AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 81

It's not certain that STOL competitions
even started in Alaska, although it's a good
bet they did. While most of the forty-ninth
state's airports have adequate runways, a
400-foot-long beach might be the easiest access to a prime hunting range, or the
fishing is best beside that short gravel bar.
Alaska arguably is home to more real-world
short takeoffs and landings than anywhere
else in the world, and flying guides have
only a brief window to hone their skills
between winter's end and hunting season.
And the Valdez event has a lot more
to offer than STOL takeoffs and landings,
although they garner most of the attention.
For many Alaskan pilots, the three-day flyin marks the end of winter and beginning
of a short summer season.
Friday is arrival day, sunny and clear,
and Valdez Pioneer Field takes on the vibe

of a scaled-down EAA AirVenture-except
for the Chugach Mountains towering just
to the north. Stacy Young, who flew to
Valdez with her husband, Rich; two daughters; and a friend, is pitching a tent beside
their Cessna 185. They've never been to
Oshkosh but would like to go, she says.
"That's in the summer. But it's summer
here, and we don't want to leave."
Nearby, friends Pete Van De Hei and
Jeff Harrison of Fairbanks sit in folding
chairs in front of their Piper Super Cubs.
Harrison got back into flying last May, with
Van De Hei's encouragement, Harrison
explained.
Chris Larsen offloads fuel from his
Cessna 180 to reduce weight for the competition. "I've never competed here before,"
says Larson, who's had his airplane for four
years and finds it indispensable. "In Alaska

there's the road system, and there's everything else."
A 1945 Curtiss C-46 Commando operated by Everts Air Fuels arrives from
Fairbanks for display. The company uses
four to fly gasoline, diesel, and fuel oil into
remote villages-2,000 gallons at a time-
and has several others for parts.
Friday's chamber of commerce weather
is gone by Saturday morning, though,
replaced by a low marine layer that cuts off
late arrivals. It forced cancellation of the
poker run fly-out, with its popular landing
at Hook Point Beach, a long, sandy intertidal beach. But the clouds lift above VFR
minimums for the afternoon STOL competition, which uses a 500-foot pattern.
Fifty aircraft register for the five STOL
classes, and are divided into flights of no
more than five. Scoring is based on the best

www.aopa.org/pilot AOPA PILOT | 81



http://www.aopa.org/pilot

AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018

Contents
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - Intro
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - BB1
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - BB2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - Cover1
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - Cover2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - Contents
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 3
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 4
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 5
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 6
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 7
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 8
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 9
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 10
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 11
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 12
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 13
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 14
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 15
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 16
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 17
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 18
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 19
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 19a
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 19b
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 20
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 21
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 22
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 23
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 24
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 25
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 26
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 27
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 28
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 29
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 30
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 31
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 32
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 33
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 34
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 35
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 36
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 37
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 38
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 39
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 40
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 41
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 42
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 43
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 44
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 45
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 46
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 47
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 48
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 49
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 50
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 51
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 52
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - R-1
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - R-2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - R-3
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - R-4
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - R-5
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - R-6
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - R-7
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - R-8
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 53
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 54
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 55
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 56
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 57
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 58
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 59
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 60
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 61
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 62
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 63
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 64
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 65
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 66
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 67
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 68
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 69
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 70
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 71
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 72
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 73
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 74
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 75
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 76
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 77
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 78
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 79
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 80
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 81
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 82
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 83
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 84
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 85
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 86
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 87
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 88
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 89
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 90
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 91
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 92
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 93
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 94
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 96
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 97
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 98
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 99
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 100
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 101
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 103
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 116
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - Cover3
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - Cover4
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