Bouncing around in small airplanes for a living is not always as glamorous as it sounds. And yet, as Ross Nixon discovered one day after things got really ugly in the cockpit, the pleasant memories more than make up for the ones we’d just as soon forget.
Vic Olsen’s been flying in Western Alaska for almost 40 years. He’s a rare exception to the “Grouchy Bush Pilot Syndrome” that hits most pilots once they’ve been working in the bush for a long time. Put simply, he loves flying. Last summer Aidan finally sat down with Vic at Nome City Field to look back on his interesting career.
From Vietnam to Magnum, P.I. the Hughes OH-6 Cayuse and its civilian variants have been reliable high performers. Take a detailed look at one of Bering Air’s new MD 500s in this video walkthrough–our first featuring a helicopter!
In 1925, the world was becoming smaller, and oddball pilots were helping fuel the changes. Watch this silent documentary from the U.S. Post Office Department. Can you see the technological marvel of air mail for what it was at the time?
Aidan finally interviews Corey Konik, the Bering Air helicopter pilot who played a role in the Mount Osborne rescue we covered back in May. While they talk briefly about the rescue, most of their conversation is about helicopters: learning to fly them, and making a living doing it. There’s lots of good advice for you if you’re considering a rotary wing career.
The Superior National Forest Seaplane Base is the only U.S. Forest Service seaplane base in the U.S., and as you’d expect, the pilots who work there love what they do. Back in 2010 Dave Quam and Jim McManus from the Seaplane Pilots Association visited the base in Ely, Minnesota, interviewed a few pilots, and captured it all on video.
Bethel is a place where many new pilots start their Alaskan flying careers. It’s also representative of a typical bush hub. Join us for a 51-minute driving tour of the largest community in Western Alaska. Along the way you’ll visit the airport, the town, and some residential areas. You’ll also hear about what it’s like to live and work there.
Loganair pilot Stuart Linklater retired this past week. That’s not so interesting. But consider this … over the course of his career he flew the 1.7 mile flight between Westray and Papa Westray in the Orkney Islands of Scotland more than 12,000 times.
In France, Aidan recently watched two of his climbing partners jump right off the mountain. It looked like so much fun he needed to know more! So that night, he sat down with Dylan to learn more about what’s happening at the intersection of climbing and aviation, as well as the job opportunities for paragliding instructors.
