Bluegrass Airlines, December 2007

Wings of Alaska by Allan Lowson

Note: This feature is for Flight Simulator use only. We are not affiliated in any way with Wings of Alaska.

If you are looking to book a flight, visit the Wings of Alaska web-site.

Wings of Alaska Fall Schedule

Photo Credit Wings of Alaska

As it is sixty years since the first flight of the de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver, this feature covers the use of the de Havilland Beaver and Otter floatplanes by Wings of Alaska in their current Fall schedule for south-east Alaska. Oh, and if you’re interested, the Beaver above is for sale, so form an orderly queue at Wings of Alaska for your chance at a real classic.

Wings of Alaska

The following is drawn from Wings of Alaska’s website :

“ Wings of Alaska is the premier airline serving Southeast Alaska. We provide scheduled passenger service, fast freight and charter service throughout Northern Southeast Alaska with frequent flights each day between Juneau and Skagway, Haines, Hoonah, and Gustavus.

If you’re a visitor you’ll want to fly with Wings to the historic city of Skagway – Alaska’s gateway to the gold rush. Or choose Wings to view the eagles or enjoy the great fishing along Haines’ Chilkat River. We’ll fly you to Gustavus, the entry point to Alaska’s spectacular Glacier Bay. And we’ll help you experience the history and wonder of Alaska’s Native village of Hoonah.

If you’re a local, you already know that Wings of Alaska is the most reliable way to reach Juneau and other Southeast communities. As a member of the Medallion Foundation Safety Program we’ve earned our stars for our commitment to Alaska’s premier airline safety program. “

De Havilland Beaver & Otter Floatplanes

The de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver is one of the most famous bush planes in the world. After World War II, de Havilland Canada was looking to produce a plane suited to operations in the extremes of the Canadian north.

The Beaver has become a symbol of the Canadian north, and has since found use as a bush plane all over the world; the international ICAO designation for flight plans is DHC2. The type is used for aerial application; (crop dusting and aerial topdressing), and has been widely used by armed forces as a utility aircraft; the U.S. Army Air Corps purchased several hundred. Nine DHC-2s are still in service with the US Air Force Auxiliary (Civil Air Patrol) for search and rescue. A Royal New Zealand Air Force Beaver supported Sir Edmund Hillary's expedition to the South Pole.

After extensive consultation with bush pilots, they began production of the Beaver - a reliable, single-engine monoplane that could be easily fitted with wheels, skis, or floats. The Beaver was designed for flight in rugged and remote areas of the world. Its short takeoff and landing capability made it ideal for areas normally only accessible by canoe or foot. Because it often flies to remote locations (that often are in cold climates) its oil reservoir filling spout is located in the cockpit itself and the oil can be refilled while the aircraft is in flight. The first flight of the DHC Beaver was in Downsview, Ontario by Second World War flying ace Russ Bannock on 16 August 1947, with the first production aircraft being delivered in April 1948. The plane was an immediate success within the Canadian aviation community. The de Havilland company hired veteran bush pilot Punch Dickins as their Director of Sales and when production finally ceased in 1967, 1,657 DHC-2 Beavers had been built.

Despite the fact that production ceased in 1967, hundreds of Beavers are still flying—many of them heavily modified to adapt to changes in technology and needs. Kenmore Air of Kenmore, Washington zero-hours Beaver and Otter airframes and owns dozens of supplemental type certificates (STCs) for aircraft modifications. These modifications are so well-known and desirable in the aviation community that the rebuilt Beavers are often called "Kenmore Beavers" or listed as having "Kenmore mods" installed.

The United States military continues to operate two DHC-2s at the United States Naval Test Pilot School, where they are used to instruct students in the evaluation of lateral-directional flying qualities and to tow gliders.

The DHC-2 Beaver is sometimes used by skydiving operators due to its very high rate of climb. When fitted with a roller door that can be opened in flight, it can quickly ferry eight skydivers to 13,000 ft (3,950 m).

At one point in its production, plans to license build the type in New Zealand were proposed. Although there have been rumours of Canadian companies manufacturing new Beavers, it remains an out-of-production aircraft. The remaining tooling was purchased by Viking Air of Victoria, Canada which manufactures replacement parts for most of the early de Havilland line. On February 24, 2006, Viking purchased the type certificates from Bombardier Aerospace for all the original de Havilland designs. The ownership of the certificates gives Viking the exclusive right to manufacture new Beavers.

