aturner
Fairbanks, the land where the sun sets tomorrow, is as far north as we flew on this trip. An arctic low blocked any ideas of venturing north over the Brooks Range. In the the morning, with weather forecast to move into Fairbanks, we broke our camp and flew south past Denali to Talkeetna. Denali was shrouded in clouds, and we threaded the needle on the flight through the mountain pass, following the George Parks Highway up the Nenana River, over the pass and under the cloud deck, and down the Chulitna and Sustina Rivers to Talkeetna. Talkeetna is the small town where Don Sheldon, operating a cub from a short strip in the middle of town, pioneered the art of landing on glaciers. It was cool to see the turbine Otters on skis at Talkeetna, earning their upkeep by flying climbers up onto the Ruth glacier, but other than the airport Talkeetna was a bit disappointing. It was overrun by cruise boat tourists who had ridden the train up from the coast. Restaurants were crowded and expensive, camping and hiking options were limited. Industrial tourism has come to Talkeetna. Not what we were interested in, so after tent camping one night in the city park we packed up and headed south to Wasilla and then east up the Matanuska River and over the Matanuska Glacier, squeezed over Tahaetna Pass with low ceilings, and on east through the Copper River basin and up the Chitina River to the old mining town of McCarthy. The approach into McCarthy is spectacular, with the huge Kennicott Glacier filling the windshield and rising into the heavens. McCarthy sits in the center of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, an immense tract of 13.2 million acres. The topography here ranges from sea level to 18,000 feet. We made camp at the airport, had a nice dinner in town, and the next day hiked up to the Kennicott copper mines a few miles up the road. We spent time scrambling over the Root Glacier, in awe of the massive river of ice. McCarthy is far enough away from a paved road that it is a bit of the old real Alaska and should be on every pilots list of places to visit. The old mill is fascinating , the glaciers are amazing, scenery awesome, and the local restaurants aren’t bad after a long day of hiking.
Tony Kirk
dr
Vlad the Amazing
Mcleodpilot
Nashpdman
SuperCubDriver Pics
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THE VAF LIST (a list of RV-related lists)
Fairbanks, the land where the sun sets tomorrow, is as far north as we flew on this trip. An arctic low blocked any ideas of venturing north over the Brooks Range. In the the morning, with weather forecast to move into Fairbanks, we broke our camp and flew south past Denali to Talkeetna. Denali was shrouded in clouds, and we threaded the needle on the flight through the mountain pass, following the George Parks Highway up the Nenana River, over the pass and under the cloud deck, and down the Chulitna and Sustina Rivers to Talkeetna. Talkeetna is the small town where Don Sheldon, operating a cub from a short strip in the middle of town, pioneered the art of landing on glaciers. It was cool to see the turbine Otters on skis at Talkeetna, earning their upkeep by flying climbers up onto the Ruth glacier, but other than the airport Talkeetna was a bit disappointing. It was overrun by cruise boat tourists who had ridden the train up from the coast. Restaurants were crowded and expensive, camping and hiking options were limited. Industrial tourism has come to Talkeetna. Not what we were interested in, so after tent camping one night in the city park we packed up and headed south to Wasilla and then east up the Matanuska River and over the Matanuska Glacier, squeezed over Tahaetna Pass with low ceilings, and on east through the Copper River basin and up the Chitina River to the old mining town of McCarthy. The approach into McCarthy is spectacular, with the huge Kennicott Glacier filling the windshield and rising into the heavens. McCarthy sits in the center of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, an immense tract of 13.2 million acres. The topography here ranges from sea level to 18,000 feet. We made camp at the airport, had a nice dinner in town, and the next day hiked up to the Kennicott copper mines a few miles up the road. We spent time scrambling over the Root Glacier, in awe of the massive river of ice. McCarthy is far enough away from a paved road that it is a bit of the old real Alaska and should be on every pilots list of places to visit. The old mill is fascinating , the glaciers are amazing, scenery awesome, and the local restaurants aren’t bad after a long day of hiking.
Alaska 2025
I’m going to pin this to the wall. Call it context. Stay tuned for more.
vansairforce.net
Tony Kirk
RV-12iS POH Tray
Any RV-12iS builders/pilots looking for a tray to hold your POH under the Avionics Shelf? Have a look at the POH Tray I created using Fusion and my Bambu P1S 3D printer. See the description, more photos of the installation and download the 3D file at Bambu Maker World website...
vansairforce.net
dr
WDYDWYRTW? 6 / 28-29 / 2025
* what did you do with your RV this weekend? ... getting this weekend thread started, and hope you are having a wonderful one. v/r,dr
vansairforce.net
Vlad the Amazing
Mcleodpilot
RV-4 CHEEK COWL REPAIR
This RV-4 I picked up a few months ago has a strange "cut" or "rub through" where the right cheek cowl fits under the engine cowl. It appears that is was sanded down from the outside since there is no apparent wear on the under side of the engine cowl where it over lays this defect. I want to...
vansairforce.net
Nashpdman
Another Antenna question
I put my comm antennas in the outer most pocket where the flap rods pass through. I would like to put the xponder/ADS-B antennas in the pockets where the steps are located because I have access panels there. Is this enough distance? Also, when measuring antennas, do you measure from the hole...
vansairforce.net
SuperCubDriver Pics
Another extended weekend trip
I do it again - a trip from Europe around the US and Oshkosh in my RV-8i. I launched yesterday and I´m in Wick/Scotland again, grounded due weather. Freezing level at 5000´ and the so regular strong and gusty winds in Iceland, of course no tailwinds. Low ceilings over the ocean - too many...
vansairforce.net
OFF TOPIC:
Get your VansAirForce.net Charity Cap!
VAF Charity Cap: Help your charity and promote this site.
Get the cap all the cool kids are wearing! I don’t get a penny. It’s around $15. $5 more if you want your N-number on the back (I put 'STAFF' on the back of mine because it makes me laugh. Put STAFF on yours too if it makes you smile). And down the road $10 to the charity of your choice...
vansairforce.net
Please consider donating yearly to help keep this American 1-person pirate ship afloat:
Older issues of the ‘VAF News’ can be found at:
Doug's Area ...The VAF News, About VAF, My Resume
Pushed out every now and then.
www.vansairforce.net
THE VAF LIST (a list of RV-related lists)
THE VAF LIST (a list of RV-related lists)
The VAF List ...a list of RV-related lists. RV-related things you might want to browse over (a closed post that is sticky and maintained by dr). Link to this in 'Links' in the menu. v/r,dr Small businesses that help bring you this list of RV-related lists: 360 Avionics www.360Avionics.com Ace...
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