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Private Notes
Airplanes are the lifeblood of Alaska, transporting critical supplies and rescuing the lost and injured in areas where roads don't reach. But violent weather and extreme terrain make these the most dangerous skies in the country, and bush pilots often go beyond the call of duty to get the job done.
Gold mining is alive and well in Alaska, and Dave and Debbie King pilot a helicopter to move a massive drill the miners need to strike gold. A 14-month-old baby suffers from pneumonia in an area without adequate pediatric care, so it takes a Learjet to make a trip to Anchorage.
A chopper pilot picks up a team of scientists, but with a heavy load of fossils and bad weather approaching, the scientists may have to make the choice of their research getting a lift or themselves getting a ride.
The Iron Dog is known as the longest, toughest, most extreme snowmobile race in the world. Racers brave wildly dangerous terrain, bitterly cold temperatures, and speeds well over a hundred miles an hour in this two-thousand-mile endurance race. To make their journey possible, the snowmobile racers on the ground rely on their Alaska Wing Men to be their flying "pit-crew."
Zaz, a fourth generation pilot, flies support for a snowmobile race in the bitter cold above the Arctic Circle. And Dustin of Coastal Helicopters risks a dangerous drop-off while transporting a group of world-famous heli-skiers into the remote mountains they love. Finally, the legendary Don Lee helps a young romantic execute a top-secret mission.
During the Sitka herring run, fishermen compete for a limited amount of herring, potentially worth millions. Captains hoping to get an edge hire bush pilots to help spot the fish from above. This is extreme flying: more than a dozen planes circling in a tight area must contend with the elements, avoid collisions and battle to set their boats on the best school of fish.
A 911 call from a bear hunter on Alaska's remote Kodiak Island sends pilot Keller Wattum out into some rough weather. The hunter is safe, but needs help transporting his prize kill: a massive Kodiak brown bear.
Small Alaskan towns like Noorvik face challenges when it comes to overcrowded prison cells, so pilot Zaz Staheli must transport an intoxicated female prisoner to the nearest jail.
The untamed wilderness of Alaska can be as dangerous as it is exciting. Whether Drake Olson's fighting light to drop adventure-seeking skiers off on backcountry slopes, or Jay and Keller Wattum are hitting a storm while flying out cannery workers to Alitak at the tip of Kodiak Island, Alaska's weather can wreak havoc on the simplest missions. But weather isn't the only danger Alaskan pilots have on their minds. So it's time for Don Lee to teach his student, Amy - a former peace studies major - the finer points of gunplay and how to shoot and kill a charging bear!
Keller Wattum is the "eye in the sky" for a fishing vessel in Kodiak Island's annual herring run. And in Juneau, it's chopper pilot Dustin Carroll who's responsible for keeping basic services up and running when technicians need to find a problem at the local cell towers... 4,000 feet up in the mountains.
In Juneau, Dustin Carroll and Jag Garrard are flying support for the local power company. They must reconfigure a nearly 50-mile chain of power lines running through the mountains that has been damaged by avalanches in recent years. Meanwhile in Haines, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game has contracted Drake Olson for a survey flight of the local waterways. But it will mean making a dangerous landing on a narrow strip of gravel in Alaska's rugged backcountry.
Restless, young flyboy Jay Wattum has decided to leave his job, his twin brother and Kodiak Island behind and make his North to Healey. There he will join the ranks of Fly Denali Tours, an operation that flies tourists onto the glaciers surrounding Mt. McKinley. Meanwhile in Haines, Drake Olson is busy catering to throngs of flight-seeing tourists. Worried that Drake has "lost his soul," Drake's apprentice Bryan suggests a scouting flight to new undiscovered mountain locations. And outside of Juneau, Dustin Caroll of Coastal Helicopters must battle a forest fire that threatens not only the homes of nearby residents but also the nesting grounds for a group of Bald Eagles.
Ryan McCue is transporting supplies and personnel to a desolate mining site on Prince of Wales Island when bad weather forces him to weigh the risks of a forced landing. In Kodiak, Keller Wattumm is spotting fish from the sky for the crew of the Crimson Beauty during the annual herring fishery. Meanwhile, Don Lee helps a group of aviation enthusiasts in Talkeetna rebuild an old Cherokee Six airplane from the 60's, before supplying his buddy and Alaskan bush resident, Willy Ivey, with an Alaskan staple.
The untamed wilderness of Alaska can be as dangerous as it is exciting. Whether Drake Olson's fighting light to drop adventure-seeking skiers off on backcountry slopes, or Jay and Keller Wattum are hitting a storm while flying out cannery workers to Alitak at the tip of Kodiak Island, Alaska's weather can wreak havoc on the simplest missions. But weather isn't the only danger Alaskan pilots have on their minds. So it's time for Don Lee to teach his student, Amy - a former peace studies major - the finer points of gunplay and how to shoot and kill a charging bear!
Keller Wattum is the "eye in the sky" for a fishing vessel in Kodiak Island's annual herring run. And in Juneau, it's chopper pilot Dustin Carroll who's responsible for keeping basic services up and running when technicians need to find a problem at the local cell towers... 4,000 feet up in the mountains.
In Juneau, Dustin Carroll and Jag Garrard are flying support for the local power company. They must reconfigure a nearly 50-mile chain of power lines running through the mountains that has been damaged by avalanches in recent years. Meanwhile in Haines, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game has contracted Drake Olson for a survey flight of the local waterways. But it will mean making a dangerous landing on a narrow strip of gravel in Alaska's rugged backcountry.
Restless, young flyboy Jay Wattum has decided to leave his job, his twin brother and Kodiak Island behind and make his North to Healey. There he will join the ranks of Fly Denali Tours, an operation that flies tourists onto the glaciers surrounding Mt. McKinley. Meanwhile in Haines, Drake Olson is busy catering to throngs of flight-seeing tourists. Worried that Drake has "lost his soul," Drake's apprentice Bryan suggests a scouting flight to new undiscovered mountain locations. And outside of Juneau, Dustin Caroll of Coastal Helicopters must battle a forest fire that threatens not only the homes of nearby residents but also the nesting grounds for a group of Bald Eagles.
Ryan McCue is transporting supplies and personnel to a desolate mining site on Prince of Wales Island when bad weather forces him to weigh the risks of a forced landing. In Kodiak, Keller Wattumm is spotting fish from the sky for the crew of the Crimson Beauty during the annual herring fishery. Meanwhile, Don Lee helps a group of aviation enthusiasts in Talkeetna rebuild an old Cherokee Six airplane from the 60's, before supplying his buddy and Alaskan bush resident, Willy Ivey, with an Alaskan staple.