In a news report on 4 April 2007 (www.flightglobal.com), Victoria, British Columbia-based Viking said it may restart production of the single engine DHC-3 Otter and possibly the DHC-2 Beaver following strong market demand for both aircraft.

In 1987, the Canadian Engineering Centennial Board named the DHC-2 Beaver as one of the top ten Canadian engineering achievements of the 20th century.

Due to this success, the Royal Canadian Mint commemorated the Beaver on a special edition Canadian quarter in November 1999.

Wings of Alaska have two Beavers for sale at the moment, including the one featured in the top photograph, so if you have $350,000 to spare and a hankering to fly Alaska for real, I’m sure they would be delighted to hear from you.

The de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter is a single engined, high wing, propeller-driven, STOL aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada. It was conceived to be capable of performing the same roles as the earlier and highly successful Beaver, but was overall a larger plane.

When de Havilland Canada began design work on the King Beaver (the Otter's original name) in January 1951, it was trying to extend the company's line of rugged STOL utility transports that had begun with the earlier and highly successful Beaver. The single engined, high wing, propeller-driven DHC-3 Otter was conceived to be capable of performing the same roles as the Beaver, but was considerably larger, the veritable "one-ton truck" (in company parlance- the Beaver was the "half-ton truck").

Using the same overall configuration of the earlier and highly successful DHC2 Beaver, the new design incorporated a longer fuselage, greater span wings and was much heavier. Seating in the main cabin is for 10 or 11, whereas the Beaver could seat six. Power is supplied by a 450kW (600 hp) Pratt & Whitney R1340 Wasp radial. Like the Beaver, the Otter can be fitted with skis and floats. The amphibious floatplane Otter features a unique four unit retractable undercarriage, with the wheels retracting into the floats. The Otter served as the basis for the very successful Twin Otter which featured two wing mounted Pratt and Whitney PT-6 turboprops.

The Otter received Canadian certification in November 1952 and entered production shortly after.

Although the Otter found ready acceptance in bush airlines, as in a similar scenario to the DHC-2 Beaver, the US Army soon became the largest operator of the aircraft (184 delivered with the designation U-1A Otter). Other military users included Australia, Canada and India but the primary role of the aircraft as a rugged bush plane continues to this day.

The Otter is also a popular airplane among the general aviation (non-military) parachuting community and can be found in many dropzones throughout the world.

Some aircraft were converted to turbine power using a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A turboprop, including the aircraft operated by Wings of Alaska. The Walter 601 Turboprop engine, manufactured in the Czech Republic, or the Garrett/Honeywell TPE331-10 engine by Texas Turbine Conversions may also be fitted to the Otter. A Polish Pezetel radial engine has also been fitted to the Otter. Re-engined aircraft have been offered since the 1980s by Airtech Canada as the DHC-3/1000 using current-production PZL ASz-62IR radial engines of 1,000 hp (745 kW) .

Most of the above came from Wikipedia.

Wings of Alaska Routes in South East Alaska

These routes were taken from the Wings of Alaska website for the fall period. These floatplane bases are all present in the Glacier Bay freeware scenery, which is well worth the download effort. Gustavus has a pier but not a seaplane identifier, so use an amphibious plane if you’re heading for PAGS.

Juneau to Gustavus

Heading	Distance	Seaplane Base Name	ICAO	Heading	Distance
253	0	Juneau	5Z1	-	41
-	41	Gustavus - Use Amphibious Planes	PAGS	72	0
Juneau Flight Departure
0900	0925	81 Daily except Sunday
Gustavus Flight Departure
0935	1000	82 Daily except Sunday

Juneau to Haines

Heading	Distance	Seaplane Base Name	ICAO	Heading	Distance
303	0	Juneau	5Z1	-	65
-	65	Haines	3Z9	121	0
Juneau Flight Departure
0745	0820	31 Daily
1030	1105	33 Daily
1400	1435	35 Daily
Haines Flight Departure
0830	0905	32 except Sunday
0920	0955	32 Sunday only
1205	1240	34 Daily
1450	1525	36 Daily

