A quick update on what we have coming for you on Oddball Pilot, from the stunning vantage point of High Camp on Aconcagua (the highest mountain in the western hemisphere).
Northern Air Cargo pioneered delivery of oversized cargo to remote locations in Alaska back in 1956, and they’ve been hauling freight around the state ever since. These days they fly Boeing 737-200s and -300s throughout Alaska, and to locations in the lower 48 and in Mexico too. In this interview, NAC’s Chief Pilot Nate Martin talks about his career, the history of the company, what he looks for in pilots, what the job is like, and how it’s changed along with the fleet.
After a series of heavily publicized accidents, Alaska’s Hageland Aviation Services (doing business as Ravn Connect) completely overhauled their operational control process. Incorporating elements of a Part 121-style airline dispatch operation into a Part 135 air taxi company, a new state-wide operations center based in Palmer has changed the way Hageland’s pilots assess and manage risk as they fly in the Alaskan bush.
Jeremy Ellison worked as a carpenter and a mountain guide for many years, until he decided to become a commercial helicopter pilot in his mid-thirties. He’s now flying scenic tours out of Las Vegas in a turbine AS350 AStar. Here’s how he did it.
If you’re headed for a flying career, you need some education. Don’t spend your hard-earned money before you listen to this great conversation Aidan had with Karl Baldessari, the Director of the Aviation Program at Central Oregon Community College in Bend. He lays out all your options, along with the pros and cons of each path.
When you’re headed halfway around the world in a single-engine aircraft, you need to pack carefully. In this second lesson in our course on ferry flying, Aidan shows you some of the clothing, gear, and paperwork he takes along.
In 2011, China announced a plan to spend a quarter of a trillion dollars to jump-start its aerospace industry. Alex Haynes has been ferrying Cessna Caravans and Quest Kodiaks from the U.S. to China for a while now. Aidan caught up with him in Seattle to find out what it’s like to fly to China, what it’s like to fly in China, and what job opportunities there are for oddball pilots.
Times have changed in the skies above bush Alaska. As the culture changes, do experienced pilots need to conform? It’s a controversial question worth pondering.
Ask Clearwater Air Chief Pilot Stan Churches what he thinks of the Commander 690 and he’ll tell you it’s “a pilot’s airplane” that’s uniquely qualified for certain missions. See why in this 37-minute video walkthrough, shot as Stan prepared to depart Nome for a seal survey over the Bering Sea.
One of the perks of seeking out oddball pilots to interview is that we get to meet some really great people. Unfortunately, we lose some of them. Aidan reflects on the short time he spent with McCall Aviation pilot Dan Wilson.
