These photos were taken a week ago last Sunday.  It was St. Patricks day and we squeezed it in between church and corned beef.  We only had 2.5 hours to work with, but that’s the beautiful thing about living in Alaska.  We took off at 1320 and were home by 1530 … not a bad way to spend the early afternoon.  You may see these photos again because I took some video footage of the flying and it may need to get edited into a sporty little video and then posted on the blog.

Speaking of “sporty” did you notice the Blue Ice Aviation hoodie in the picture above?  Now THAT is sporty, and I think you would probably look awesome wearing one.  Plus, the weather is bad, so I can’t fly, and the post office needs our business.  So …. Click Here to get your hoodie today!

All sizes in-stock S-XL.

Sent from my iPhone

Sent from my iPhone

I recently received an email from a friend expressing how my office view is better than theirs.  While the view might be slightly more agreeable, remember that three computer monitors and a soft office chair is pretty sweet!  I bet the structure you’re in has a bathroom, so you can drink all the coffee you want with-out ever worrying about where you are going to land to release it.  And I bet the temperature in your room is comfortable, with similar temperatures both on the floor and ceiling.  You’re probably reading this in a long-sleeve shirt or a hoodie, rather than long undies and a goose down vest while scalding your right calf on hot heating tubes and freezing your elbows on the windows.  You also have a nice flat surface for eating your lunch, so your juice box never spills.  I am generally smeared with peanut butter and jelly, my teeth are gritty from dirt discovered in the cheese stick that fell from my knee to the floor in a turn, and water from my nalgene bottle drips off my ear lobes after finding turbulence in mid-drink.  Not to mention you probably get up and walk around the room occasionally, to pick on co-workers, and stretch your legs, but when I do that the passenger freaks out.  One more thing, I bet it’s been months since somebody in your office puked in a zip-lock bag just 18 inches from your head while broadcasting the sound effects through a microphone into your ears … I experience that joy often. 

This is exactly why I post my photos on-line, I do the all the hard-work and you get to enjoy the view from a comfortable office chair with a juice box.  Just a simple reminder that “the grass is always greener”.

I spent another full day flying around in the Talkeetna Mountains looking for game, listening to music, and sipping hot coffee. My wonderful sister bought me a Stanley Thermos for Christmas this year and it’s my new favorite survival kit addition. Drinking coffee and flying can be a dangerous combination for a number of reasons. Turbulence can put a serious damper on the enjoyment of a hot beverage in the cockpit. Also, we all know that coffee will rapidly build bladder pressure at the most inopportune time. There are not exactly a plethora of landing options, when heavily laden with fuel, while flying through widespread mountainous terrain, during the winter months. We only landed once today during our 5 hours of flight. It takes some serious ignorance or broad experience to confidently drink coffee in a small plane, in Alaska, in February. I have suffered for my coffee addiction in many ways, but this can be the most painful by far.

Looking at this photo makes me cold while I sit here in my warm office. At 2 degrees it’s hard to believe that the cockpit is going to be warm enough to go jacket-less. Sometimes the temptation for immediate warmth is too great, and I saddle up, and strap in with my jacket still firmly intact. The jacket generally lasts about an hour before I am damp with sweat and squirming in discomfort. Opening the little side window for ventilation at -10 degrees F seldom does the trick, so then I have to unbuckle my seatbelt and peel my jacket off before I dehydrate entirely. There are twin 2″ hoses pouring hot, hot, hot air into the cockpit. The passenger is generally a bit cooler as all the hot air has to get past me before getting to them. They have their own hose in the back seat and they can point it in any direction until that limb burns off.

The problem tends to be that while one foot is getting blistered with heat the opposite ear is getting frostbit. That is not entirely true in my Cub because I take great efforts each Fall to ensure that ol’ N7780Y is well insulated and free from air leaks. The biggest challenge is sealing the upper door half as air tends to pour in around the hinge and latch. I have hours, and hours, and hours, chasing leaks and building little mods to help keep the hot air in and the cold air out. It has paid off as the passengers never complain of hypothermia, and actually comment frequently on the comfort of the back seat. Anybody who has spent more than 2 hours in the back of a Super Cub can attest to how unusual a comment like this is. I think my next step will be to have La-Z-Boy design the seat cushion.

So much creation to see, and so little time.

It’s another beautiful day in paradise, and I’m thankful to be airborne.

Sent from my iPhone

The next pictures show the Meekin homestead and landing strip with crosswind runway.  My cabin is on the shorter airstrip on the far right, and Mike’s cabin has the nice green lawn.  The wing of my plane passes 20 feet in-front of my house when I land.  The big building next to the planes is the hangar and office.  There are killer views of mountains in every direction from our house and hangar.  People love to sit on our runway and count sheep on the mountain behind the hangar.  If you are in Alaska during the summer stop by, even if you don’t want a flight, just to enjoy the view.  It is one of the finest views in the world.  The last image shows my wife motoring down the runway on our scooter headed for the cabin.  On the map Blue Ice Aviation is located at the red “A”.