I'm planning a trip in my RV7A to central Alaska, overflying Canada, to Anchorage, via Bellingham, WA (area), Ketchican, Juneau, and Anchorage. Departing June 23, or soon thereafter based on weather. My ultimate turnaround point is Deadhorse, on the north slope. I've flown in Alaska and, its something wonderful that you'll never regret. I have not flown TO Alaska though.
Safety in numbers and more fun in groups, so hopefully, this trip and timing might work out for some others too. I'm going up solo, so can carry some gear. As other groups have done, once in Alaska we might break up into solos or two-ships. But, hopefully the group is interested in getting as far as Anchorage together.
There is some nasty terrain along the way to to Ketchican, overflying Canada. Waiting for very good weather is part of the deal to minimize risks. Its 518 miles direct, and varies to 538 to 546 by common IFR routing. These routes involve ADIZ penetration, so 12" registration numbers are required, as is the Canadian experimental aircraft validation letter (downloadable, no fee, no signatures: http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/civilaviation/standards/maintenance-regsdocs-validation-2948.htm). You don't need a 406 ELT for Canada (overflight or land), but you'll want an epirb/PLB. And maybe a SPOT. In any event, you'll want to be well equipped for an unexpected remote landing in hostile terrain and dangerous overnight weather.
You might want to fly more inland, and endure the US and Canada customs processes, Canadian regulatory requirements, and associated delays and fees. My plan is to overfly so as to avoid the bureaucracy. Even so, meeting up in Ketchican for the remainder to Anchorage would be great. I'm digging into routing and timing. PM me if this might be of interest to you.
Mike
Safety in numbers and more fun in groups, so hopefully, this trip and timing might work out for some others too. I'm going up solo, so can carry some gear. As other groups have done, once in Alaska we might break up into solos or two-ships. But, hopefully the group is interested in getting as far as Anchorage together.
There is some nasty terrain along the way to to Ketchican, overflying Canada. Waiting for very good weather is part of the deal to minimize risks. Its 518 miles direct, and varies to 538 to 546 by common IFR routing. These routes involve ADIZ penetration, so 12" registration numbers are required, as is the Canadian experimental aircraft validation letter (downloadable, no fee, no signatures: http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/civilaviation/standards/maintenance-regsdocs-validation-2948.htm). You don't need a 406 ELT for Canada (overflight or land), but you'll want an epirb/PLB. And maybe a SPOT. In any event, you'll want to be well equipped for an unexpected remote landing in hostile terrain and dangerous overnight weather.
You might want to fly more inland, and endure the US and Canada customs processes, Canadian regulatory requirements, and associated delays and fees. My plan is to overfly so as to avoid the bureaucracy. Even so, meeting up in Ketchican for the remainder to Anchorage would be great. I'm digging into routing and timing. PM me if this might be of interest to you.
Mike
Good call on securing the bear spray. I've never actually thought of that. Mine has a safety clip on it, but I usually just stuff that in my survival bag which gets stuffed in the back of the plane somewhere. It would most definitely suck if it went off in flight for some reason. I've been sprayed with normal pepper spray before (training). It was just a tiny bit of it too and it was a terrible experience. No way I could have flown a plane like that. Bear spray is a lot more concentrated. Yikes! 
