At about 08h00 this morning it started, the noise of a piston aircraft engine revving for take off. Since then it has been going virtually all day. For some this might be a massive annoyance. For me, it is music in my ears.

Floatplane heaven. Look beyond the yellow plane

Just a few more

Typical dock and cabin on Lake Hood with owners land plane also there

Yield to all aircraft

The Seaplane airport. The Lake is a registered airport subject to FAA control, not Water Affairs

A Beaver taxis out past me

To better enjoy the spectacle I was out relatively early, this is not an early start city. I suspect it has something to do with balancing the very short winter days with allowing everyone to enjoy the equally short summer. As I remarked to someone here today, A good summer day here (which it was today, clear skies, 22 C and a slight nip in the air), is the equivalent of a great winter’s day in the Cape (It might even be a bit warmer in the Cape).

A Take Off sequence

Up Up

And about to be away

Just landed

So today has been a day for flying and riding. But Bonnie went in for a quick “perk me up”, an oil and plug change. Plus I had ordered new tires before I set out to be waiting for us here. I am not putting them on, as we had new rubber fitted in Vancouver. The difference in riding since then has been remarkable. If you are going to use a rubber, it needs to be the right type for the road. No point in having rough riders with a young tight frisky girl, save them for the worn out older chicks. So I have easy gliders fitted.

Lake Hood Sea Plane Airport

At the BMW dealer I run into Rick again. he is here to get some spares and then off on his travels. This time he gives me his contact details. he is in the aviation game near Winnipeg. I might pop in on the way back.

The dealer lent me a Triumph to ride. It is not a bad bike but it was like a date with no empathy. We spent the day together is all I can say and we got wherever we had to go. This was to Lake Hood where I found an epic spot and sat on the grass watching the activity. There are more seaplanes here than there are light aircraft at Lanseria and Rand combined and more, I suspect than in the UK and in Germany. The land aircraft park has more tail draggers than I have ever seen in one place. And it is all part of the main International Airport. For the uneducated and ignorant, a tail dragger has a small wheel at the tail and it sits when on the ground with its tail down. Whereas most modern aircraft have a nose wheel and sit on the ground with the tail up. Tail draggers are much more difficult to fly but offer significantly better short field performance than a nose wheel equipped aircraft.

My mate Rick. This is how Canadian Tough Men ride. He actually has the real kit!

Aviation is the life blood of Alaska. without small planes Alaska could not and would not function. So they have their priorities here. Aircraft take precedence over virtually everything. The aircraft are of every shape and size under the sun. The old aircraft that you see in “Ice Pilots” and “Alaska Bush Pilots”, are all around. there is almost nothing which shines and sparkles. On the Lake each owner has what appears to be a jetty and a small shed in which to store their belongings. Some of the aircraft are simply tied down, as they are at most of the airfields at each little town I rode through. Scully, this is Super Cub heaven. One in two aircraft is a Super Cub. Other than that Cessna’s are the crown princes and Beavers are the Kings here.

Tail dragger at Tok Airport

Here you can land your aircraft on the water. Provided it is properly equipped, you can taxi it out and across the freeway to the International Airport terminal and drop your passengers off right next to the Cathay Pacific 747 on which they are going to Hong Kong. This is peak season here, for tourism, fishing  and hunting. So the aircraft are busy. This is when the pilots and the operators make their money. everyone works on a contract and does not get paid for the winters other than a handful of technicians and some very hardy pilots. The very long days mean that lots of flying can be done

There have been significant changes taking place in US aviation during the past few weeks. The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) operates as a law unto itself, often denying pilots and operators, whom they merely suspect of having committed and infringement, of the most basic of legal rights. This was done under legislation which dates back to the early 1950’s. Anyhow one of the current Senators, also a pilot, fell afoul of the FAA for a minor mistake and was subjected to same treatment as many other pilots have been. The net upshot has been a new “Pilots Bill of Rights”. See below:

Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.), co-chair of the House GA Caucus and GA Caucus member Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.) have pushed the Pilot’s Bill of Rights past its final legislative hurdle and on to the president’s desk. The legislation, championed by Sens. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Mark Begich (D-Alaska), co-chair of the Senate GA Caucus, stands to lift a veil of secrecy from investigations and reverse the presumption of guilt that pilots subject to certificate action have always faced.

“For a long time, pilots have expressed frustration about the treatment they receive during an FAA enforcement proceeding. It tends to be a guilty-until-proven-innocent process,” said Graves. “The Pilot’s Bill of Rights is intended to address this and other issues that, in some cases, actually lead to an FAA enforcement action.”

“Passage of the Pilot’s Bill of Rights is a much-needed step toward improving communications between pilots and the FAA and ensuring that vital safety-related information reaches those who need it most,” Lipinski said.

At least democracy is alive and well in the US, for all its other flaws.
At A

My day has mainly been spent sorting out my kit, of which I have far too much. My aim has been to halve what I am carrying. This has not been possible, but inroads have been made a heap of stuff will go back to Michigan via FedEx. My rerouting back has also been organised and the new itinerary will see me back in Michigan about four days earlier than planned. I have a lot to do there so this will be welcome and it will also mean that I will get to the UK on or ahead of schedule and back to SA on time.

Tomorrow I will pack it all up, write a lot more than I have recently, visit the nearby aviation museum and, I forgot, collect the new Moreson business cards that I am having printed. I had run out because between my new bosses, Nikki and VV, they have kept me so busy on the wine side that the 50 card I brought along are out.

Once again I was given a lesson in the power of the internet and technology. Nikki e-mailed the artwork for me card to me in a PDF file. I then went to the printers armed with my iPhone. There I forwarded the e-mail to them and “Bobs your Uncle”, they were ready to rock and roll.

Anchorage is a real frontier town, much like Upington. People are very friendly and everyone  will make a plan to help you. I like this and always have. Winter’s could be very tough here. At least I would have Bonnie to keep me warm.

Tonight I am treating myself to the best seafood restaurant in town for Oysters and Alaskan King Crab legs. As I finish this off the aircraft are still taking off from right outside the hotel.

Good night and good luck!