Awesome trip photos and video. How lucky are we to have aeroplanes to be able to have adventures like this?

I hope to make it to at least Whitehorse this summer.

Beautiful TR! Thanks for taking the time to put this together...made my day. Love the 180 also, classic trip in a classic plane!

Quick question: did you have to pay the $25 customs firearm fee at Penticton, or was it waived because it was a "survival" item? Or waived because you were going through to Alaska?

Thanks for all the replies.

GregA wrote:Quick question: did you have to pay the $25 customs firearm fee at Penticton, or was it waived because it was a "survival" item? Or waived because you were going through to Alaska?

We paid the $25 fee with a credit card over the phone the morning we left while filing for entry into Canada. Pretty easy. He gave us a tracking number to keep on hand and that was it.

daedaluscan wrote:How lucky are we to have aeroplanes to be able to have adventures like this?

I feel the same way. I'm constantly in awe of it!

CW

Thanks very much for sharing!!!

One additional point: I understand that it is now possible to overfly Northway, land in Tok for fuel and clear Customs in either Anchorage or Fairbanks. That saves having the CBP folks from having to drive to Northway. And that service at ORT is limited in hours also.

MTV

Great trip report and incredible photos! Looks like you had some cooperative weather and crystal clear days. I'm looking forward to doing a similar trip in my 180.

Felix wrote:Great trip report and incredible photos! Looks like you had some cooperative weather and crystal clear days. I'm looking forward to doing a similar trip in my 180.

We were fortunate with the weather. One day it was cloudy while in Alaska and we drove to Homer, that was it!. Make the trip! You won't regret it!

mtv wrote:One additional point: I understand that it is now possible to overfly Northway, land in Tok for fuel and clear Customs in either Anchorage or Fairbanks. That saves having the CBP folks from having to drive to Northway. And that service at ORT is limited in hours also.

MTV

True. The customs agent told us that we could do this when I called on the phone but being our first time I was hesitant to make any last minute changes to the plan. The idea of changing it up while on the phone was a bit overwhelming so we stuck with Northway. In hindsight it would have been a piece of cake to change it although we likely would not have made the spontaneous trip to Valdez later that day which would have been a bummer. And it is a bit of an inconvenience for the BP agent to leave his highway post and drive an hour both ways just to clear one airplane. He was the supervisor so maybe it was "party on the border" for two and a half hours!

CW

What an awesome trip. I'm jealous! Hoping to do a similar trip one day.

Thanks for sharing it with us!

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As someone said earlier:

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Pure awesome.

For many folks like me who live on the East Coast surrounded by traffic and shopping malls, your images are just mind blowing.
The little story of Don Sheldon's daughter coming out to look at the plane was particularly touching.
Thanks for posting.

Great pictures!

Crzyivan13 wrote:How did you get by with the little N#'s???? EVERYONE ON THE INTERNET SAYS BIG NUMBERS ARE A MUST THO!!!!!

Check out 14 CFR 45.22 (B) 1. I found it by searching my FAR/AIM app. I've found the app to be quite handy over the years, and recommend it highly.

Great pictures and trip report. You skirted around the most awesome part of the trip -- the Wrangell - St. Elias Mountains which has the greatest concentration of glaciers and high mountains in the state. Looks like you and a great trip and hope that you can return.

Excellent TR, Clipwagon!

Brings back lots of memories from our trip. We met Don's daughter as well. All the folks around Sheldon Air Service were just really nice and welcoming. They seemed genuinely excited to welcome a family from Oregon even though I might have slightly embarrassed my children by obsessively fan-girling over all the Sheldon memorabilia. It was really cool to check out Don's old cub in the hangar.

Congrats, and thanks for sharing!

Oregon180 wrote:Excellent TR, Clipwagon!

Brings back lots of memories from our trip. We met Don's daughter as well. All the folks around Sheldon Air Service were just really nice and welcoming. They seemed genuinely excited to welcome a family from Oregon even though I might have slightly embarrassed my children by obsessively fan-girling over all the Sheldon memorabilia. It was really cool to check out Don's old cub in the hangar.

Congrats, and thanks for sharing!

Thanks! I loved following your trip to AK with your family. I would love to make the trip with my family some day.

Don's daughter really has the passion despite being so young when her father passed and not knowing him well. She still flies his yellow cub. You can see it parked in front of thier hangar in the picture of the the Talkeetna field from the air.

Here's a picture from inside the hangar:



CW

PA12_Pilot wrote:

Crzyivan13 wrote:How did you get by with the little N#'s???? EVERYONE ON THE INTERNET SAYS BIG NUMBERS ARE A MUST THO!!!!!

Check out 14 CFR 45.22 (B) 1. I found it by searching my FAR/AIM app. I've found the app to be quite handy over the years, and recommend it highly.

Yes, as someone already noted, the key is a DEWIZ, and you do not cross a DEWIZ when entering Alaska from Canada.

MTV

I'm glad you could come enjoy Alaska. It's is amazing and I feel blessed to live up here.

You just scratched the surface. Time to plan another trip. [emoji1]


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Great trip report, thanks. I had no idea how far the U.S. Custom guys had to drive to get to Northway until I "drove" to Alaska this year, might explain why they are a bit grouchy.

AK Flyster wrote:I'm glad you could come enjoy Alaska. It's is amazing and I feel blessed to live up here.

You just scratched the surface. Time to plan another trip. [emoji1]


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You are blessed to live there! Hopefully my next trip will allow for exploring some of the more remote gems the state has to offer!

Barnstormer wrote:Great trip report, thanks. I had no idea how far the U.S. Custom guys had to drive to get to Northway until I "drove" to Alaska this year, might explain why they are a bit grouchy.

Thanks! I enjoy following all of your trip reports too including your most recent drive to AK! What a trip! The customs guy we got was pretty friendly but knowing what I know now I'll definately make the effort to save him the extra drive next time!

CW

Great TR CW.

I've been meaning to make the flight to Alaska for 5 years now. Life keeps getting in the way. Building 2 large additions on my kids homes now through fall. So this summer it toast, in a good way.

Already making Alaska plans with a few buddies for 2018. No excuses unless I'm in the hospital, and I don't have plans for that!

Cheers...Rob