Hi all!

I've got about two weeks in july this year, 13th thru 25th (ish), to play a game, and the name of the game is explore the south east bit of alaska!

Here's the question: ferry or 172?

Here's the important context: the 172 isn't on floats, and I'm not instrument rated (and even if I was, I'm not sure I'd want to spend two weeks boring holes in clouds).

So in other words - two weeks in the southeast, mid summer...good time to go buzz around, or would I find myself sitting on the ground wishing I'd been slightly less ambitious and taken the ferry?

Any words of wisdom and/or experience would be greatly appreciated

Best,
Dave

PS
Also, any must-visit airports (or other) destinations in the southeast?

That's a tough one....

Maybe fly the C172 down to Whitehorse, and then take the train down to Skagway and hook into the Blue Canoe system and start riding the boat around.

http://wpyr.com/

Gump

Hi Dave. Live and fly in SE. Been here 20 years.

In northern SE, that time of year can be foggy in the morning. When it is, it's burned off by 1:00 usually then pretty decent. If it's not foggy in the morning then it is probably raining. That is no big deal, vis is OK as long as you are comfortable over the water from 400' to 1500', sometimes 3000'. Your bottleneck will be either the Chilkoot Pass or White Pass if you come down the highway. If you come down the beach, PWS is a big SOB if you are low. After that you are in pretty good shape until Yakutat Bay which is bigger than it looks at 400'. Gets very rocky right before Cape Spencer, I always cut inland before I get there.

2 weeks is plenty of time to see some stuff. Don't get in a hurry. Bring a tent and rain gear. Lots of tourists in the bigger towns. Fuel is expensive.

The ferry is a good way to go to. Very relaxing. Our delegates from the parts of AK who's constituents don't ride it are trying like Hell to cut the budget 10% across the board which doesn't seem like much unless your town is the one that gets cut from a ferry a week to one a month. So my point is make sure you account for that in your plans. Hard to say if the schedules are going to stay the same.

I am at PAGS. Plenty of room for hanger camping, or a ride to the National Park if you need one. Expensive gas on the field and an expensive and mostly closed restaurant in town.

My IA takes all the hanger rats for a yearly fly-around. We plan where we want to go and have plan b and plan c for backup. We have had SE on plan A twice have not made it yet. Just stay max flex if the weather looks good go for it if not than do the ferry thing. If you do get stuck just leave the plane and go back latter to pick it up. You will never fly if you don't plan for it. make the ferry the backup.
DENNY

How comfortable are you flying at low level over water, with virtually no landing sites for many miles? That is the reality of Southeast, most days.

MTV

Oh there are plenty of landing sites, however the potential is great that the subsequent takeoff may not be possible. An addition to Mike's question might be: Is your hull insurance up to date?

It really isn't all that bad. People have been flying around here for a long time. It ain't rocket science. If you can't see across, turn around and go back. That's what the set of handles is for.

Thank you all for the info!

I'm definitely not very comfortable flying low over the water for a long time with no landing spot in sight..but I am pretty comfortable kicking back and letting a system pass through (plus, it's a honeymoon, so kicking back and camping out to wait for a nice day is not at all a bad option ).

gump - forgive my dullness, but by blue canoe do you mean the ferry system? I've absolutely zero time/experience in the s.e., so I'm well aware there could be an entirely different boat-centric way to get around that I'm completely unaware of . Thanks for the tip about that train line--haven't heard of it, looks gorgeous!

gbflyer - thank you for the detailed run down! when you cut inland before cape spencer, do you mean you cut in to juneau?



So if I've got this right...

1. As always, get-there-itis is bad ju-ju. Don't hurry, bring a good tent and rain gear.
2. In the case of a crud weather system with another coming behind it and another coming behind that: jump on the ferry and come back for the plane later.
3. Hull insurance--good. Being able to land--good.
4. Don't fly into soup.

Yeah, the state ferry

http://www.dot.state.ak.us/amhs/

Good way to wander.

Gump

I can't really speak to areas of SE south of Juneau but from there north I can. Juneau, Hoonah,, Excursion inlet, Haines and Skagway are beautiful in the summer. We will occasionally get storms in July but they don't usually last too long. If White pass is closed frequently Chilkoot pass or the Haines Highway are OK. There is also a pass from Juneau over the ice field into Atlin. Any of these routes will get you back into the interior.

Flying here is fine as long as you just don't push it too hard, there are most definitely rocks in them there clouds. The potential bad spots are generally where you have a cross canyon feeding cold air down into the fiords making fog. As someone else said the fog in summer usually burns off by late morning.

If you come this way let me know, I live in Haines and can show you around or at least give you a valid weather report.

I have made a yearly trip from Anchorage in Various airplanes and vehicles for pretty much the last 9 years and i would HIGHLY recommend it. Weather cameras really make flying decisions pretty simple along this route. There is cell service in most towns as well. I wish i had some more local weather tribal knowledge like gbflyer.

Here is a bit of what i have learned...
1. The prince william sound weather is bad allot BUT it is fairly predictable. I love to go direct to Cordova from Anchorage but the weather often does not allow. If the weather is bad you can almost always go up to Gulkana and down the copper to Cordova. Cordova has fuel at the city strip and not at the big Cordova airport.
2. In a 172 you will want an extra 5gal of gas with you or maybe two fivers. Most places have fuel but if you find yourself turning back from weather multiple times it does not hurt to have some extra. Especially if it is after hours and you just need a quick squirt.
3. Does your 172 have big tires? If it does there are a million places to beech land between Cordova and Cape Spencer. The beech combing in the "lost coast" is phenomenal. Pretty fun to fly 10 ft off the beach for an hour. Cape Yakataga is a good alternate air field and place to camp and explore. Yakataga can get soft and has pretty tall grass and ruts.
4. The weather is a pain but if you dont have a schedule to keep and you dont mind waiting its not a huge problem. Weather cameras are such a gas saver.
5. Sooo the BIGGEST issue for me seems to be this every time. THE TRAFFIC. I fly out of Merrill field witch can certainly be busy but SE has some bee hive action. After landing in Juneau i counted 12 helicopters in the air at the SAME TIME. Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan, Lynn Canal and Glacier bay have all sorts of weird non standard traffic procedures and reporting points. All the pilots report on the radio every obscure place name that you have no idea where is at. 52charlie is peanut brittle point. Where is that you ask? Who the hell knows? Sooo read all the info in the back of the supplement. Its important because these places are super busy at times. Also there are some frequency changes that can be a little obscure like around Gustavus depending witch side of the water you are on. Maybe GBFLYER can chime in on this subject.

Well i got to item 5 and realized i really dont know jack S%*^. I must just Mr. Magoo my way through it every time. Its really an amazing place to fly and the towns have a completely different charm then the rest of AK. It may rain allot but at least its not as cold...

122.9 pretty much everywhere until 10mi or so out from airport then published frequency. Don't sweat the reporting points just keep looking out the window. Of course that's a different story if you want to fly around the glaciers in Juneau. FSS has a supplement for it if you must, I avoid it. Glacier Bay is a piece of cake, very little traffic. Juneau is the only tower in SE but it doesn't hold a candle to KTN for traffic. FSS provides advisory there and those guys are good.