Re: Silverton Airport

KevinM Wrote:
=======================================================
> I would concur Bruce. At least in Skagway, you're
> at sea level and you have an "out". If I were
> going to do Silverton, I'd want something like a
> Quest Kodiak (turboprop) that was built for
> mountain ops. Of course, either place could be
> pretty hairy if there were much wind blowing.
>
> The problem with mountain strips is that it is not
> possible to establish "reliable" air service
> because they are usually totally unsuitable for
> night and/or instrument operations. When I went
> to Skagway for the rotary run in 2011, I
> considered flying in and out via Wings of Alaska,
> but nixed the idea when I found out that it was a
> VFR operation. I needed to make connections in
> Juneau and needed the link to be reliable.
> Apparently WOA has minimums of like 500-1, or
> something like that, which is pretty low. I am
> pretty comfortable flying in MVFR, but where I
> come from, 500-1 is considered Low IFR, and I'm
> looking for an ILS or LPV approach. Things are
> different in Alaska!
>

IFR is a problem in that area, surrounded by 7,000+ foot peaks. It would be nice if ceiling was above 500 feet a lot of times .... (flown down to Haines with 100 ft ceiling once.) --- My Boss, Cheif Dispatcher Alvan Gordon related to me that when he was in high school, the whole basketball team "flew" to an island for a tournament on a PBY. The ceiling so low they taxied at speed on the water all the way except every so often the plane would lift off, lights of a fishing boat would fly by underneath,... and then they were back on the water. --- Yes, things are down a lot different up there.

Yes- being at sea level does help lift a bunch, but the photo is a bit misleading - those mountains are closer than they appear.

Here's a shot of John's Helio: 235 HP six, variable pitch prop, complete STOL airplane ..... when we landed on a beach to pick huckleberries ....



Skip Luke
Switchman (ret): Grand Canyon Railway;
Engineer (ret): Georgetown Loop RR Inc., Sumpter Valley Ry., Monticello & Sangamon Valley;
Dispatcher(ret): Illinois Central, White Pass & Yukon, Burlington Northern Ry.
Mariner, Musician, Miner