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The 2010 summer - mountain flying, seaplane flying, and floatplane safaris - is nearly here. Some activities you may be able to read about, but flying is such a kinetic skill you must perform the movements yourself. Doing it with a CFI behind you in the Super Cub is an effective way of learning while keeping you safe to practice new flying techniques.
Our same pilot/CFI crew will be back again this year. They sure know the terrain and weather conditions in our locale. See below to read about Darlene flying her Luscombe from California to Alaska in May.
Guess who stopped by to say "hello?" Ted Contri is one of our former students. The P51 in the background is his. We have the photo hung in the pilot classroom here in Moose Pass. Ted flew in the Reno Air Races in 1992 and 1993.
He and a buddy had been to the Valdez Fly-In where the shortest take-off and shortest landing contests are held. Ted watched Paul Claus of Ultima Thule Lodge and his son compete. Paul is also one of our former float students. He told us he wouldn't have gone anywhere else for his seaplane rating.
Ted Contri (left) and one of his P51s with Vern.
And guess who flew her airplane to Alaska this spring? She loves flying her yellow plane, but she also loves flying our Super Cubs on floats at Moose Pass. Darlene, our chief instructor, flew her Luscombe from California to Alaska in May. Here's a link to an article that appeared in a California newspaper, Pasadena-Star News .
I just read on the internet that "America’s 49th state is now one of 49 National Heritage
Areas across the Nation. The designation of Alaska’s Kenai
Mountains-Turnagain Arm as a National Heritage Area recognizes this
geographic corridor as a place that offers a unique contribution to the
fabric of our country.
The Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm National Heritage Area encompasses a distinctive landscape of mountains, lakes,
rivers and fjords. It is a place
whose valleys and mountains, communities and people tell the larger
story of a wild place and a rugged frontier. Come journey through an
Alaskan landscape that is rich in natural, cultural, historic and scenic
wonders." Moose Pass is in the middle of all this!
Seaplane Rating in Alaska: The Experience of a Lifetime!
By Mario Simoes in
Aviation General (Hangar talk) 2009
A few weeks ago, I earned my
seaplane rating in Moose Pass, Alaska. I had contemplated other flights schools
located throughout the country before deciding on Alaska Float Ratings; it is hard to describe how glad I am about my final
decision. Although I went to Moose Pass to get my float rating, what I received
in return was a lot more than just a rating; it was an experience of a
lifetime, as I will attempt to put into words in the paragraphs that follow.
As is usually the case, before
deciding on a flight school, I started with some well-deserved research. I had
(and have) been looking for a flying job in Alaska and felt that a seaplane
rating would increase my marketability in the 49th State.
Nevertheless, due to cost considerations, I never thought that Alaska would be
a viable option to get the new rating; needless to say, I was wrong!
During my research, it did not
take long to realize that seaplanes and Alaska share(d) a common historical
background and, before long, rather than looking for a flight school I was
reading articles about the early days of Alaska bush flying on floats. I am
fortunate to have flown jets above the speed-of-sound; to have flown
twin-turboprops throughout most of the islands of the Caribbean; and even
fortunate to afford my own Cirrus. Nevertheless, as I read about flying
seaplanes in Alaska, I was struck with that horrible feeling that something big
was missing in my flying experience portfolio. With that realization, I called
Alaska Float Ratings and put down my deposit. As the website home-page stated,
I wanted to “experience real bush flying in Moose Pass” – and why not? After
all, I was in the process of seeking a flying job in Alaska.
Moose Pass rests on a flat patch
of land adjacent to Trail Lake, some 97 miles south of Anchorage. My GPS
indicated that the drive from Anchorage would take about 1 ½ hours. And so,
with a full tank of gas and a completely charged digital camera, I headed south
on the Seward Highway. I was on my own schedule, free to stop as often as I
wished, which turned out to be quite a lot. The drive itself is worth a few
full pages of narrative, but I will leave that for another time. Suffice to say
that rather than 1 ½ hours of driving time, it took me just over 3 hours to
reach my destination.
