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Selected Specialty Flights

Aerobatic Instructor

Flight #'s INS001, INS002 and INS003

Shelley's oil-rich but physically disabled uncle Phil, himself an ex-military pilot, has just bought his favorite niece a freshly refurbished Piper Super Cub. Shelley has her license, but just barely, and has no experience outside of the C-172. Uncle Phil insists that Shelley get thorough and professional training in handling taildraggers before turning her loose in her new ride, and Shavron has been chosen for the job.

The flights: INS001 - Meet Shelley at the Haines airport headquarters and take her up in the Bellanca with conventional gear. Get her comfortable with general ground handling skills, crosswind landings and short field operations, and low level flight (simulated scud-running). INS002 - Move on to some emergency and aerobatic instruction. Phil expects us to teach Shelley full power-on stalls, dead-stick landings, spins and spin recovery, loops, aileron and barrel rolls. INS003 - Refresher VFR navigation and forced-IFR survival skills. Have Shelley fly you cross-country to Skagway, Juneau and back to Haines, and please pick a very lousy weather day for this flight.

In general: Expect Shelley to be a quick study but conduct these flights as you would with a real student, starting with the basics and building skills. Besides your own weight, allow 134 pounds for Shelley. Total expected flight duration of all three flights, 3 to 4 hours.

Sailplane Tour

Flight # SAIL001

Bob wants to make the most of his short vacation to Alaska. He's stuck in Haines for several hours waiting on a bush plane to take him to his fishing lodge, and would like to use some of that time for an aerial tour of the Chilkat State Park. Take Bob up in the Schleicher, get plenty of altitude, and soar around Chilkat for a while. Aerobatics optional, per passenger request. Bob's weight is 184 pounds, and 6 pounds more for camera gear. Expected flight duration approximately 35 minutes.

Celebrity Helicopter Service

Flight # BE101 - Requires installation of Hank's Trading Post add-on scenery

"Tom" and "Jane" are two high-profile celebrities holed-up in a hotel on the outskirts of Juneau. The press has already discovered their approximate location and is lurking around the Juneau airport looking for photo ops - something that the Hollywood couple desperately wants to avoid. You have been called in for a special flight mission.

Take the Cessna Bravo from the Haines base up to Juneau, and meet a fellow Shavron employee at the General Aviation area to get the keys to the Bell 205 helicopter. Taking the Bell out of PAJN, turn inland and follow the small river leading to an inland lake on the edge of the city. Directly along the river and almost to the lakeshore you will see a cluster of buildings. Land on the mall area next to these buildings (careful, there are a few trees around), and the celebs will be there to meet you. Fly them up to Hank's Trading Post and land at the Ranger Station helipad, where they will be met by gracious hosts who know how to keep secrets. Please provide a smooth ride and reassuring landing, and don't ask for any autographs or photos. With a professional flight performance you can expect a fat tip. Total expected mission time is about 1.5 hours.

Fast Taxi One

Flight # T38001

Our T-38 is in Homer at the moment, and a call has just come in. Millionaire publisher Richard T. Boggs is on a photo safari outside of Eagle, Alaska and has just been called back to Chicago for an emergency meeting. Local time in Chicago is currently 8:04 AM and the meeting will be held at 2:30 PM, meaning that Mr. Boggs has less than 6.5 hours to get there. You need to get the T-38 to Eagle (PAEA) as fast as humanly possible, meet Mr. Boggs, and then get him as close to downtown Chicago as you can, and do so as fast as you can. You'll need to land somewhere in Canada for fuel, use your own judgment. If you can get into Meigs by 2:00 PM local, Mr. Boggs will have plenty of time to get to his meeting. Total expected duration is about 6 hours with flight to PAEA and a fuel stop. REMEMBER THAT OUR T-38 TAXI PASSENGERS ARE NOT TO BE SUBJECTED TO ANY HIGH-G MANEUVERS! Save the antics for another day and use your skills instead to provide your passenger with smooth, airline-style comfort.

Fast Taxi Two

Flight # T38002

A freak accident has made it necessary to get a specially trained radiologist up to the Arctic Village (PARC) airstrip ASAP. This place is not exactly a jet strip and our mechanic Lisa Rogers expects to be repairing rock dings when you get back, but this is a life or death emergency. Fly from the Homer base and pick up the doctor at the Cargo parking area at PANC - the area known as Lake Hood Strip. Aircraft engine shutdown is required, and 5 minutes of engine-off ground time is needed to seat the doctor and load a few special instruments. Doctor and equipment weight is 245 pounds. TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE - USE THE TAXIWAY AT PANC IF YOU HAVE TO IN ORDER TO AVOID TRAFFIC DELAYS! The doctor MUST arrive at Arctic Village within 1:45 of your initial departure from Homer. Go a little light as PARC is a bit short, but take enough fuel to bring the T-38 back to Homer HQ after you drop off the good doctor. Arctic Village airport has no Jet A available at the moment. Total expected duration with return to Homer is about 3 hours.

Fast Taxi Three

Flight # T38003

Now's the time to pull out all the stops. Fly our mechanic Lisa (127 pounds) and her special repair tools and a part (104 pounds additional) from the Haines base up to Valdez as fast as you can. Shavron's 727 freighter is sitting there is need of a repair, holding 78,000 pounds of fresh salmon and king crab bound for LAX. It won't be fresh for long, so please hurry! Expected flight duration is less than one hour. Optional: If you want to be a true comrade you can stick around, roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty helping Lisa out a bit, then give her a ride for the short hop up to Homer HQ. She would probably treat you to a homemade double cheeseburger and a couple of Mooseheads for your kindness. By the way, Lisa likes aerobatics so you can be as wild as you want on this jaunt - just keep the Gs positive so you don't have a bunch of tools slamming around in the cockpit.