Oh, another thing. If you're in the sled out west - remember, nobody ever got killed flying into a cloud out there, but flying into the ground kills people pretty regularly and ice can make 207 flying difficult. Obviously turn around if you are going to be in a position where you are going to punch into a cloud, but realistically, there may not be another option, so don't let your instrument skills wane because you might need to be able to find a runway. You're actually better off when the weather gets dicey to go down to the lowest altitude you'll tolerate, and let the weather come to you, then when it gets down to you turn around, if you get pushed lower and lower and lower you may end up in a position where you can't turn around anymore. Weather changes fast out there - always have fuel to get somewhere else.
Learn all the radials of the villages out of BET too. That gives you a backup if the capstone fails. I did this in ANC, and out of PWS. Anchorage and Prince William Sound is trickier, but I knew a few "safe radials" - even when I was flying IFR where I could descend in an emergency "over the water" or over somewhere flat if necessary to avoid dying if I got into bad ice, or in the Navajo on a single engine. GPS works good for that too, but having a backup always helps.
From a "what your job is" standpoint, your job is flying, yes, but really your job is being an ambassador for the company in the bush. This means not being a dick to the locals, treating people with respect, and trying to do right by people out west. Balancing this with safety is easier said than done. You know this cuz you've lived in AKN forever and already work for team Green-and-Gold, but I'm also putting this on there for other folks who may browse this thread. There are a lot of guys who do not respect the lifestyle or the locals, look down on native folk, and by and large don't understand the relationship that a pilot has with the community - you are with a family from birth to death, you'll carry grandpa's body home on the plane, and carry tiny babies just born, you'll bring in doctors, food, mail. The party lifestyle is pretty strong out in West Alaska (really it's been that way every place I worked up there but my charter job out of Anchorage). Don't get too drunk too often, and honestly, I'd probably consider not drinking at all on shift if you have any tendency to drink to excess - remember, you're there to work, fly airplanes, not crash, and go home safely when your two-weeks is up. Remember, you will be asked to do things you aren't comfortable with, you'll do them occasionally - find your own limits quick and stick to them, grow them slowly, not quickly. Some of the dumbest decisions I made in the airplane were made when I was 19 through 22 years in piston singles VFR in Alaska because I wanted to "get the job done" like my "heroes."
