work in alaska

[billybob]

Do any of you AK people have info about Island Air on Kodiak? Is it a good place to work ?

 

[TRLpilot]

I'm curious about Island Air as well. I visited some friends there two summers ago and was awed by the beauty. I was also awed the first morning there when I was eating some eggs and reindeer sausage and saw a cherokee six come skimming just above lilly lake to land uphill with pouring rain and a 10 kt tailwind. I understand it is typical flying there and many parts of Alaska. As with most places in Alaska cost of living isn't cheap. Don't know what Island Air pays but if you're going to be poor Kodiak is a great place to be.

 

[billybob]

I was in anc around the New Year to see if Alaska was for me and ever since then I have been looking at places to work up there. I have decided that in March that I am going back up there to get a job somewhere in that state.

 

[dogg]

Vegas, go easy on the kid. If in fact he is going to BET then he is a ramper for ERA and will be a passenger boarder/hand carry holder/baggage handler and occasional clear,calm day cruise copilot in the Twin Otter and he will get great experience flying with some very experienced captains out there. However that does not do a whole lot to prepare a person to hop in a 207 and do the same thing....something he will hopefully not have to find out..... The ERA deal is a great way to build time and then make the jump to Skywest or Horizon......

 

[ILStoMinimums]

I'm actually an employee at ERA. I don't work the ramp, used to, but hope to get on with these guys when I get my ratings finished up.

And yes, I believe it would be a wonderful opportunity to learn how to fly that country - my firends out there say the bush, in the plane built to fly it, makes you a better pilot, stick and rudder, etc..... Never been out there but I am sure you guys probably can confirm that?

I've talked to a couple of guys who fly out there, and they tell me what they get to fly in - amazing stuff. Some say direct x-winds at 45 kts - true?

Moving on is always an option, any of you guys know of anybody whos moved successfully to a better regional, any examples?

rchfi, do you fly out of HOM?

Thanks - very interesting thread.

 

[B-J-J Fighter]

Very good thread wwith lots of good info. I have always wanted to live in Alaska.

 

[cargodawg]

I often fly to SE Alaska. If you want a job get your @ss up there cause the spring and summer jobs are going now. (By the way if you show up with a resume and a headset and your paperwork that helps) Hope you love the rain though.

 

[rchcfi]

As far as Island Air goes, I have only briefly talked with one of their pilots on one of his stop-overs. He confirmed what I had been told. Expect lots of turbulence and low ceilings. They do have quite a fews days in a row in which they can't turn a prop. They fly both Saratogas and Islanders around Kodiak Island and a summer service thrice-weekly to Homer. They "prefer" quite a bit of Alaska time because of the unique terrain associated with the island.

I went down there on a charter about a month ago and got my a$$ kicked. Under the overcast at 2,000 with a direct 60 knot x-wind the whole way across the water. Once over Shuyak Island I started into the continuous moderate, occasional severe turbulence. I was 14 miles from landing at my destination of Port Lions and heard some Island Air guys chattering about the $hitty conditions there. I listened to one guy trying the approach in a 'toga and asked him to let me know about the conditions once on the ground. About 30 seconds later I heard a very stressful "goin' around...Screw this, I'm going home" I told him of my unfamiliarity with the area and he asked me what I was flying. I told him an Islander, and his response was "at least I have ailerons in the 'toga and it was blowin' something fierce down there below 500 AGL. Got a serious downdraft off the mountain just to the NW of the field and it was pretty severe." My mind being made up I immediately turned around and headed home as well. No need to even try! Not feeling like spending another 30 minutes getting thrown about the cockpit like a lottery ball, I decided to climb above the broken/overcast layer for the ride home. Once at 9,000 it calmed down to continuous light/occasional moderate but the temp went down to -20 F and then the worst thing happened. The heater broke and I was stuck up there for for what seemed like hours cursing the wind while trying to keep feeling in my toes. Sorry, off on a tangent there.....

Alaska flying is a lot of fun, but more so, challenging. Just take a look at one of the airports I fly into.

http://www.airliners.net/open.file?...S0yMQ==&ODJ9dvCE=&O89Dcjdg=&static=yes&size=L

 

[YaMama]

Just take a look at one of the airports I fly into.

Wow! Is that one way, or do you ever take off / land on the other side?

 

[ILStoMinimums]

Rchcfi,

is this plane you fly: http://www.airliners.net/open.file/415608/L/ ? What kind of performance can you get out of it? TO/LND distances?

 

[rchcfi]

Both ends are usable. Trust me, this airport gets pretty hairy when the wind picks up. The approach to the "other" end requires you to fly the left base leg over the little part of land sticking out. What you do is cross above the trees at 250 MSL (about 10-20 feet above the trees) and make a fairly steep banking descent to be able to touch down about 1/3 down the runway and get on the brakes.

 

[YaMama]

make a fairly steep banking descent to be able to touch down about 1/3 down the runway and get on the brakes.

Sounds like you gotta have good airspeed control.

What you do is cross above the trees at 250 MSL (about 10-20 feet above the trees)

Can you safely fly that low when it's turbulent? I guess you wouldn't use that runway until the wind is more than 5 knots or so ...

Do operators in Alaska typically do some kind of route/airport qualification, or do they just send you off with a wave and a "Watch the mountain on final" ..?

