Trip to Alaska July 2nd.

Well we got to the Anchorage Merrill Field airport early to get Ron & Barb to their plane and leaving with the group heading to Ketchican. Everyone got off on time while we were standing on the ramp watching and waiting for my parts to show up so we could get my plane up and going again.

The magneto timing tool that Steve Gross shipped up to me was there shortly after 8AM and the magneto from Unison showed up around 10:30. I thought for a minute we might have a small problem because the maintenance guys schedule their lunch normally at 11:00AM but they said not to worry that they wouldn't go to lunch until they got me running.

We were lucky because the mechanic who was assigned to my plane was a magneto specialist and he had everything laid out next to the plane and ready to go when the new mag arrived. Very efficient guy. He had us up and running in no time and everything worked fine the first time. The name of the repair facility is Aero Twin and they proved to be a first class operation. Probably the best service I've ever received. A really great group of guys.

I can't remember exactly the time, to be honest, but I think we were in the air by about 12:30. We had to navigate our way around Anchorage airspace and then were on our way to Ketchican with a fuel stop scheduled en route at Yakutat, which was about a 400 mile leg following the Alaskan coast line.

It was really beautiful scenery along the way and we saw some whales swimming off the coast line. Before too long we started to hear the group that had left before us talking on the radio. Actually we were hearing one group when they were departing Yakutat after their fuel stop and one of the Bonanza guys A36 wouldn't start so several planes stayed behind with them to help get it started, one of which was Ron and Barb. Apparently it turned out to be something very simple, a loose battery cable. So they got that tightened down and launched when we were about 35 miles out coming into Yakutat.

We landed, fueled and were out of Yakutat in very short order trying to catch up with the group, which in reality we weren't going to be able to do unless they were sight seeing going slow. The distance into Ketchican was another 400 miles or about 2 hours.

The route down into Ketchican was also beautiful with good weather. When we landed in Ketchican the group just ahead of us had just taken the ferry from the island the airport is on, over to the mainland of Ketchican. So we almost caught up with them. This airport had an unusual feature that you had to taxi down hill to get to the parking ramp. I don't think I've ever had to do that before. Then you obviously had to taxi uphill to get to the runway.

An interesting note, this is where the Alaskan "bridge going to nowhere" is being proposed. Actually, after being here I can see why they need this bridge. The only way to get to the airport and the businesses there is with a ferry that goes every 15 minutes and if you take your car over it gets a little pricey. You can see the layout in a photo of the airport I've posted below.

They said if they can get this bridge built that industry and housing could flourish on the airport side, creating many opportunities and growth. I used to be the one making fun of this bridge but now that I've been there I can see why they need it. It technically is somewhat a bridge to nowhere but they want to make it somewhere with growth.

We took the ferry over to the main island and caught a cab over to our hotel. I was able to shower and get down in time to join the rest of the group for supper.

By the time I headed to bed I was too tired to make my blog posting, so here is where I started to fall down on the job as far as the blog is concerned.

Wayne