Posts by Member Submitted
Behind the Scenes of the Alaska Airmen Scholarship Program by Dennis Bedford (former Board Member) and Nick Kellar (current Board Member)
Starting in 2016 we began to explore how to properly manage an effective scholarship program. That year we awarded 4 scholarships totaling $11,000. By setting clear guiding principles and partnering with the community, we have grown the program each year. Last year being our biggest with 67 awarded scholarships totaling $102,000. Plenty has been written…
Read MoreMost Popular Alaska Military Training Routes by Tom George, AOPA Alaska Regional Manager
We all learned about Military Training Routes, or MTR’s, during pilot training. While they are depictedon the flight charts (VFR and IFR), how many of us have actually seen them in use, or know which onesare used the most?The fall meeting of the Alaska Civil Military Aviation Council included a briefing on the MTR’s that…
Read MoreWELCOME TO 2023 AND A NEW YEAR WITH NEW OPPORTUNITIES! By John M. Dahlen
Happy New Year! (US & Canada), З Новим роком! (Ukrainian); С Новым Годом! (Russian); あけまして おめでとう ございます! (Japanese); Bonne année! (French); Frohes neues Jahr! (German);Gelukkig nieuwjaar! (Belgian); 新年快乐! (Mandarin). No matter where you live, or how and whenyou say it, it’s time to preserve the best of our 2022 memories, haul the rest of 2022…
Read MoreWhy Do You Fly? by Bernie Willis
Last time we talked, it was confirmed that we fly a lot and significantly morethan our friends around the world. I wonder why that is… Let’s consider someoptions and see if I get it right. My first idea is that we fly because we want to get somewhere the roaddoesn’t go. I’d been in Alaska…
Read MoreNew IFR GPS Routes
Tom George, AOPA Alaska Regional Manager IFR pilots should look for changes on the Low Altitude Enroute Charts across Alaska. In the September 8th chart cycle, the FAA added or modified thirteen IFR T-Routes in the state, with an additional twenty-three routes yet to be added over the next several cycles. These routes look different…
Read MoreGet involved in aviation workforce development!
An exciting new construction project has started at the Mat-Su Career and Technical High School. The Matanuska Susitna Borough School District has partnered with the non-profit Tango Flight to provide students with an opportunity to learn about aircraft maintenance and construction while assembling a Van’s Aircraft RV-12iS kit. This construction project will take approximately two…
Read MoreMACK RUTHERFORD BREAKS TWO GENERAL AVIATION GUINESS WORLD RECORDS! by John Dahlen
What were you doing when you were 16 years old? Mack Rutherford became the youngest person to ever fly solo around the world in August, turning 17 along the way. He also set a new world record as the youngest person to ever fly solo around the world in a microlight/ultralight airplane. He wants today’s…
Read MoreFlying for Ukraine Air Rescue – Small planes, big mission by John Bone
(Editor’s note: Alaska Airmen’s Association member John Bone sent me this story recently after I asked him about all the flying I saw him doing this summer over in Europe. Having flown to Russia in his Cirrus with him in 2019, I knew he would have a story to tell. And he did! He is…
Read MoreLegacy Member, Ken Kokjer, Received the FAA Master Pilot Award
Ken Kokjer is just an ordinary pilot who won an extraordinary award. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recently presented him with the Orville Wright Master Pilot Award for more than 50 years of safe flying. He was surprised and honored, and he wasn’t sure he deserved it. “I’ve been at some of those presentations,” he…
Read MoreFreedom to Fly by Bernie Willis
This has been a summer of contrasts. First came the dry spell and then the rains. The grass looked like Southern California and the hay farmers were noting about 20% of their normal growth, then the rains and there were not enough dry days to make hay at all. First smoke was in the air,…
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