Ya, Stinky was from right here in good old White Mountain. Interesting guy, lots of good stories!

Right now their hanging out with Jim Tweeto over at Hageland/Frontier/Era. Jim's been at this game for a long time. I've helped his crew sling alot of cargo over the years (keeps you warm while your waiting to go).

Chris

Chris,
Flew my Luscombe from Phoenix to Nome one time.... ok, it took a lot of time... anyway, got weathered in at Unalakleet for three nights. Some of the nicest folks I have met. Slept on the couch of a guy who wandered out to the airstrip and said come in out of the rain. That was 1978. Stayed in Nome all that year.
You said patients, so I am guessing you provide medical services... good on ya- as they say Down Under!
I found that the villagers in the north were much nicer than the northwest coast Indians of SE Alaska. My father, who was an anthropologist... said it could be traced back to "liesure time". Long complicated cultural anthropolgist theory about who has time on their hands to get into trouble with their neighboring villagers from the tribe down the beach a ways. Anyway, I digress. You have put the flying situation and the weather in pretty plain terms... but I don't think the AOPA or the FAA or any other alphabet really gets it. The only exception was August Assay, of the Anchorage ACO. He was the only FAA guy I ever met that fully understood the flying conditions in Alaska. He pushed the certification of Capstone phase II right through a hundred thousand pages of documentation. I was impressed and also frustrated. The FAA is legendary for impeding technological progress. It is incumbent on each pilot to equip himself (or her, lest I forget my wife is rated!) with the best gear he can afford... and go out and take a look. As you noted, there are going to be big gaps in reported conditions... and fast changes in the ceiling and vis.
As I noted in a speech to the FAA in DC once.... (I brought a piece of wax paper to the meeting) Told them the concept of being lost in Alaska can be days, hours... or even minutes. Then I held the wax paper up between me and them several times. Said that was what the vis was like when you least expect it....
Cheers,
Nick

...and another one goes down in what sounds like the classic "moose stall."

Two found dead in plane wreckage
http://www.adn.com/2010/08/25/1424391/2 ... ckage.html

You ought to see 'em when they've travelled to the far reaches for their hunt...

"I spent all this money." "I flew this far." "I've only got four days for my hunt." "I have a tricked out PA-18/185/Maule with big tires, I can go anywhere." Etc, etc, etc.

They're like lemmings swarming out, and often in a herd mentality frenzy.

Gump

It's the ones that HAVE TO GET HOME and don't have the time to wait out wx, that push it more then most of us and end up in trouble.

GumpAir wrote:You ought to see 'em when they've travelled to the far reaches for their hunt...

"I spent all this money." "I flew this far." "I've only got four days for my hunt." "I have a tricked out PA-18/185/Maule with big tires, I can go anywhere." Etc, etc, etc.

They're like lemmings swarming out, and often in a herd mentality frenzy.

Gump

anybody check the pilot's history?

Marco Alletto, google him, an interesting read

The most subjective summary of the pilot seems to be here:

http://www.alaskadispatch.com/dispatches/news/6532-missing-alaska-pilot-has-crash-history

Stinky's son, Russ here...My dad learned the trails from Bill Munz, had his licensed signed by Vern Bookwalter (his was signed by Wright) and was raised by the chief mechanic for AK Air in Nome and first flew my Grandpa Russ' Stearman when he was about 12 - he knew the country like the back of his hand and one of the proudest days of his life was when he was hired by Willie Foster. A tribute I put together for him on youtube is below (it's primarily made up of 16mm vid that the late Rep. Richard Foster gave me), if it doesn't work just type in Stinky Hardy Simple Man on youtube. We've lost a lot this year, btwn Richard last fall, Stinky and then Dick - not to mention T. Smith and many others.

Live it and love it - Russ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DA9Li5_JgGY