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BS: Old Airplanes History - Alaska
| JohnInKansas | 09 Feb 13 - 05:24 PM | |
| Tangledwood | 10 Feb 13 - 03:52 AM | |
| Bobert | 10 Feb 13 - 09:45 AM | |
| Sandy Mc Lean | 10 Feb 13 - 09:54 PM | |
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BS: Old Airplanes History - Alaska
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Subject: BS: Old Airplanes History - Alaska From: JohnInKansas Date: 09 Feb 13 - 05:24 PM A news note appeared recently announcing a "centennial celebration" of airplane use in Alaska. Goodbye sled dogs, hello airplanes: Alaska marks 100 years of aviation history > Harriet Baskas, NBC News contributor > 08 February 2013 > One hundred years after the first powered flight in Alaska, Anchorage Museum on Saturday opens a major exhibition celebrating the rich and remarkable stamp aviation has had on the Frontier State. > That history began as a spectacle. In 1913, several Fairbanks merchants got together to ship a biplane from Seattle to Alaska by steamboat. They then sold tickets so onlookers could watch two barnstormers fly the plane 200 feet above the ground at a lazy 45 mph. Ten years after that first powered flight in Alaska, Anchorage officials declared a holiday so people could come out and help clear land for the city's first airstrip. > "In the early days, Alaska was a very inaccessible, remote place, with very few roads and some dog sled trails crisscrossing the territory," aviation historian Ted Spencer told NBC News. "With airplanes, though, mail could be delivered in hours rather than weeks. Remote village and towns could be connected. Life changed incredibly." > The exhibit, Arctic Flight: A Century of Alaska Aviation, showcases photographs and artifacts -- including leather and fur-lined outfits worn by bush pilots and the tires and handmade skis inventive pilots attached to bush planes to allow them to land on glaciers and frozen lakes. > Even empty fuel cans, fabric, crates and other flight-related items intentionally or unintentionally left behind had an impact in remote places. "Those items were used to make furniture, clothing and household objects that are still around," said Julie Decker, the museum's chief curator. "In Alaska, people are very practical." > Bush pilots became heroes in small towns and villages, Decker said. "They were a connection to the outside world and they could deliver things to places where things could never get delivered before," she said. > Pilots were also real-life Alaskan characters that had to be skilled in the air and on the ground. "They needed to be able to not only fly the planes, but fix them. And they needed to be able to survive in the cold and in the wilderness," said Decker. "Imagine how tough and hearty they had to be in the early days of flying when the planes had open cockpits and it was 40 degrees below zero – on the ground." > Other artifacts on exhibit include a Stearman C2B biplane flown by several legendary bush pilots, ephemera and memorabilia from a variety of former Alaska-based commercial airlines, a 1927 film clip from the first airplane to fly over the North Pole, and bits of airplane crash wreckage, including pieces from the 1935 crash that killed famed aviator Wiley Post and entertainer-humorist Will Rogers near Barrow, Alaska. > And while improvements in technology have made flying much safer than it was when that biplane first came to Alaska, Decker says "weather trumps all" and that flying small or large planes in Alaska can still present a formidable challenge. > "The state is just so huge, with all sorts of water formations, vast and rugged landscapes and extreme, unpredictable weather. Even with modern airplanes, GPS and radio communications, there are still crashes and planes still occasionally disappear," Spencer said. > "Alaska is still a dangerous place to fly." The link shows a fairly good picture of a Stearman C2B biplane that was one of the common ones in early years, although it's somewhat distorted by the short focus. One other (unidentified) "modern" airplane is also shown. A link to a formal exhibit announcement is given as ARCTIC FLIGHT that more or less repeats the above, although there are several buttons that allow you to wander around on the site. A "Guide" is at Family Guide for Exhibit (right click and save target as worked better for me. The pdf didn't open when I just clicked to look from the original, but did open from my preview here). The Guide appears aimed at early grade schoolers (and may have been written by a class). The guide does have a fairly nice picture of an unidentified "primitive" biplane that maybe someone else would recognize. It appears that the only way to know much about what's actually exhibited is to be in Anchorage and visit the museum sometime before 11 August. (I hadn't realized Alaskans were prone to teasing) Otherwise we'll have to settle for the bit of history in the announcement, until one of our locals gives us a report. (?) John |
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Subject: RE: BS: Old Airplanes History - Alaska From: Tangledwood Date: 10 Feb 13 - 03:52 AM It's a very interesting museum which I visited a few years ago. Whereas the larger museums seem to focus on military and WW2 hardware the Anchorage museum naturally exhibits the lighter side of aviation. It's probably not large enough to warrant a long trip, even for an aviation enthusiast such as I was, but if you are in the area don't miss it. Of course, after spending an hour or so there spend some more time a few minutes walk from there watching the action on Lake Hood. The other (unidentified) "modern" airplane is an early model Boeing 737; a 100 series I would say. The photo of the unidentified "primitive" biplane is familiar but I can't remember what the type is. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Old Airplanes History - Alaska From: Bobert Date: 10 Feb 13 - 09:45 AM No thanks to flying a Stearman open cockpit over Alaska... Give me anything with a little heat, por favor... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Old Airplanes History - Alaska From: Sandy Mc Lean Date: 10 Feb 13 - 09:54 PM Alaska may be big but Canada's Northwest Territories is much bigger and colder. Buffalo Airways flies vintage aircraft like DC-3's and C-46's and DC-4's throughout the north. You can see episodes here on History Channel. There is also a fictional dramatic TV show on CBC called Arctic Air based on Buffalo's legacy. Ice Pilots Arctic Air |
