AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2014 - 85

P&E

PROFICIENCY

GLACIERS CARVE

through the Talkeetna
Mountains, sending
silt into raging water
thousands of feet below,
creating a breathtaking
view for a pilot puttering
along in a Cessna 150.

Alaskan adventure
Flying north of the Arctic Circle in a Cessna 150

INSET: BILLY MASHELI

B Y A LY S S A J. M I L L E R

THE MAJESTY OF ALASKA'S towering Brooks Range casts a mesmerizing spell. Waterfalls from melting snowcaps cascade over
cliffs. Thousands of feet below the peaks, tufts of grass, moss,
and lichen sprout from the swampy summer tundra. In this
land almost untouched by man, where moose and bear are more
common than people, the margin for error is tiny and the consequences harsh.
For a pilot with little mountain flying experience, the fivehour journey from the Anchorage area to north of the Arctic
Circle in a VFR-only Cessna 150 requires careful planning and
decision making-flying to the edge of the Arctic pushes the 150
to the edge of its comfort area.
Dwayne King, the founder of the Christian nonprofit Kingdom
Air Corps who has decades of experience flying in northern Alaska
and eastern Russia, specializes in training missionary pilots how
to fly safely in remote areas over unforgiving terrain. I would be
flying one of 10 aircraft making the trip, ranging from an Aeronca
Champ to a Cessna 210, for a two-week aviation Bible camp.

PUSHING THE ENVELOPE

The Cessna 150's performance weighed on my mind as I sloshed
through puddles to pack and preflight the aircraft for the nearly
500-nautical-mile trip. The skies had cleared from rain the day
before, and the mountains across the Matanuska River from King
Ranch gleamed in the sunlight. But the rains had left the 1,800-foot
grass strip soggy, and less than ideal for taking off from the side of
a mountain in a fully-loaded, 100-horsepower aircraft.
Baggage for me and the new private pilot on board had been
loaded in a Cessna 206 also making the trip, leaving only our flight
bags and survival gear in the 150. (Alaska state law governs the minimum equipment to carry onboard an aircraft.) Conditions worsened
when the wind shifted to favor the uphill runway-that's not happening in a 150 with two aboard. My fellow pilot and other aircraft
passengers were driven to Palmer Municipal Airport 25 nm to the
south, where we would regroup. Taking off downhill with a tailwind, I used more than half the runway, even though I was solo,
had three-quarter tanks of fuel, and only 30 pounds of survival gear.
www.aopa.org/pilot AOPA PILOT | 85



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AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2014

Contents
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2014 - Cover1
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2014 - Cover2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2014 - Contents
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2014 - 2
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2014 - Cover3
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