2022 marks Ketchikan, Alaska's Aviation History Centennial, which began on July 17, 1922 at 2:02 p.m, with the auspicious arrival from Seattle by the seaplane flying boat, "Northbird", on Tongass Narrows in front of downtown, piloted by the Territory's first commercial bush pilot, Roy F. Jones, accompanied by his mechanician Gerald J. Smith. To help celebrate the historic milestone, it would be fitting to offer up a chronological review of the more than 50 commercial aviation companies that served The First City since Jones started the ball rolling with the establishment of Northbird Aviation Company.
Though aviation technology has made tremendous advances over the years, the traditions established by pioneer Alaskan bush pilots still endure: the daily scenario of fishermen, loggers, salesmen, and families being loaded along with their gear aboard small bush planes is exactly the same today as in the 1920s. The engines are greatly-improved for better reliability, enhancing performance and passenger confidence. Comparing pictures of a modern Cessna 185 or DeHavilland Beaver at work versus their predecessor Stinson Junior or Lockheed Vega for example - the similarities are more evident than the differences. In Ketchikan, Alaska and throughout the Southeastern Panhandle, seaplanes still dominate in providing essential service links between regional airports and outlying communities, camps, and remote wilderness destinations for both commercial and recreational applications.
The region's formidable geography of a myriad of mountainous islands surrounded by saltwater passes and inlets, dotted with countless deep sparkling lakes provide the natural scenario where the 'seaplane is king', and often referred to as "Alaska's Float Country". Extremes in climate and fickle weather challenged pioneer bush pilots, and remains a constant tutor for all their successors right up to the present day. Even with all the improved aero infrastructure support, and state of-the-art navigational aids available to operators and their pilots that have improved the safety net, accidents will and do happen. That aspect of the lore stands as a sobering reminder to forever respect the daily challenges of flight ops, and that we remember the great sacrifices made over time, which provided hard lessons to draw from, to better this safety-dependent industry.
So we will begin our attempt to give each air-taxi and airline that serviced Ketchikan a tip-of-the-hat, with their own chapter, that includes a brief thumbnail history, highlighted by a few gallery photographs gleaned from various archives and personal collections. Each photo features watermarked captions and credit lines within the image. Many of these remarkable images haven't seen the light of day until now. We hope you enjoy these presentations, and welcome constructive comments, corrections, and new photos that might add to their stories.
Though aviation technology has made tremendous advances over the years, the traditions established by pioneer Alaskan bush pilots still endure: the daily scenario of fishermen, loggers, salesmen, and families being loaded along with their gear aboard small bush planes is exactly the same today as in the 1920s. The engines are greatly-improved for better reliability, enhancing performance and passenger confidence. Comparing pictures of a modern Cessna 185 or DeHavilland Beaver at work versus their predecessor Stinson Junior or Lockheed Vega for example - the similarities are more evident than the differences. In Ketchikan, Alaska and throughout the Southeastern Panhandle, seaplanes still dominate in providing essential service links between regional airports and outlying communities, camps, and remote wilderness destinations for both commercial and recreational applications.
The region's formidable geography of a myriad of mountainous islands surrounded by saltwater passes and inlets, dotted with countless deep sparkling lakes provide the natural scenario where the 'seaplane is king', and often referred to as "Alaska's Float Country". Extremes in climate and fickle weather challenged pioneer bush pilots, and remains a constant tutor for all their successors right up to the present day. Even with all the improved aero infrastructure support, and state of-the-art navigational aids available to operators and their pilots that have improved the safety net, accidents will and do happen. That aspect of the lore stands as a sobering reminder to forever respect the daily challenges of flight ops, and that we remember the great sacrifices made over time, which provided hard lessons to draw from, to better this safety-dependent industry.
So we will begin our attempt to give each air-taxi and airline that serviced Ketchikan a tip-of-the-hat, with their own chapter, that includes a brief thumbnail history, highlighted by a few gallery photographs gleaned from various archives and personal collections. Each photo features watermarked captions and credit lines within the image. Many of these remarkable images haven't seen the light of day until now. We hope you enjoy these presentations, and welcome constructive comments, corrections, and new photos that might add to their stories.