Flight Training - August 2019 - 47
ADVANCED PILOT CAREER SPOTLIGHT
BIG FISH
ALASKA GUIDES FLY
UNCONVENTIONAL MISSIONS IN
DEMANDING ENVIRONMENTS
CHRIS ROSE
ALASKA HAS A SPECIAL HOLD ON PILOTS who love the outdoors.
The grandeur of the place and its wildlife, combined with the
centrality of flying in regions without road or rail connections,
makes Alaska uniquely alluring to pilots who hunt, fish, and hike,
ski, snowboard, or climb.
A few pilots with exceptional flying and hunting or
fishing skills combine aviation with guiding-and
they do so in some of Alaska's most rugged and
treacherous areas. The work is physically,
mentally, and aeronautically demanding.
Pilot guides at high-end fishing lodges
in southwest Alaska, for example, are up
early each morning preparing to take
clients in search of salmon, trout, or
grayling. That involves loading hundreds
of pounds of gear into floatplanes-typically de Havilland DHC-2 Beavers or
Cessna 185 Skywagons-flying at low
level due to the area's almost constant low
clouds and rain, and dealing with strong
winds, powerful currents, rapid tidal shifts, and
constant pressure to find (and catch) big fish.
Some clients pay $10,000 a week or more to stay
at a luxury lodge and pursue world-class game fish, and they
want results.
"Everyone wants our clients to get what they came for-
particularly the guides," said Ken Strickler, chief pilot at Alaska
BY DAVE HIRSCHMAN
QUALIFICATIONS
Instrument, commercial, seaplane.
BEST ASPECT
Flying iconic airplanes in a majestic region.
BIGGEST DRAWBACK
Seasonal work in a remote location.
PAY
Room and board, plus $1,000 a week
and tips.
Rainbow Lodge. "The pressure on them is real, but
we won't compromise safety. If weather's too
low to fly, we don't fly."
Alaska Rainbow Lodge operates three
Beavers, and all pilots have instrument,
commercial, and seaplane ratings. Most
of their flights are short-30 minutes
flying time or less-and almost all the
airspace is Class G, meaning pilots must
have only one mile visibility and remain
clear of clouds. Each airplane is equipped
with GPS, yet the pilots seldom follow the
magenta line from point to point. Instead,
they stay over rivers and lakes to scout out
fishing locations and wildlife.
Seaplane flying skills such as beaching, mooring, and docking are put into practice just about every
day of the four-month fishing season, and the consequences for
misjudgments can be severe. If an airplane is damaged by striking a submerged log, gets stuck on a sandbar, or is pushed off
the bank by a strong gust of wind, pilots are on their own. They
AOPA.ORG/FT 47
http://www.AOPA.ORG/FT
Flight Training - August 2019
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Flight Training - August 2019
Contents
Flight Training - August 2019 - Intro
Flight Training - August 2019 - Cover1
Flight Training - August 2019 - Cover2
Flight Training - August 2019 - Contents
Flight Training - August 2019 - 2
Flight Training - August 2019 - 3
Flight Training - August 2019 - 4
Flight Training - August 2019 - 5
Flight Training - August 2019 - 6
Flight Training - August 2019 - 7
Flight Training - August 2019 - 8
Flight Training - August 2019 - 9
Flight Training - August 2019 - 10
Flight Training - August 2019 - 11
Flight Training - August 2019 - 12
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Flight Training - August 2019 - 14
Flight Training - August 2019 - 15
Flight Training - August 2019 - 16
Flight Training - August 2019 - 17
Flight Training - August 2019 - 18
Flight Training - August 2019 - 19
Flight Training - August 2019 - 20
Flight Training - August 2019 - 21
Flight Training - August 2019 - 22
Flight Training - August 2019 - 23
Flight Training - August 2019 - 24
Flight Training - August 2019 - 25
Flight Training - August 2019 - 26
Flight Training - August 2019 - 27
Flight Training - August 2019 - 28
Flight Training - August 2019 - 29
Flight Training - August 2019 - 30
Flight Training - August 2019 - 31
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Flight Training - August 2019 - 33
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Flight Training - August 2019 - 35
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Flight Training - August 2019 - 40
Flight Training - August 2019 - 41
Flight Training - August 2019 - 42
Flight Training - August 2019 - 43
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Flight Training - August 2019 - 45
Flight Training - August 2019 - 46
Flight Training - August 2019 - 47
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Flight Training - August 2019 - 49
Flight Training - August 2019 - 50
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Flight Training - August 2019 - Cover3
Flight Training - August 2019 - Cover4
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