 

[rchcfi]

Rchcfi,

is this plane you fly: http://www.airliners.net/open.file/415608/L/ ? What kind of performance can you get out of it? TO/LND distances?

That's one of the planes I fly. It is the perfect ride for this type of flying. It's slow and loud, but hauls a load in and out of short unimproved strips. I can get it off the ground or get it stopped quicker than a Cessna 206.. That alone should say something about it. It's approach speed is 60 KIAS. With a 10 knot headwind, I can get it stopped at gross weight in about 500 feet.

 

[rchcfi]

Sounds like you gotta have good airspeed control.



Can you safely fly that low when it's turbulent? I guess you wouldn't use that runway until the wind is more than 5 knots or so ...

Do operators in Alaska typically do some kind of route/airport qualification, or do they just send you off with a wave and a "Watch the mountain on final" ..?

That airport is in the "watch it carefully" category. Many factors determine whether or not I'll fly in there. If it's blowing over 20 kts. it'd better be a headwind or no go. There are just too many variables with this location that I can't name them all.

And yes, I was required to do over a dozen supervised t/os and landings there before I was signed off. They just want to see how you handle it in all sorts of different conditions.

 

[ILStoMinimums]

Rchchfi,

thanks for the performance specs. Looks like a nice plane for those strips- you guys could use a Twin Otter for places like Nanwalek and maybe Seldovia? I've talked to guys who fly them and they say its not to hard to stop it in 300 feet!

 

[rchcfi]

Rchchfi,

thanks for the performance specs. Looks like a nice plane for those strips- you guys could use a Twin Otter for places like Nanwalek and maybe Seldovia? I've talked to guys who fly them and they say its not to hard to stop it in 300 feet!

Well - From what I hear, TBO on turboprop engines are based on cycles rather than hours. In that case, our multiple 10-15 minute hops would not be viable with turboprop equipment.

 

[ILStoMinimums]

Hey Rchcfi,

actually for the Twin Otter requires a CAP inspection every 150 hrs, cycles have no factor. This is based on Era's Twin Otter Maintenance prgram. So it may vary for 135? Those DHC-6's fly up to 18-20 legs a day, each - they take a lot!

 

[billybob]

I would like to thank everyone that contributed to this thread, because it gave some very valuable information to people that are thinking about going to Alaska. FlightInfo is a great source of information and for all the $hit that people give each other here I must say that this is a great group of pilots. I write this because the info that was posted helped me find a job in southeast Alaska; I hope to see some of you up there. Thanks again

 

[Dan CFI/CFII]

Billybob: mind if I ask where?

I'm heading up there in three-four weeks. All indications point to Bethel...

Dan

 

[billybob]

Im going to juneau.

 

[rchcfi]

Billybob,

Congratulations!!!!!!!!! Get ready for breathtaking scenery and some "fun" flying! Living in Juneau your favorite numbers will change to 500 and 2!

 

[ILStoMinimums]

I believe LAB does most of the flying down in JNU? There are a couple others down there - don't remember the names.

 

[billybob]

AJN where I be going

 

[YaMama]

How much time do you have now, Billybob?

 

[billybob]

around 800tt

 

[rchcfi]

billybob,

A great site for weather up here is:

http://aawu.arh.noaa.gov

If you were rusty on reading charts, you won't be for long.

 

[Dan CFI/CFII]

Quick question for the folks in Alaska...

I am going to go to Alaska soon. The only thing is, I have to be in the armpit of the lower 48--Indiana--for a wedding in early April. So, I could fly up in mid march, find a flying gig of some sort, and have to come back down here (and to make things harder--I'll be flying back to NM, then getting to IN), then head back up tot he great white north. OR, I could simply stay here until after the wedding, and then go up north.

The question is: would it be worth the added cost of a plane ticket (about $700 all told probably) just to get up there for the end of March? Or would my money better serve me by only buying one plane ticket? I've got a place to stay in Anchorage, so I can afford to hang around a little bit.

I would think the best thing I could hope for would be to go up about March 18, find a flying gig (or at least a wrenching gig that will turn into a flying gig very soon), get myself all trained and with a 135 letter in my pocket (I'm assuming this takes a week or so for a VFR 135 operator?), head back for the wedding, and then come back all ready to go. But maybe that's just wishful thinking eh?

I also think I'd really like to spend some time off the road system: is there any cheaper way to get to Bethel than the $324 Alaska Airlines ticket?

I'd better figure this out--I plan on telling my boss I'm taking off tomorrow

Dan

 

[billybob]

What part if IN dan? I spent some time in that hell hole of a state

 

[rchcfi]

Dan,

You could always ship yourself on NAC to Bethel ;-) No, but seriously, Alaska and Frontier Flying Service are the only passenger operators. I called Frontier and their fare is $378 rt, so Alaska is cheaper.

As far as coming up now or later, my bet would be on NOW. Folks are starting to ramp up on the hiring. If you wait too long, you might find yourself getting the "Sorry, we have the pilots we need for the season" speech. And with you having your A&P, you put yourself in a little higher category than just those with pilot certificates.

Just my .02 from my experience.

Cheers

 

[Dan CFI/CFII]

That's kind of what I was thinking too.

That, and I'm just not having enough fun with my wrenches.


EDIT: problem solved. I arrive in Anchorage on March 15. Guess I better get stuff packed up around here. Haven't decided if I'll even bother calling folks before I head up, or if I'll just start a-door knockin...

Dan