Alaska may be bleak (?) and white in winter, but in summer it is blue and green!
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Martin "Joe Joe" Prince Jr lives in Bethel,AK and in 2006 he started to send me some photos for use on my website. Martin's introduction: This is page 2, look for more of Martin's photos on PAGE 1 |
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Alaska may be bleak (?) and white in winter, but in summer it is blue and green! |
Martin wrote about these photos: "DHC-2 N734Q was out this morning [25Jun08] doing touch and goes on Hangar Lake. Here are a few shots showing the new extended baggage area."
Most recently it was registered 22Nov04 to the bros. Powers. Someone wrote me it is normally seen operating from "H" Marker Lake or from the river. Past few years Martin sent me photos of N734Q too: HERE... |
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In this shot (taken in 2006) you can see it has only one cabinwindow, while since its restoration from the flip-over on 08Aug07 it now has two..
"You can see the extra windows behind the passenger doors. If you look at the cover photo or old photos of the Beaver, it has two extra window's in the back. They put "Alaskan Doors" in to make loading easier. 
Look at the this photo, and notice the two extra windows above the star now in the top photos.." |
 Martin Prince took these photos on a visit to Lake Hood, Anchorage in May08.N98EL has been registered to Alaska Enchanted Lake Lodge (King Salmon,AK) since 30Mar90; that is what I call a faithful service! |
 Left: N1785R Sak Air LLC, Anchorage,AK R02May07 Right: N900NL NewHalen Lodge Inc, Anchorage,AK R21Oct97. |
| Martin wrote me on 05may08: "I went over to the Alaska Airmen's Association Trade Show today and snapped a few pictures of some of our favorite planes... I also stopped by Lake Hood for a couple of shots." Move you rmouse over the image for info on the aircraft shown (some I have not been able to identify, help appreciated).  |
| Top: Douglas C-47A N777YA (c/n 14189/25634) of Bush Air Cargo Below: A Beech 17 Staggerwing! Beech D17S N9885H is detailed HERE, seen arriving (no date) in Girdwood, AK from Heritage Aviation in Alberta, after a complete rebuild. N9885H has c/n 3091 and was registered to P K Livingston Alaska Inc (Girdwood,AK) on 02oct96; it was originally manufactured in 1942. Information on the Beech Staggerwing can be found on WIKIPEDIA. The owner, Phil Livingston, sent me an email and more photos, which can be seen HERE.. |
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 The Grumman J2F-6 Duck '8583' has been reported for sale; it sure is a unique survivor. |
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Above: N205RC c/n 201 Karl E.Hayes, authority on the DHC-3 Otter and writer of an excellent monograph on the DHC-3, offers the following info (reproduced in part)- Ex/ C-FAPQ. Arrived at Vernon, BC on a truck on 30Mar05, having made the long road journey from Hemet, California. The previous day its Canadian registration had been cancelled. It was still in the all-white colour scheme and showed evidence of its long period of storage, with birds nests visible in the engine cowling. At Vernon it received a major refurbish by Kal Air, was converted to a Texas Turbine (conversion no. 17), was put on Wipline floats and received a new paint scheme. On 11May05 marks N205RC were reserved for Rapids Camp Lodge Inc with an address in Dallas,TX and these marks were painted on the aircraft. The fishing lodge itself is situated on the Naknek River Rapids, 7 miles up river from King Salmon,AK. The Otter was registered N205RC on 23Jun05 and left Vernon,BC 2 days later for Alaska, for the next phase of this aircraft’s long career. It services the fishing lodge, flying guests in from Anchorage and also from the lodge to remote fishing sites in the Bristol Bay area of Alaska. |
 DHC-2 N104RL c/n 498, Rainbow Bay Resort |
 This is N225BL (c/n 542) and I saw it at Anchorage in June 2006, parked and for sale at that time; this photo shows it has found a buyer! The FAA Registry had at time the following info on this UC-64A Norseman: "Registered 27Jan04 to Thomas J.Gayer & Steve L.Ingram, Cooper Landing,AK; manufactured 1943". This was still current when Martin sent me this image (June 2008), but.... A nice website for the Noorduyn Norseman is www.norsemanfestival.on.ca |
