Do you normally pour from the cans or do you use a pump?

I take the tops off the cans and pour them into a big funnel. If you have a helper to hand them up it isn’t bad if you sit on the wing while you pour them in.

Ross4289 wrote:

Boreal1 wrote:Norman Wells seems like the long way around...I'd aim for Watson Lake instead. No problem for a 185 with 78g tanks

What route would you take from Whitehorse to anchorage? It’s 437nm in a straight line, but some big mountains in between.

I haven’t flown the route with floats, but very familiar with the entire area. Be aware that there is also 100LL at Eyak Lake in Cordova (Cordova Air Service, CKU). So you can fill up at Whitehorse, fly Alaska Highway to Donjek or White Rivers, make a left at either one of those and head west up either of those valleys up the White River to the Russell Glacier. Up the Russell, right through Skolai Pass (4500’ elevation).

If weather isn’t good in Skolai, there are 3 good size lakes, Solo, Rock and Ptarmigan, just north of the White River back a few miles (lodge on Ptarmigan Lake, no longer in operation). You can set down on one of those and wait out the weather.

Through Skolai to the Nizina River, down the Nizina, past McCarthy towards the west (you will pass Long Lake, no services), fly west until you reach the spot where the Tebay River flows into the Chitina River from the south. Left turn and follow Tebay River to Tebay Lakes. Keep going south past Gillam Falls until you reach the Bremner River, follow that out to the Copper River. Down the Copper until the mountains end, then west to Eyak Lake in Cordova.

Fill up there. All of those lakes I mentioned above are big and can easily accommodate a C-185 on floats. The route also avoids going over high mountains (highest ground elevation is Skolai Pass). Looking at ForeFlight, it stays within your 400NM limit.

Wow! That’s some excellent information! Thanks so much!

Yellowknife has Avgas on the water, so it's a good choice for sure. If you make arrangements with one of the outfits at Fort Simpson (Wolverine or Simpson) you can get a truck with Avgas down to the river, I've done that and they were very good about it. From there I'd probably call Alpine Aviation at Whitehorse and see it they'd sell you some Avgas at their seaplane base on Schwatka Lake. Alternately you could fuel at Teslin, I know there are floatplanes operating there and I've seen them fueling but I have no contact for you. From there you're flying in Alaska and I can't give you any tips for that, other than I'd bet Cordova would have Avgas in the harbour.

Here's a good Youtube of flying from Ft Simpson to Virginia Falls by 185 on floats.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAf5lpU8c2c&t=567s

180Marty wrote:Here's a good Youtube of flying from Ft Simpson to Virginia Falls by 185 on floats.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAf5lpU8c2c&t=567s

Good point. You gotta check out Virginia Falls.

And if you're going to Virginia Falls, you may as well stop at Glacier Lake.



Parks Canada will require permits, etc but it's well worth the extra paperwork.

Boreal1 wrote:And if you're going to Virginia Falls, you may as well stop at Glacier Lake.



Parks Canada will require permits, etc but it's well worth the extra paperwork.

Damn, now I want to go. Nice spot!