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Alaska ?

Larco

Well Known Member
We are hoping to get to Alaska this summer. Would appreciate any info regarding stuff to see while in Fairbanks, Talkeetna, Anchorage or-----
Thanks, Larry
 
IF you like this sort of thing, the Forest Service has some very reasonably priced cabins/Quonset huts, some of which are only accessible by air.

We spent 2 nights at Harlequin Lake years ago (dirt/gravel strip) and it was fabulous.
 
Wx is everything in AK flying! Summer season for Alaska is a very different duration than in the lower 48. Carefully choose the time frame of your trip to correspond with the "average wx". I was limited to improved strips since I was in the EZ; your RV may be much more versatile on airstrips.

I've flown to Anchorage, Fairbanks and Soldatna/Kenai 3 times and had great wx once; okay wx once and real delta sierra wx once. Enjoy planning your trip and fly carefully!

deek
 
Arrange a guide and go salmon fishing on the Kenai River. My son-in-law caught a 37 pound king salmon and my daughter caught a 48 pounder. Really a lot of fun! What did I catch? Uhhhhh, next question. :(
 
Alaska

We are hoping to get to Alaska this summer. Would appreciate any info regarding stuff to see while in Fairbanks, Talkeetna, Anchorage or-----
Thanks, Larry

Hey Larry, get hold of AL he can give you some good pointers for flying the Talkeetna/Anchorage area. Also Ron Labby flew the C-182 to Alaska some years ago.

Have a good trip, Danny
 
I have been up 3 times in a B-25 and once in my Baron. It is an easy trip and I highly recommend it!!!! I wrote a story about it for Twin & Turbine Magazine and you can find it Here:

http://digital.turn-page.com/i/48451

The article starts on Page 25...

I am going up again in the Baron this June with a couple guys and instead of the cities, this time we are going out to the boonies! Have a ball...

Tailwinds,
Doug Rozendaal
 
Alaska weather

Valuable resource for alaska weather:
http://akweathercams.faa.gov/

I was in Gulkana in poor weather looking to make the last leg into the Matanuska valley (Wasilla, Palmer, Anchorage). The unstaffed pilot lounge there has free wifi, couches, and some food. There was a donation jar with some cash in it. I used the wifi to look at weather cams for Tahena, Sheep Mountain and Chickaloon. I left some cash, fueled up, and made the last leg with confidence.

Without those weather cams I would have stayed in Gulkana. But, being able to see the weather at the top of the pass made all the difference.

Hope that helps!
 
Hi Larry,
I live in Fairbanks. Would be happy to give you any help with your adventure in these parts. Kind of depends on what your interests are.
Terry
 
With my RV8 about to enter Phase 1, I would really enjoy the opportunity to talk to other RV drivers when you are up here.

EAA Chapter 42 ( http://www.eaa42.org ) here in Anchorage has numerous guys with lots of Alaska flying experience. While you are here they could fill you in on some of the details of Alaska flying.

One note of caution regarding Alaska weather. The weather cams are great (along with all the other Alaska weather sources) but they only show the weather where they are pointed. The weather in between can be completely different. Turining around and going back is a common occurance here.

Summers vary greatly as already noted, some have been fantastic, some have been totally nasty.

Hope you have a great trip.
 
I do a lot of flying around the Anchorage area. Alaska is a very big place. There are some neat places to go in an airplane though. There's a lot of remote strips, most of which are probably not suitable for an RV. But there's some good ones too.

If you get the Alaska supplement, there are some popular flying destinations in the back with information like CTAFs, and common, safe routes to fly. Especially around Denali National Park. Even an RV might have a hard time getting above some of the terrain out there. I'd also recommend you bring a PLB with you. I never fly without it. You can get 20 miles outside of Anchorage over terrain where no human has ever set foot.

Around Anchorage, my favorite destination is probably the Knik Glacier. It's a 20 minute flight from Anchorage in the C-182. I flew out there earlier today, matter of fact. There's a 600 foot dirt landing strip out there. I have never landed there. I usually see super cubs out there. It's NE of Anchorage and very obvious on a sectional. Every time I'm out there, I see lots of wildlife. Especially moose. We counted close to 30 today. I see bears, goats and sheep too.

I also like to fly down to Seward. It's a beautiful flight through the mountains. It's on the Kenai Peninsula. The Kenai is beautiful. I could spend days out there flying around and exploring. Homer is another great place to visit on the Kenai Peninsula. The airport is right in town. I'm pretty sure a couple of the hotels on the Homer Spit will come and pick you up. Homer is beautiful. From there, you can fly to Seldovia. They have an 1,800 foot long gravel strip. It's a fly in only type of town. There's some good fishing that you can do there within walking distance of the airport.

Talkeetna is a good place to visit. The flight up from Anchorage is pretty flat, but on a clear day, you'll be staring Mt. McKinley in the face. From there, fly up to the Ruth Glacier on the south side of the mountain. Fly north up the glacier into the Sheldon Amphitheater. It is absolutely incredible. I wouldn't go if the winds are blowing more than 15 knots aloft. But the winds are usually pretty light here in Alaska. There's also a LOT of traffic around the Ruth Glacier. From Talkeetna, you can take a flight seeing tour that actually lands on the glacier and you can get out and walk around. If you're in Talkeetna, you can walk to town in about 10 minutes from the airport. I fly up with the family occasionally and we eat at the West Rib restaurant. It's good food and the prices are decent for Alaska.

