Good news - I got the job! I guess the three days of stubble from lack of a shave didn’t count against me…! So the highlights:
1 - I’ll be based at King Ranch (AK59), one of EPOCHs specialty hubs for SAR training and other needs.
https://img.airnav.com/ap/29300.jpg?v=KMS96V
2 - I’ll fly occasional flights out of Valdez (PAVD) for revenue.
3 - I’ve got a house and hangar being built at Beaver Creek Air Park (CYXQ) - an EPOCH community!
4 - My personal aircraft is going to be the awesome Shade Tree Micro Aviation (STMA) PC-12 - probably a little rich for a lowly bush pilot, but this job is more about pursuing a lifelong dream than making a mint!
According to EPOCH management, my PC-12 will be available for pickup tomorrow (now today) at 0800 at Merrill field (PAMR) in Anchorage. It is scheduled to go into paint this evening…! Fortunately, I’ve managed to secure a ride back over to Anchorage from Bethel with a transient Canadian SAR aircraft. When they heard I might be based at King Ranch, they were more than happy to drop me off at PAMR.
We check the weather over at Merrill and they are indicating a few broken layers. Our Alenia C-27J (by Paolo) is not a true RNAV approach certified aircraft, so we’ll have to use a trick of the trade and file IFR to Anchorage International (PANC), shoot the approach there, then proceed VFR under the clouds to Merrill just a short distance beyond PANC. With a solid plan, we pour the power to it and get out of Bethel…
We are flying V319 eastbound over Sparrevohn VOR and then on to Anchorage, so I set up the HSI and NAV radios for that course…
The C-27J is a fantastic short field performer. We climb out of Bethel and turn eastbound, climbing initially up to 7,000’…
Sometimes part of SAR is just showing the flag…
As we head east the cloud cover gets a bit heavier toward the mid-point of the route…
As we approach Sparrevohn, we initial a climb to a higher altitude, necessitating turning on anti-ice measures as we get into some clouds…
We settle at 13,000’ for the flight past Sparrevohn due to the eastbound MEA on V319 of 12,000’. You could fly lower on the T-route but the 12,000 MEA assures both terrain clearance and navigation signal reliability.
Why such a high MEA? - THIS! Always pay attention to your charts (particularly in an area like Alaska with such widely varying terrain…)
We maintain 13,000 on V319 until we are 57 DME from TED VOR, at which point the MEA drops to 7,000 eastbound. The plan is to use the GPS to fly direct to AINKK waypoint, which is on the final approach course for the ILS 7L at Anchorage.
After shooting the ILS to 7L at PANC we plan to break out high enough to proceed VFR to Merrill Field…
At AINKK we swap back to green needles and pick up the ILS inbound to PANC…
As expected, the ceiling is high enough that we break out way early. We cancel our IFR approach and request VFR direct to Merrill…
As we approach Merrill, the Spartan drivers indicate we will land on runway 5 - a bit of a surprise to me. They want to show off the awesome short field capabilities of the C-27J and shoehorn it into the 2,000’ gravel strip…
I switch to the HUD view for the landing. Full flaps and we drag it in at around 95 knots…
PAMR by -bc- is absolutely stunning…
We aim for the very beginning of the gravel strip and keep speed right at minimum controllable…
Touchdown is firm and with very little flare - just get it on the ground and save the finesse for longer runways!
Full reverse and braking brings us to a stop in just about 1,600 - plenty of room!
Fortunately the taxiways are just wide enough to accommodate the Spartan as we taxi to the Quebec transient parking area…
As stated, the airport is really nicely populated if your system can handle it…!
We round the corner and I spot my plane! The PC-12 is parked just off the transient area and is getting ready to get towed in for the repaint… Awesome!
My Candian hosts wish me luck with my new job and kindly feather the left prop to allow me to disembark (I could have gone down the tail ramp actually…)
I head down the stairs - eyes on my dream plane…
The Spartan heads back to runway 5 to demonstrate a short field takeoff and moments later they are winging their way eastbound toward their home base…
Many thanks for the ride fellas. Now I just have to wait for my Pilatus to get finished in paint and we’ll start the next phase of the journey… Thanks to -bc- and the other EPOCH pilots for the warm welcome and all the tips, suggestions, and guidance…
BeachAV8R