I had chosen the “Optimal Course,” which provided me with 10 hours of
flight time and 3-5 hours of ground instruction to “master” my newly-sought
flying skills. Ideally, I had been told that if I flew 2-3 times per day, I
should be done in 4-5 days. In an abundance of caution, I had planned to stay
in Moose Pass a full week. As I parked the car, Lura met me at the front of the
school, and after a warm welcome I found myself admiring the beauty that
surrounded me: Trail Lake was framed by majestic mountains and the lake’s calm
water reflected the 2 docked Super Cubs, as if standing on a giant mirror.
While I was standing on the dock, Vern
Kingsford introduced himself as the owner of the school and the FAA Designated Examiner.
While this dual role would constantly test the average person’s conflict of
interest standing, Vern has no such issues. In fact, there were times during my
training I wished otherwise. It is hard to accurately describe Vern Kingsford,
in part due to his complex nature. It was easy, however, to listen to his life
experiences as a pilot in Alaska and as a well-travelled man. Ground-knowledge
quizzes, however, cannot be described as easy. In fact, while Vern was quick to
underscore my strengths, he was quicker in identifying my shortcomings. After a
few embarrassing moments, I increased the level of self-studying, not in
preparation for the checkride, but in preparation for my next conversation with
Vern. After 8 days interacting with Vern, I learned to admire him as a person
and a pilot, and, as I write this post, I miss the long conversations we had at
the end of the day while drinking a good 10 Year-Old Port.
Darlene, my flight instructor, guided me through the quasi-military
syllabus and flight training as skilled professional – a rarity in today’s
flight training reality. I was taken out of my comfort zone and challenged in
ways I haven’t been since my days at the Air Force. If I got too comfortable at
one lake, I would immediately be directed to another. Moose Pass is surrounded
by several lakes, of several sizes, at different altitudes, and all surrounded
by unforgiving terrain. Winds and water conditions often changed radically from
lake to lake; this dynamic flying environment constantly tested how prepared I
was for any given flight. In addition, I actually had to fly the airplane; stick and rudder in its basic form, with energy
management always on the background. There was no autopilot, no attitude
indicator, no GPS, no XM radio, no runways, no signs, no ATC, and no weather
reports. For the first time in a long time, I actually felt like a pilot and
not a systems’ manager, and I will be back next year for more advanced
training.
For the most part, my time at
Moose Pass was consumed by self-study and flight visualization (aka
chair-flying). The written test alone (in preparation for the oral examination)
consisted of over 100 questions and took me the better part of 12 hours to
complete. In short, you cannot buy your seaplane rating at Alaska Float
Ratings; you will have to earn it. Despite the busy schedule, there was enough
time to interact with the other pilots seeking their float rating, which
included the Captain of the B747 that transports the Space Shuttle from
California to Florida. The classroom walls were peppered with pictures of
former students: astronauts, airline captains, airline chief pilots, fighter
pilots, and professional bush pilots. Despite such diversity, one could easily
see a common trait to all those pilots: they were not deterred by challenge;
they sought it and welcomed it. After my checkride, Darlene and Vern took me on
a couple of sightseeing flights over the Kenai Peninsula. There are no words to
describe the scale and natural beauty of this part of Alaska, and the cliché “a
picture is worth a thousand words” is right on target.
Not only do I recommend that you
get your seaplane rating in Moose Pass, but I also challenge you to do so. If
you really want to know what kind of pilot you are, get your float training at
AFR and take the checkride with Vern. For those excellent-above-average pilots
out there, you will be rewarded by constant praise and recognition. For those
of you like me, you will have your weak(er) skills identified, isolated,
eliminated, and re-trained. In any case, despite some foreseeable frustrating
moments, you will come out of Moose Pass a better, safer, more knowledgeable
and confident pilot. During your training, you will have had the opportunity to
fly in one of the most beautiful and challenging places in the world. You will
not regret it!
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