There are seven mail hubs in Western Alaska: McGrath, Aniak, Bethel, St. Mary’s, Emmonak, Unalakleet, Nome, Kotzebue, and Barrow.
Each hub has its own unique personality, and pilots up here usually grow attached to certain bases. I’ve always had a preference for the northern hubs, and I’ll fight tooth and nail to get based up north. Other pilots tend to stick with the smaller hubs like St. Mary’s and Aniak.
Bethel tends to get a bad rap. Partially, I think, because it’s where many pilots start their Alaskan flying life. As they figure out what they want and/or build some time and get more opportunities, many pilots move on. That being said, quite a few stay and make Bethel home.
Downtown Bethel
I shot this video last spring hoping it would provide a good representative view of a bush hub. We drive around the airport, into town, and out to Tundra Ridge. Along the way we show you what the housing is like, and discuss the cost of living and the lifestyle. We even stop at a store to check out some grocery prices for common items. Basically, this is the short tour I’d take you on if we met up in Bethel and you wanted to get a quick look at the place.
Taking the quirks of each individual hub into consideration, I think this should be a good overview. I hope it’s helpful to you if you’re heading up this way!
Note: The audio on this video is pretty terrible. Sometimes all I have with me is the camera and in this case, the sound from the camera mic was real muffled. We amplified everything the best we could, but it still sounds like a bad intercom in a noisy airplane!
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