-strom in the background of one of your build video's (First rivet to first flight). I didn't understand the words to the song but I knew the meaning. all the best!
 
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Excellent video and thank you for posting it. I waited till I got home last night so I could watch it on a larger TV. This is certainly motivation to keep pounding those rivets!

Cheers! :)
 
excellent video. only a good pilot can do that trip.

added: and I like the V-strom in the background of one of your build video's (First rivet to first flight). I didn't understand the words to the song but I knew the meaning. all the best!

Steve,

Thanks! I like V-strom so much that I got a 2016 model recently to replace the one you saw in the video (2005 model). I have 90k miles on the old one and it still runs fine with very basic maintenance. The only thing I don't do myself is tire change. I got the newer version just because I got a good deal on it and I like V-strom :)
 
Shawn, just watched your video. Lovely airplane and great flying on your part dodging weather and terrain. Inspiring. Thank you.
 
Based upon Shawn's thread, I looked up the requirements for flying from the lower 48 to Canada. They seemed kind of daunting to me. Passport...insurance...customs...flight plans...special Canadian airworthiness forms. Am I overly concerned about the hassle? Are you allowed to carry a survival firearm through Canada?

Alaska doesn't require a firearm any more. Here is a link:
http://www.alaska.net/~maeco/convweb/Survival.html

Back in 1992 I flew to Idaho and back to Alaska. I had at the time, a fold up .22 cal rifle, when clearing customs it was a major hassle. They will keep all hand guns.

If you still plan to bring a gun, better check with Canadian Customs-you can contact them on-line.

They used to "allow" weapons in the past because of the Alaska requirement to have one, now they might be more restrictive.

Another source is the AOPA 1-800 number to ask questions.

I flew up Memorial weekend this year, since I did a non-stop flight from Orcas Island, WA to Petersburg, AK I didn't have to deal with Customs. Real simple to do, must file the new IACO flight plan, be in touch with ATC when crossing the borders. I requested flight following and this met the requirement for ATC contact, also they knew where I was the whole way North.

Had to get a temporary Radiotelephone permit for the RV and a permanent one for myself. This can be done for around $70, unless you need the permanent one for the aircraft, then the cost is around $270.

Best regards,
Mike Bauer
 
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