Flying Wild Alaska (Koyuk: living, airport, best)

[SnowMonster]

Originally Posted by bortstc37

i don't think it's operational anymore. i think i saw it advertised as being for sale at some point.
i could be wrong.

It is still operational. Check out their website.
Unalakleet River Lodge - Alaska -

My mom was a cook when the lodge was being built. I was looking at old pictures of it yesterday.

[bortstc37]

very nice.
i hope that this show is good for their business!

and apparently i was on one of the more recent episodes. i got emails from downstates friends saying that they saw me. i'm finally famous!

[alaskabushrat]

I like the program but, was really hoping it was more about BUSH pilots that do off runway landings delivering to goods to people and delivering and picking up people in the BUSH. Now, that would be an interesting show.

[bortstc37]

that's pretty much what it is... but they land at airports sometimes as well. i've only seen one episode, but from what i've read, they have just about everything, including what you mentioned.

[alaskabushrat]

Originally Posted by bortstc37

that's pretty much what it is... but they land at airports sometimes as well. i've only seen one episode, but from what i've read, they have just about everything, including what you mentioned.

From what I have seen, they pretty much travel between villages and only do a few off runway flights. I am talking about flights when the old man took Heimo and Edna to their remote cabin or taking and picking up hunters. Going village to village can be boring. I want to see some real bush flying.

[FreedomThroughAnarchism]

Originally Posted by alaskabushrat

From what I have seen, they pretty much travel between villages and only do a few off runway flights. I am talking about flights when the old man took Heimo and Edna to their remote cabin or taking and picking up hunters. Going village to village can be boring. I want to see some real bush flying.

Could be that they don't want the FAA on their butt from showing some of the landings they have to make from time to time.

I'm sure the FAA knows quite well what it is they do..... but it may perhaps just be one of those things where they are better off not knowing some of the hairier specifics of what bush pilots really do. Out of sight, out of mind (kind of like the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy, in a way).

If some Safety Sally or Nervous Nosy Nancy in the FAA happens to catch a glimpse of some things, they just might get their bee in a bonnet about it.

Or, maybe television producers are just out of touch with their viewing audience (often seems to be the case), and they don't realize that many tune in because they want to see real bush flying.

[ArcticState]

I watch for Jim's daughters not for his daring off-runway landings

[alaskabushrat]

Originally Posted by FreedomThroughAnarchism

Could be that they don't want the FAA on their butt from showing some of the landings they have to make from time to time.

I'm sure the FAA knows quite well what it is they do..... but it may perhaps just be one of those things where they are better off not knowing some of the hairier specifics of what bush pilots really do. Out of sight, out of mind (kind of like the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy, in a way).

If some Safety Sally or Nervous Nosy Nancy in the FAA happens to catch a glimpse of some things, they just might get their bee in a bonnet about it.

Or, maybe television producers are just out of touch with their viewing audience (often seems to be the case), and they don't realize that many tune in because they want to see real bush flying.

Maybe I should make myself clearer, I'm not talking about ERA Flying Wild.I was referring to independent BUSH Air Taxi's that specifically fly into to remote areas that make pickup and deliveries. These are the pilots who have great stories.

[naturesdreams]

I have seen one show when they took two hunters into a remote area... they had to throw their gear out of the plane making several passes and making sure they could get each throw close to the other gear before he could land safely... they had the men walking away and caught them talking about almost Pi...ing their pants... LOL

[ShipOfFools42]

The pilots who fly for ERA, especially the older, more experienced ones, have plenty of great stories to tell, and a few of them have been shown on the show. I think you are being kind of over the top about the whole BUSH thing. I consider a village like Koyuk to be in "the bush", and I was under the impression that most other people do too. John Ponts and Jim Tweto, specifically, are phenomenal pilots, and some of those landings that Jim does on a routine basis would make most people get so nervous they would pass out.

Having some flight hours in my logbook, I know what it feels like to fly a plane, and it's not a walk in the park. It's not easy, and it requires a ton of training to be at the level of flying skill that guys like Jim Tweto have achieved. Basically what I'm saying is: do you feel like you could get in a plane and go out and do the things that Jim does, even just the things they show on the TV show? Because I have actually had some early flight training and can fly a plane (at a very rudimentary level, that is), and I would NEVER attempt to do what they do until I had well over 1500 hours in the books. But you know, I like being alive.