A plane equipped with instruments that allows it to fly in cloudy skies is ready to pick up passengers at Haines Airport on May 2, 2024. (Photo by Claire Stremple/Alaska Beacon)
The air was so clear and smooth Thursday over the Lynn Canal between Juneau and Haines that there was no need to use the new technology in the Cessna Grand Caravan's instrument panel. But if the clouds roll in, as is expected next week, modern avionics will allow pilots to fly this common route in conditions that would normally land passengers, mail, and cargo on the ground. become.
“We had all this preparation and the weather continued to be great,” Alaska Seaplanes marketing manager Andy Klein said with a laugh.
The company has developed new approach routes and installed GPS equipment to make low-visibility flights safer and more reliable.
For people like Haines who live in areas without access to jets or roads, getting in and out is mitigated by weather and ferry schedules. The arrival and departure of state ferries are so important that they are announced on the radio along with the weather. Locals usually include an extra night in their travel plans to account for canceled flights. “If you want to go there, take the ferry” is the well-worn travel advice given by long-time residents to newcomers.
“We have a goal of being as reliable as a jet,” Klein said of small plane operators. “We're not there yet. And even with these new approaches, we're not quite there yet. Sometimes when jets are flying, we're still on the ground.”
On May 2, 2024, pilot Greg Hake will demonstrate how advanced GPS avionics allow pilots to program approach paths and fly in low visibility conditions.
To achieve this goal, Alaska Seaplanes, the most comprehensive airline in the region, has developed new approach routes and a high enough altitude to allow instrument flights even in the region's difficult geography. Sensitive GPS equipment was installed. Haines, Hoonah, Sitka, Juneau, Kake, Wrangell and Petersburg flights will benefit from expensive upgrades for smaller carriers. Airline ticket prices have increased significantly over the past five years. The drawback for small businesses is that they have to go through the same approval process for new routes as major airlines like Alaska Airlines, which can be time-consuming for small staffs.
Klein said the frequency of flight departures and the conditions travelers experience are already changing. “Nobody who's ever flown to Hoonah has ever flown through a cloud,” he said. “People are very concerned, so we need to provide an explanation before people actually board.”
Most communities in the Southeast do not have airports with ground control towers and towers. They have a runway. Pilots typically fly to a set of regulations designed around high-visibility conditions, which lowers the bar for getting out in bad weather. Instrument flight can be used in low visibility conditions. They utilize GPS technology and Federal Aviation Administration-approved flight paths. Seaplanes have recently updated nearly all wheeled aircraft (seaplanes are not included in the changes) and new flight paths have just been approved for use.
A new approach developed over many years
Greg Hake, assistant chief pilot for Alaska Seaplanes, helped explain the changes at a community meeting Thursday at Haines Library. The route between Juneau and Haines is one of the major routes from Juneau.
“How many people have had their flights cancelled?” he asked the crowd.
Laughter filled the room as everyone raised their hands. “Trick question!” former Mayor Jan Hill called out.
Hake said he flew four flights with the instrument in the week after the upgrade that otherwise would have been canceled or delayed.
Flying using so-called IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) technology is not new, but the sensitivity of the new equipment and the paths it allows the plane to take is new. Federal approval took years.
“If you don't have visual recognition in the clouds, you're going to fly in very specific approaches, like moving away from mountains and maintaining the right altitude,” Hake explained.
On May 2, 2024, an Alaska Seaplanes cargo truck stops at one of the company's aircraft in Haines. Freight and mail are also susceptible to weather disruptions, which can mean letters and packages can wait days or even weeks in areas like Haines. (Photo by Claire Stremple/Alaska Beacon)
In Southeast Alaska, water and mountains complicate flight paths. It also involves cooperation. Ground control is based in Juneau, but air traffic over Haines and much of southeastern Alaska is controlled by a control tower in Anchorage.
“Alaska's legendary status as a difficult place to fly is especially true here,” he says. “We're flying between mountains that stick out straight out of the water, which complicates things like radio communications and GPS reception.”
Hake said pilots have little use of ground navigation equipment because the mountains block communications to the plane.
There are other variables as well. He said the magnetic field from iron in the Chilkat Mountains can shift the compass 20 degrees from north. Fortunately, this does not affect satellite navigation systems.
Get high visibility as you fly over endless ice fields and glacier-carved fjords where the silt looks like deep jade-colored marble in the water. But for the people who live here, the option to fly safely even in unstable weather is important.
Puppies who will serve as sled dogs on Skagway Glacier Tours will be briefly dropped off at Haines after the flight from Skagway. They ended up on an Alaska seaplane en route to Juneau for a meet-and-greet. (Photo by Claire Stremple/Alaska Beacon)
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