Here is Everts' N151 (Douglas DC-6B c/n 45496/992) on a snowy/foggy/freezing drizzle day getting ready for an offload in Bethel.Note the angle of the nosewheel while makeing the tight turn.. Taken 09Dec07. |
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Martin Prince Jr sent me these photos in October 2007, showing DC-6A N7780B a victim of vandalism... of a good-natured kind: "These were taken October 3rd: it is what mechanics do when they want to mess with the pilot's head!" Martin was here at Bethel to record this jest for posterity.. No worries about the 'artwork': the mechanics used black electric tape on Mr Howard Hughes... |
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| Fellow enthusiasts, on the Classic Propliner forum, added the following information: "I worked at Hughes Aircraft during the 1980s and ran into a lot of old timers who worked with and even flew with HH himself. They had lots of stories, and who knows what were myths and what were based on facts? I was told that HH had the cockpit of that low time DC-6 reworked for better ergonomics, then just forgot about it. They said he had sort of abandoned other planes too including a reworked Douglas Havoc. He did want the Flying Boat (Spruce Goose to others) maintained in flight-ready condition long after its useful days were past. They spent a fortune maintaining it and fighting moisture incursion into the laminated structure. Some who claimed to have flown with HH said he was a superb stick-and-rudder man, but ignored flight manuals and thorough checklists. They said he often put flaps or gear down at way above the max airspeeds indicated in the manuals." 'Boeing377' |
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During my visit to Anchorage in 1995 I saw this DC-6A N7780B with Northern Air Cargo; it flew as a fuelhauler. Later it was reported also to carry titles "Northern Air Fuel". During my visit I was told this Douglas Six was formerly owned by Howard Hughes, but he stored it with only 9hrs.50 min. on the airframe! As such it was bought by NAC in 1973. Northern Air Fuel was taken over by Everts Air Fuel during 2005 and the deal included N7780B and N7919C (which was doomed to be scrapped for spares). Everts put the Howard Hughes artwork on it, a tribute to a remarkable figure in US aviation and well played by Leonardo DiCaprio in the 2004 movie The Aviator (see IMDB). Fellow enthusiast Dave, on the Classic Propliner forum, added the following information: "The story about the Howard Hughes DC-6 that had been stored for many years is in fact true. The story was that it had been stored, almost new, in a hangar at Opa Locka Airport in Miami, FL. It really had NOT been stored -- it was put in the hangar and simply forgotten about for years while the Hughes Estate was in probate, et al, in the Florida courts... Hughes empire was large, and records, paperwork, and so on, were scattered across the US at the time Hughes died. The DC-6 was only 'found' when the hangar was needed for other purposes! The hangar at the time, was leased by the folks who put the DC-6 in it. The lease had long expired, but no one came to claim the DC-6 inside. For whatever reason, the DC-6 never showed up on Huges Estate inventory either, so there were no formal ownership records (at least not readily available locally). The DC-6s ownership had to be traced back to Douglas Aircraft sales records, which is how they eventually found out that Hughes was its owner. Hughes flew it one time. FAA registry records also confirmed expired registration info, and the FAA had long written the original registration off the books. This story appeared in the Miami Herald newspaper long ago, probably in the late-1970s, complete with a photo of the DC-6. It had been stored well, stored 'dry', and the only damage was that its tires had dry-rotted in place in some spots. All fuels, oils, lubricants and battery had been removed at the time of parking in the hangar. The fuel tanks had also been fogged (to prevent drying, cracking and having to be condemned. Aircraft windows were sealed and covered, as were all doors (to prevent mildew, rodents, and other forms of deterioration). Tire rot could have been prevented if the DC-6 had been on jacks. Who ever placed this plane in storage did so with the intent of long-term storage, and knew what they were doing. It was not parked haphazardly." Dave F |
