I got the opportunity to help a friend out today on a cross country and nabbed some cool pics, but they're all iPhone shots so the quality isn't amazing.

We started out for Venatie in the morning and saw your typical spectacular Alaskan views aloft.











It was a really nice day with a good tailwind aloft, so we made some good time until we hit Yukon Flats. We saw what looked like an ominous fog bank as far as you could really see.



We descended and found out it was a low overcast layer but not to the ground and still above minimums, so we continued on in and picked some people/stuff up. I put 2 jerry cans in each of his wing tanks while he was loading the rest of the junk, then we moved out to Arctic Village. No pictures here since the majority of the flight was IFR.

There was a pretty cool old hulk outside of town that I snapped a pic on. It's been there for a while, but no idea how long. There was a name scratched in it with the date 1983!



I also snapped a picture of the old church. I don't think they use this one anymore.



The flight home was pretty nice too - all lower level to keep out of the headwinds until we reached the Southern border of the Yukon Flats where we climbed into another short IFR clearance to get through some cloud banks. I think this is a wrecked DC-4 near Venetie. Anyone know the story on it?



It was a little busy around FAI's TRSA when we came back in so I spent more time scanning airspace and assisting in the cockpit than snapping photos, but here's a cool one to finish out with from about halfway between Venetie and Fairbanks.

Beautiful countryside photos! Before you know it there will be snow everywhere.

The DC 4 just upstream from Venetie is actually a Carvair conversion. They were coming out of Venetie empty and experienced an engine fire. Not long before this deal, a Doug out west was trying to land at Selawik (???) with an engine fire, did a go around due to a fouled runway and tried to get back to the runway....the wing burned off and everyone died.

This Carvair (they were converted to haul cars across the English Channel) was working for Brooks Fuel, and flown by the owner of the plane, which was. Leased. To Brooks. With the Selawik accident in mind, he opted to put the plane on a gravel bar, rather than risk trying to get back to the airport, as well as winding up with a plane on fire in the middle of the village (the runway was right in town at that time). Good choice on his part, but I'm guessing that plane was about all he owned at the time, and it wasn't insured.

That land is part of the Venetie Reservation, and the tribe agreed to leave the wreck there. They drained the gas out of the planes tanks.

There's also a C 84 Packet west of there, near Beaver, laying out in the middle of nowhere.....winter landing in the forest.

MTV

Thanks for the info MTV!

Oh, I forgot to mention....due to some great piloting, nobody was injured in that landing on the gravel bar.

MTV

MAU MAU wrote:Beautiful countryside photos! Before you know it there will be snow everywhere.

Thanks! And I know it. We're supposed to be moving South again sometime this fall (early winter in Alaska seasons, hahaha). We're hoping to do it before the snow comes, so keep your fingers crossed for us! We're still waiting on official orders before we can even start movement, though we're still packing up as much as we can now to make the rest of the process quicker.



MTV - I did hear that it was a successful landing, no-one hurt, but didn't know any of the rest of the story. Thanks!

Glad u had a good trip to Artic Village maybe they have mellowed out a bit Last time I was there...long ago they weren't to friendly. Landed there to dump in a few cans of gas on my way north. Had some over flow running off the wing. A bunch of local boys started throwing match's my way. Being in a State marked cub I was surprised at their actions. When I took jacket off exposing certain tools of the job they took off

Don,

Yep, the good old days on the Venetie Reservation....

I was told by numerous pilots that I'd have to pay a landing fee if I landed in either Venetie or Arctic Village....sovereign territory and all.

First time I landed in VEE, a guy came up on a four wheeler, and just sat there. I figured he was the tax collector, but I decided I'd wait till he asked for the cash. He finally asked me what I was doing in the village. I told him I was taking some stuff over to one of the teachers in the school for the kids. He said okay and left.

I never did pay any "landing fees" at either place after that, and never offered.....and I spent a number of overnights at both. Frankly, Fort Yukon always made me more nervous than either of those two....Arctic and VEE were dry (mostly) but FYU was pretty ugly most nights.

Now, Chalkyitsik....that's another story..... For another time. You were probably with the State when the big shoot out there happened?? They used to have T-Shirts that said something like "I survived the Great Shootout, Chalkyitsik, AK" and the date, which I think was 1984 or 85?

I made an initial impression on three of the major movers there on my first visit...and got along well with everyone there after.

MTV

DonC wrote:Glad u had a good trip to Artic Village maybe they have mellowed out a bit Last time I was there...long ago they weren't to friendly. Landed there to dump in a few cans of gas on my way north. Had some over flow running off the wing. A bunch of local boys started throwing match's my way. Being in a State marked cub I was surprised at their actions. When I took jacket off exposing certain tools of the job they took off

No, everybody there was really friendly. I didn't get to go downtown in Venetie because we were trying to make AV, so I didn't get to talk to anyone there. The folks we picked up said they were pretty nice there too, but not as nice as in AV.

DonC & MTV - Crazy stories!!