Another fun place to visit is the Skwentna Roadhouse. PASW on the Anchorage sectional. It's about 30 to 40 miles WSW of Talkeetna. It's a fly in only type place but they have a very nice 3,400 foot gravel runway. You can walk to the roadhouse from the parking area. Or, you can call the roadhouse on 122.9 and the lady that runs the place will come out and pick you up for the scariest ride you'll have on the whole trip. I flew up with my kids last winter and she picked us up on a snow mobile (snow machines in Alaska) that was towing a black plastic tub with some wood to sit on. It's a wild ride. The Skwentna road house isn't too fancy, but the location is awesome. You can fish there too and they have guided tours in the summer. If you're not from Alaska, just pay a guide to take you if you want to fish. Fishing here is very difficult for a whole lot of reasons. But the Skwentna Roadhouse is like a bed and breakfast and you can spend the night. She'll feed you too! Very nice people out there. The runway is gravel but will not be a problem for an RV.
http://www.skwentnaroadhouse.com/

Valdez is another great spot to fly into. They have a nice, big paved runway. It's 100 miles east of Anchorage as an RV flies. I can make it there in less than an hour in the 182. It takes me 6+ hours in the car. It is a very beautiful place and the flight out there from Anchorage is incredible. You want to pick a clear day. The terrain out there is very unforgiving, but absolutely beautiful. There are mountains that drop off steeply into Prince William Sound. If you're low enough, you'll see whales in the summer. There are glaciers everywhere.

The north slope would be fun to fly to. It's pretty far and remote out there. I'd avoid the small villages here in Alaska. If you wanted to go to Nome, that's about 450 miles from Anchorage. The flying through the Denali range is beautiful. You could stop in McGrath for gas. McGrath sucks. So does Nome. They're pretty dumpy places, but some people want to go. Kodiak is a neat place to visit. The weather can be sketchy out there. It gets worse as you head out in the Aleutian Islands. There's a couple of volcanoes erupting out there right now. It's so remote, and the weather so terrible, that people don't usually get pictures of them.

There's tons of great places to fly into. I'd say that most of the good stuff is in south central Alaska, and the Denali range in central Alaska. But believe me, this is probably the most dangerous place to fly in all of North America. Pilots die here all the time. I am extremely conservative when I go fly. It is very remote. If you're not flying through mountains, then you're flying over swamp land. Having a PLB and some good survival gear is a must up here. You may survive a landing out in the wilderness, but you can die of exposure in one night. Even in the summer. I fly prepared to spend a few days out in the wilderness. Even if you have a PLB, it can be a few days before rescue can get to you.

Get familiar with the Alaska Aviation Weather Unit website. http://aawu.arh.noaa.gov/ It has lots of good info. Especially the weather cams which are all over the state. In my opinion, June and July are the best times to come up here for anything. August is nice, but tends to be wetter in my experience. I've lived here four and a half years. September starts getting cooler and is still rainy and October pretty much totally sucks. The suck continues through mid May or so. It's getting pretty nice here now. I had about 3" of snow yesterday at my house in Anchorage. Today was beautiful though. Supposed to be in the upper 50s by the end of the week! Come on up right now.
 
Here's some pictures I took today out at the Knik Glacier.







These were taken last summer.




Seward, winter before last.


Kenai Peninsula




Exit Glacier near Seward.


Anchorage
 
I forgot to mention Merrill Field. It's the general aviation airport here in Anchorage. Class D with a 4,000 foot paved runway. It is VERY busy. I've heard that it is the busiest GA airport in North America. I believe it. There are hundreds and hundreds of planes there. Still, you can fly in and they have a place on the airfield where you can camp with your plane. It's fairly cheap. Bring some ear plugs. The north side of Anchorage isn't that nice. Matter of fact, pretty much all of Anchorage isn't that nice. It looks pretty awful. But that's an option for you. But if you want to fly into Anchorage, it's about the best place to fly into. The international airport also has a 2200 foot gravel strip for GA aircraft. I have never flown in there as it is extremely busy over there. I'd fly into Merrill and take a cab to a better part of town. The Captain Cook hotel is the best place to stay in Anchorage. It's very nice and a short cab ride from Merrill and right downtown. If you fly into Merrill, study their airspace and their pages in the Alaska supplement really well. They will yell at you if you are even slightly off course.

If you're military, retired military or a government employee, you can fly into Elmendorf AFB with the proper coordination and park at the aero club. It's still a short cab ride from there to the Captain Cook.
 
Thanks again for all the info. Outstanding support! I'm hoping this all comes together in the next 2-3 weeks. Larry
 
Alaska

I frequently overnight in Anchorage and usually stay at the downtown Hilton or at the Millenieum on Lake Hood. If you like airplane noise (and who doesn't) stay at the Millenium and enjoy the endless stream of floatplanes operating off the lake behind the hotel. One of the local guys can confirm, but you may be able to fly into the gravel runway at the seaplane base and park there.
 
Fly Safe

A close friend's son flys a MH-60 Jayhawk for the Coast Guard out of Cordova. I hope you don't meet him. :D
 
AK/AlCan RV Trip

We are hoping to get to Alaska this summer. Would appreciate any info regarding stuff to see while in Fairbanks, Talkeetna, Anchorage or-----
Thanks, Larry

Larry, An RV friend and I just got back from AK. Two week trip with each of us flying our own RVs. A must trip for your "Bucket List"!!! I can send you specific info on our trip if you like. Stan
 
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