I glimpsed my first Skyvan through a low scuzzy cloud layer as it flew a downwind leg at the old Eek runway, south-southeast of Bethel. The best description I could think of then is still the one I think best describes the Skyvan: a flying shoebox.
Square, boxy and to many a truly ungainly bird, the 12,500-pound plane easily handled the old 1,300 foot shitty runway at Eek. Even more impressive, I suspect the plane was operating at a bit more than the legal load. Add 1,000-1,500 pounds for a more accurate gross weight (not that I approve, but it was a reality in the older days in Alaska).
Occasionally, I’d also hear the Arctic Circle Air pilots start up next to our terminal at Yute Air. The scream of the Garrett engines was cool, but annoying as hell when I was loading a 207 20 feet away. Ironically, when I showed up on the Ryan Air ramp in Bethel, the very same Skyvan was on our ramp. It’s funny how things tend to run in circles, at least for me. Once again I was drooling over the ugly bird, hoping to get checked out!
Alas, I was thwarted once again and ended up flying the Casa in Nome instead. To console myself, I forced Mike Gray (the Ryan Air Skyvan instructor) to give me a tour of this unique bird. Mike’s probably spent 10,000 hours or so buzzing around Alaska in the Skyvan, and as a result, he’s extremely knowledgeable.
So here’s a video of my first formal introduction to the Skyvan. They’re really cool planes that still operate worldwide. Generally they’re used for really short rough strips and unwieldy loads. From what I hear, flying the Van is a simple, fun, cool operation. Loading and unloading is where the pilots earn their pay!
Enjoy the video.
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An example of one of the Skyvan’s many roles
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