Juneau to Hoonah

Heading	Distance	Seaplane Base Name	ICAO	Heading	Distance
223	0	Juneau	5Z1	-	34
-	34	Hoonah	OOH	043	0
Juneau Flight Departure
0750	0810	11 except Sunday
1015	1035	15 Daily
1200	1220	17 Daily
1430	1450	19 Daily
Hoonah Flight Departure
0820	0840	12 except Sunday
1045	1105	16 Daily
1230	1250	18 Daily
1500	1520	20 Daily

Juneau to Skagway – via Haines

Heading	Distance	Seaplane Base Name	ICAO	Heading	Distance
	0	Juneau	5Z1	-	74
-	74	Skagway	7K2		0
Juneau Flight Departure – via Haines
0745	0825	31 except Sunday
0745	0845	31 Sunday only
1030	1130	33 Daily
1350	1430	35 Daily
Skagway Flight Departure – via Haines
0835	0915	32 except Sunday
0855	0955	32 Sunday only
1140	1240	34 Daily
1440	1520	36 Daily

Haines to Skagway

Heading	Distance	Seaplane Base Name	ICAO	Heading	Distance
347	0	Haines	3Z9	-	13
-	13	Skagway	7K2	167	0
Haines Flight Departure
1115	1130	33 Daily
Skagway Flight Departure
1155	1210	34 Daily

Airport Info

At the base of grand mountain peaks and at the pristine waterfront of the Gastineau Channel is Juneau, known as “Alaska's Peak Experience” Alaska's capital city, Juneau is located in Southeast Alaska. The Tongass Rainforest climate provides Juneau with lush terrain and vibrant wildflowers.

Early settlers included miners during Alaska's gold rush and Russian fur traders. The Tlingit and Haida Indians were the first settlers to the area and Native Alaska influence is prominent in Juneau today.

Since Gustavus is located on a peninsula, with Glacier Bay National Park surrounding the town from the landside, there are no roads that will get you there. But like many places in Southeast Alaska, that’s part of the community’s magic.

Once you arrive in Gustavus, however, there is road that goes from the airport to the lodge at Glacier Bay park, with several smaller roads branching off. The main road is about 75 percent paved, while the rest of all the connecting roads are dirt.

Skagway is a place of many names, much history and little rain. The town lies at the head of the magnificent Lynn Canal and, at one time or another, has been called Skaguay, Shkagway and Gateway to the Golden Interior.

It is also known as the Home of the North Wind, and residents tell visitors that it blows so much here you’ll never breathe the same air twice. It lies 108 road miles south of Whitehorse, just west of the Canadian border at British Columbia

Haines, in the northern reaches of the Inside Passage, is an important access point to the Yukon Territory and Interior Alaska. Haines has spectacular scenery, comparatively dry weather and is accessible to the rest of the state by road system. By road, it is 775 miles from Anchorage.

Hoonah is the principal village for the Huna, a Tlingit tribe that has occupied the Glacier Bay/Icy Strait area since prehistory. Local history tells of an original ancestral home in Glacier Bay that was destroyed by a glacial advance. Hoonah means “village by the cliff.”

Flight Simulator Files

The de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver is available in both freeware and payware. The payware model is by Aerosoft and includes wheeled, float and amphibious models. It is available from them at www.aerosoft.com

The DHC-2 Beaver is also available from www.avsim.com and www.flightsim.com as freeware by John Woodward in both float and wheeled models as beaver_floats_2005.zip and beaver_wheels_2005.zip. A Wings of Alaska repaint for the Woodward Beaver is included in woapackage.zip. A 2D panel for the Beaver can be installed for fs2004 using bvr_pnls.zip and bvr_pnls_2005_config.zip.

The de Havilland DHC-3 Otter is available in turbine-engined form by Eugene Heyart at www.avsim.com and www.flightsim.com in otterttc.zip. A 1,000HP PZL radial conversion of the Otter is also available by Eugene in amphibious form in otterpzl.zip. A repaint of the turbine Otter is available as wingsdhc3.zip. For those with an aversion to turbines, this can also be applied to the PZL model.

A freeware scenery package for the Glacier Bay area from Skagway to Juneau is available from www.avsim.com and www.flightsim.com in the following two download files, glbayv2a.zip and glbayv2b.zip.

Airfield Map

Websites

www.wingsofalaska.com The website of Wings of Alaska.

www.dhc-2.com The ultimate Beaver enthusiast site!

www.markkelley.com The photographer who supplies the pictures for the Wings of Alaska website.