Day 30: 1997-06-17
ATW Retro-blog: 1997-06-17 (Day#30)
Eielson AFB (US) – Northway (PAOR – US)
175nm; 1h55; Cowan(962)/Hughes(833)
Northway (US) – Whitehorse (CYXY - CA)
255nm; 2h40m; Hughes(833)/Purchase(962)
Presented with “Arctic Warrior” medallions by the Base Commander prior to their departure, the team set out for Northway, following the Arcti Highway, the generally-recommended GA route.
Initially they were treated to magnificent views of Mt. McKinley and the general scenic mix of mountains, forests and lakes. After refueling at Northway they continued to enter Canada at Whitehorse. McKinley disappeared from view as the wx conditions deteriorated, as confirmed by Tony Severs who’d pushed ahead in the Islander. The Gipsy Majors were in turn pushed, to provide an airspeed of 110 kts [I calculate this to be approx. M0.187] in an effort to beat the weather, which proved barely successful. Shortly after they had landed a massive TS reduced Whitehorse operations to IFR.
Once the storm had passes the team was then engulfed by ‘aviation buffs’ [i.e. anoraks – not to call the kettle black] and reporters.
Refuelling was efficient, as was the provision of accommodation just 200m from the airfield.
Welcome to Canada, birth-place of the DHC-1.
Mt McKinley captured as the Team departed Eielson AFB.
Alaskan scenery
Northway airfield and the Alaskan Highway
Tony Cowan deals with the serious business of clearing US Customs ...
[ I find this photo intriguing. When crossing between Canada and the Lower 48 in either direction, there is no requirement to clear Customs outbound. Are the procedures different for Alaska? I42]
while the rest of the gang clown around
Ced Bill
Dave Phil
The Northern Venture fleet was parked alongside an ‘original’ ex-RCAF Chipmunk, resplendent in its yellow scheme. Probably the RAF’s Chippies’ first encounter with one of their forebears.
L-R WP833 18065, WP962. If the 18065 markings are authentic then this aircraft is a 1B-2 and is soldiering-on, as N575DH
An almost garish mix of Chipmunk liveries – RCAF 18065, RAF WP962
and with them: Phil Dawson, Tony Severs, Dave Gill, Bill Purchase, Ced Hughes and … a Canadian
Day 30: PAEI-PAOR-CYXY 430 nm, 4.59 hrs, GS 94 kts. Cumulative 8259 nm, 85.91 hrs, Average GS 96 kts.
Last edited by India Four Two; 25th Jun 2017 at 04:31.