Here is a foggy shot of Arctic Circle Air's Skyvan N1906, on a misty morning October 10th, 2007.N1906 is a Short Brothers SC7 Skyvan Series 3, c/n SH.1906. It was registered to Arctic Air Group 20Mar98. This ugly-duckling was manufacured in 1972. Arctic Circle Air Service recently made -sad- headlines when their SC7 Skyvan N2088Z (c/n SH.1963) failed to climb and hit trees on departure from a gravel strip at Mystic Lake Lodge, Amos Lake,AK... N2088Z was being ferried to Anchorage for repairs, after sustaining damage on landing there on 01Sep07. On that fateful 20Sep07 it crashed through trees and came to rest in the lake, with considerable nose damage, writing off the aircraft and one person fatally injured. |
On that same foggy morning, Martin went out to make this superb shot of DHC-2 Beaver N39303 (c/n 1221).It is a good thing Martin is not easily discouraged by the weather... Click on the image for a large photo, which could serve as a nice decoration to someones desktop! [size 1024 x 768]. |
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Martin sent me these in Sep.2007: "Turbo Otter N87AW is here in Bethel to back haul mining supplies that were shipped up this spring."  From the Karl Hayes DHC-3 Otter CD: Otter 52 was delivered to the RCAF on 16th November 1954 with serial 3686. After delivery it was initially retained by No.6 Repair Depot, Trenton as a reserve aircraft and it returned to DHC at Downsview in January 1956 for incorporation of All Up Weight modifications. On completion of this work in August 1956 it was allocated to 121 Communications & Rescue Unit, and crossed the country to join the unit at its Sea Island, Vancouver, BC base. With this busy unit, 3686 was heavily tasked on marine searches and rescues along the Pacific coast, as well as on medevacs. On 01May59 it escorted the Flight's H-21 Vertol helicopter 9611 to the Norwegian cargo vessel 'Ferngulf' which was on fire after an explosion. The helicopter could not winch down a doctor as its rotors fanned the flames, so the Otter landed alongside the vessel and transferred the doctor to the ship...  3686 was also involved in a number of aircraft rescues, on 16Jan60 searching for a Piper PA22 missing over the Strait of Juan de Fuca; on 05Jun60 investigating the forced landing of Tri-Pacer CF-HMF at Nanaimo and a week later searching for crashed Sea Bee CF-EJN. This Otter was one of a number of aircraft in the search and rescue effort for Martin Mars CF-LYJ, which crashed near Parksville on 23rd June '61 while fighting a forest fire. On 12Jul61, during a maximum performance take-off and climb in the course of a proficiency flight, the check pilot retarded the throttle at 100 feet to simulate engine failure. At that point, the Otter was in a maximum climb attitude, with take-off flaps and an indicated airspeed of 56 knots. A steep dive was established, resulting in the airspeed rising to 62 knots. On roundout, the aircraft fell through and landed hard. The lower fuselage skin, ribs and stringers were buckled. The Otter was taken to the Canadian Pacific Airlines repair depot at the Lincoln Park, Calgary RCAF base and fixed, returning to its unit at Sea Island that same month.  On 20th September 1961 3686 was involved in the rescue of a vessel which broke up at sea, as were Canso 11015, Dakota 485 and Albatross 9306. On 13Feb62 the Otter flew to Hanson's Lagoon to pick up an injured hiker, but became grounded on a sandbar by a receding tide... It was refloated the next day and returned to base. On 21Feb62 it transported a mine disposal team to deal with a mine and on 24Jun62 was engaged in the search for Cessna 180 CF-FWF of Trans Provincial Airlines, which had crashed near Terrace. The Otter continued to fly with 121 Communications & Rescue Unit until Oct62 when Otter operations by the Unit came to an end. It returned to the Canadian Pacific Airlines depot at Calgary, as did the other Unit's other Otter 3680, and was placed into storage as a reserve aircraft. The amphibious floats which 3686 had used were removed and