So immediately after our checkrides the boss loaded us three new hire pilots into an airplane and we went up for checkouts at Skagway, AK. SKagway is at the head of Taiya Inlet in the extreme far north of SE Alaska, also known as the inside Passage, the Panhandle, etc.
In this image (not mine) we're roughly on final for 02. Arriving 02 or departing 20 is fairly simple. In both cases stay to the LEFT of the inlet. Arriving 02 you simply make a right base to final, stay high over the water, and dive bomb it in, something the Cherokee 6 does nicely. Departing 20 make a left turn off the end of the runway, avoiding the 7 Temsco helicopters based there and stay to the LEFT of the Inlet, climbing as fast as you can.
Departing 02 or arriving 20 is a little more interesting. For the arrival, make a right downwind at around 900 as close to the mountain ridge as you dare, being aware of the winds coming off the ridge and the tailwind that you probably have pushing you into the mountain. in the image above you can see the where the ridge to the left comes out a bit which coincides to where you should make you base turn while setting up a fairly good decent. Turn final, and there you are. The departure off 02 is perhaps the most interesting. After liftoff, once you pass the school make a RIGHT turn and head straight for the big rock outcropping which is semi-visible in the above image, and much more visible in the image below. As my boss would say, "get really close and then get even closer." Once you're as close as you possibly can make a climbing left turn to enter the left downwind and depart the area.
The fun part is doing it in typical SE Alaska weather. Setting up to enter the downwind for 20, you can see 4 cruise ships docked.
Right downwind for 20. You can see that we're pretty close to the ridge. You can see our relative position in the valley on the terrain display in front of the pilot. Note also the synthetic terrain on the PFD.
Base leg.
Base to Final.
Final for 20.
Anytime, anywhere, with 1,000 pounds of stuff in the back, in or out.
In this image (not mine) we're roughly on final for 02. Arriving 02 or departing 20 is fairly simple. In both cases stay to the LEFT of the inlet. Arriving 02 you simply make a right base to final, stay high over the water, and dive bomb it in, something the Cherokee 6 does nicely. Departing 20 make a left turn off the end of the runway, avoiding the 7 Temsco helicopters based there and stay to the LEFT of the Inlet, climbing as fast as you can.
Departing 02 or arriving 20 is a little more interesting. For the arrival, make a right downwind at around 900 as close to the mountain ridge as you dare, being aware of the winds coming off the ridge and the tailwind that you probably have pushing you into the mountain. in the image above you can see the where the ridge to the left comes out a bit which coincides to where you should make you base turn while setting up a fairly good decent. Turn final, and there you are. The departure off 02 is perhaps the most interesting. After liftoff, once you pass the school make a RIGHT turn and head straight for the big rock outcropping which is semi-visible in the above image, and much more visible in the image below. As my boss would say, "get really close and then get even closer." Once you're as close as you possibly can make a climbing left turn to enter the left downwind and depart the area.
The fun part is doing it in typical SE Alaska weather. Setting up to enter the downwind for 20, you can see 4 cruise ships docked.
Right downwind for 20. You can see that we're pretty close to the ridge. You can see our relative position in the valley on the terrain display in front of the pilot. Note also the synthetic terrain on the PFD.
Base leg.
Base to Final.
Final for 20.
Anytime, anywhere, with 1,000 pounds of stuff in the back, in or out.
