Flight Training - May 2013 - 37

AIRPLANES ARE lined
up along a 2,200-foot
private grass strip, where
volunteers brought in
supplies and built a
summer camp for children
and teens living in remote
villages north of the Arctic
Circle (right). Moose,
bear, and Dall sheep are at
home in the Brooks Range
(below).

north. Two brothers, Matt and Tim Fickus,
had offered Kingdom Air Corps use of
their property to build a summer camp
for native youth living in the surrounding isolated villages. Inaccessible by road,
these villages maintain their runways and
are within an hour by air from the camp.
We were part of the staff of 22—cooks,
counselors, directors, and pilots—who
would fly to the villages in a couple of days
to bring the kids back for a week of fun and
flying at the aviation-themed Brooks Range
Bible Camp. The path from the runway to
the lodge was marked by a hand-carved
sign, “Sky Lane”; the campers’ tents were
“Champ,” “Cub,” “Skyhawk,” and “Stationaire.” These kids love to fly.
The splendor of the wilderness is
matched with challenges. Weather
information is scarce, aircraft need to be
maintained with minimal equipment, fuel
is carefully monitored, and mountain flying
knowledge is crucial. The nearest source
for weather information was Bettles.
However, at our remote location we had no
satellite phone and no cell service, so we

could not call them for a briefing. While
Alaska has 179 weather cams around the
state, including one at Anaktuvuk Pass
(an hour north, to which we flew several
times), we could not access them, as we
had no Internet. So, when weather was
marginal, the chief pilot would take off in
one of the smaller airplanes to take a look
at the conditions. He would fly toward
Bettles, if conditions allowed; contact
Bettles 10 miles out for a briefing; and
bring us back the report.
The best bush pilots are also airframe
and powerplant mechanics, able to fix
squawks wherever they occur. Our Cessna
206, which had been working perfectly
on arrival at camp, showed no manifold
pressure on the second day. Fortunately,
we had Dan Swenson, our chief mechanic,
with us. Swenson saw that the copper tube
had broken where the B-nut slides over
the feral (a small metal ring placed on the
end of the tube). In minutes, he was able
to cut and reconnect the tubing with the
tools available at camp. Sometimes it’s not
that easy, and another aircraft has to fly
out to pick up or deliver a part. But in all
cases, an A&P needs to be able to work in
the location, weather, and circumstances
where the airplane has landed—and get the
aircraft flying again.
Fuel is a daunting challenge in the
bush. It costs more in the large cities of
Alaska than in the Lower 48 and the price
increases proportionately to your distance
from civilization. Avgas at Bettles Airport
was $8.80 a gallon. Managing fuel was
paramount where we were based—there
needed to be enough in each tank for the
ongoing flights.

• Alaska has six
times as many pilots
and 16 times as many
aircraft per capita
when compared
to the rest of the
United States.
• Student pilots in
Alaska are subject
to different night
training requirements. They can earn
a pilot certificate
with a “night flying
prohibited” limitation, but must then
complete the night
flying requirements
within the next 12
calendar months
[FAR 61.131(a), (b)
(1), (b)(2)].
• When planning
flights, magnetic
variation may be as
much as 25 degrees
east.
• Most runways are
gravel; many are not
lighted.

MAY 2013 FLIGHT TRAINING

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Flight Training - May 2013

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