transported back to Sea Island for use by the Otters of 443 Squadron. In Feb64 the Otter was ferried from Calgary to Saskatoon and put into storage there, pending disposal. The Otter was transferred to the RCMP, to whom it was registered as CF-MPO in October 1964. At that stage, it had 1,691 hours on the airframe. For the first ten years of its police service it was based at The Pas, Manitoba. On 30Oct72 it suffered an accident at Kawinaw Lake,Manitoba, summarised as: “Engine failure; fatigue fracture; substantial damage”. It was repaired and then based at Thompson, Manitoba from 1974 to 1976, and then at Ottawa from 1976 to 1978. It arrived at its new base at the RCMP's hangar at the Edmonton Municipal Airport, Alberta in 1978 where it would be based for the next 14 years, although it was deployed to Inuvik from time to time. While based at Edmonton as C-FMPO the Otter suffered a number of minor incidents. On 15Mar85 at St.Paul, Alberta while taxying after landing the tail wheel assembly failed. On 24Apr85 at High Prairie,Alberta the propeller tip touched the runway on take-off. At Edmonton Municipal Airport, its base, on 13Nov87 the pilot lost control on take-off from runway 16 and the Otter skidded across the grass onto the apron. Finally, on 13Feb90 at Steen Tower airstrip, Alberta during a touch-and-go on a snow-covered runway, the engine hesitated and during the initial climb the Otter struck some trees. Damage was not great and the Otter was repaired and continued in service until September 1992.  After nearly 30 (!) years of service with the RCMP, the last Otter in police service in Canada, MPO was flown from Edmonton to Yellowknife,NWT where it arrived on 1st Oct92, on delivery to 825 Elks Air Cadet Squadron, by which stage it had some 18,000 hours on the airframe. The Otter was acquired to provide enhanced training to the cadets and for use by Yellowknife schools and community organisations. According to a local report at the time: “When the Otter is finally retired, it will be donated along with its logs to the Northern Heritage Centre in Yellowknife, where it will be permanently displayed”. This proposal somewhat overlooked the value of an aircraft such as the Otter, and having sat at Yellowknife for three years, during which time it was little used, C-FMPO was sold. It was registered to its new owners, Alaska West Air Service Inc of Kenai, Alaska in Jan96 as N87AW. They purchased it from Direct North Airways, Yellowknife, who had somehow managed to acquire title to the aircraft. With Alaska West Air Service it replaced Otter N8510T (307) which they had flown up to then. The Otter was flown from Yellowknife to Vancouver, arriving 16Jan96, where it was converted to a Vazar DHC-3T turbine Otter by Aeroflite Industries. It was rolled out of their hangar as a turbine on 05Mar96 and delivered to its new base at Kenai - Island Lake from where it operates on floats. Alaska West Air Service is the aircraft operating part of Alaska West Guides & Outfitters and as well as the turbo Otter flies two Beavers, a turbo Beaver and two Piper Super Cubs. The aircraft are used on a variety of fly-out fishing and bear viewing packages as well as flightseeing trips over the Kenai Peninsula and Lake Clark National Park. The Otter is used for the larger groups as it seats ten passengers. The company is active during the summer months only, with N87AW going into storage during the winter. On 04Nov04 the Otter was registered to Summit Leasing LLC, Kenai, Alaska but leased to and operated by Alaska West Air Service, as before. |
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Martin sent me this photo of Douglas DC-6A N6174C (c/n 44075), taken on 10Oct07.
"NAC came out this morning with a DC-6, pretty rare thing nowadays. I got N6174C while on short approach to Runway 18 of Bethel this morning. This is a 1954 DC-6, on a foggy 35 degree morning."
 I have written an extensive history on my page Propliners at Anchorage, 2006. |
| Links: Bethel airport (PABE) on Airnav.com Bethel Seaplane Base (Z59) on Airnav.com Bethel Hangar Lake Seaplane Base (Z58) on Airnav.com Location of Bethel,Alaska Martin's photos of Bethel,Alaska: www.bethelak.com/photos look for joejoe prince or jojo. |
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