Flying Alaska (Part 7) - Haines to Glacier Bay & Gustavus

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waynemcc999
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Flying Alaska (Part 7) - Haines to Glacier Bay & Gustavus

Post by waynemcc999 »


Weather has been overcast for days. So why would the skies clear now? Well, today’s flight turns out to be an 11 on the three amigos scale-of-amazing… glaciers galore!! Welcome aboard! Wayne, GeezerGeek Pilot
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CFIDave
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Re: Flying Alaska (Part 7) - Haines to Glacier Bay & Gustavus

Post by CFIDave »

Thanks for posting that video; it brought back great memories of our "small boat" (50 passenger) 10-day National Geographic southeast Alaska cruise in 2019, where we visited both the town of Haines, and a day going up and down Glacier Bay National Park where you flew in your video. We did get to experience one big "calving event" as a 200 foot high hunk of ice broke off the face of the same glacier that you circled.

On another day a few of us flew as passengers in a radial-engine DeHavilland Beaver on floats out of Petersburg, AL where the pilot took us out to the huge LeConte Glacier for low-level viewing of the incredibly-jagged ice flows; that afternoon we approached the face of the same glacier in inflatable rubber boats launched from our ship.

After that cruise (reached via Alaska Airlines to Ketchikan and Sitka), we swore we'd fly to Alaska in our own plane -- so your videos have been helpful in generating ideas for a future trip. :)
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waynemcc999
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Re: Flying Alaska (Part 7) - Haines to Glacier Bay & Gustavus

Post by waynemcc999 »

@CFIDave... Dave, glad the video brought back such cool memories. Hard to beat a National Geographic tour... plus you got up in a Beaver, all very cool!

Hope you'll share with us on DAN your planning and DA62 trip up that way. For our trip this past August temps were ~15 degF below normal, so we would have loved to have your FIKI. :)

All the best,
Wayne
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Re: Flying Alaska (Part 7) - Haines to Glacier Bay & Gustavus

Post by CFIDave »

waynemcc999 wrote: Tue Nov 16, 2021 5:36 pmHope you'll share with us on DAN your planning and DA62 trip up that way. For our trip this past August temps were ~15 degF below normal, so we would have loved to have your FIKI. :)
Yes, but the visibility out of a DA62 for sight-seeing is nowhere near as good as a C182, or your DA40. (The DA62 engines and pillars are in the way for seeing much of the view below.) If sight-seeing in Alaska I'd rather have the better view than FIKI. We may need to attach multiple GoPros to the DA62 wings and tail to later view what we missed seeing out the front row windows. ;)
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Re: Flying Alaska (Part 7) - Haines to Glacier Bay & Gustavus

Post by dmloftus »

CFIDave wrote: Tue Nov 16, 2021 6:44 pm
waynemcc999 wrote: Tue Nov 16, 2021 5:36 pmHope you'll share with us on DAN your planning and DA62 trip up that way. For our trip this past August temps were ~15 degF below normal, so we would have loved to have your FIKI. :)
Yes, but the visibility out of a DA62 for sight-seeing is nowhere near as good as a C182, or your DA40. (The DA62 engines and pillars are in the way for seeing much of the view below.) If sight-seeing in Alaska I'd rather have the better view than FIKI. We may need to attach multiple GoPros to the DA62 wings and tail to later view what we missed seeing out the front row windows. ;)
Great point. I guess I never considered the reduced view of the DA62 due to the engines. The incredible visibility is one of the reasons I went with a DA40 and I just assumed all Diamonds were similar.

Great job, Wayne, as usual!
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