Flying to Alaska | Piper Cherokee 235 For this trip, I flew a Piper Cherokee 235 with a fixed pitch propeller. It cruises at 133 knots and burns about 12 gallons per hour. The panel included King radios, an Apollo Loran, and a simple 2 axis autopilot. Nope, no GPS; the trip occurred before GPS became common. It was IFR certified and current as was the pilot, but my intention was to fly the entire trip VFR. I Followed Roads once into Canada; specifically the Alaska Highway to Alaska then state highways and roads once in Alaska. Oh yes, like most light airplanes, it did not have air conditioning.
Why fly to Alaska? My company offered a sabbatical after 10 years service; an extra 8 weeks vacation taken at one time. Time to recharge the batteries and get ready for the next 10 years. What better way to recharge than to fly; perhaps, a flying adventure. My criteria was simple; fly somewhere unusual, see something new, and make the trip a bit difficult, at least, for a flat land flyer like me. To be clear, it’s all about the flying; flying first, sightseeing second. So, I chose Alaska; America’s last frontier. Flying to Alaska | Piper Cherokee Panel By today’s standard, it was a pretty basic panel. Dual Navcom with Glideslope, DME, ADF, Audio panel/Marker beacon, Transponder, LORAN, Moving Map, Stormscope, Auto-pilot coupled, Electric Trim, Engine Monitor, Voltage/Ampere Monitor, Standby Vacuum, Pitot Heat, Vertical Card Compass. For a more concise story see, Flying to Alaska | a 7 Image Story. Note: I post an image everyday at hankconrad.com.
Details…
| 7/10/1995 | Day 1 | Aurora➟Sioux Falls➟Williston |
| Photo Gear | Minolta XG-9 SLR, Nikon Zoom Touch 500 35mm point & shoot, and Minolta IX-Date VE TIS2000 compact point & shoot with Minolta 50mm f1.7, Minolta 135mm f2.8 , and Vivitar75-300mm f4.5-5.6 zoom lenses. And, of course, a flash and tons of film! |
| Activities | Mostly flying plus taking a few photographs through the windshield and side windows! |
| From | To | Route / Wx | Hours |
| ARR | FSD | Northwest Direct Sioux Falls, SD Hot/Light Chop | 3.9 |
| FSD | ISN | Northwest until unable Miles, then north direct Williston, ND Hot/Smooth | 3.6 |
| Wx | Hot! Hot! Hot! with evening thunderstorms to the west of my route. |
