Will this new lead limit affect GA?

Wow. I was always under the impression everyone flies beaters up there like bush-rigged 170/180s, 206/207/208s and other SE bush planes, with the rare twin. Thanks for correcting my view of Alaska flight.

206/207 are still the mainstay, but I've seen better maintenance up here than i've seen down in america. down south, it seems the emphasis is on shiny paint jobs, where up here that seems to come last. 170/180s are rarer, 185s are pretty common for some jobs. Navajos are incredibly prevalent in the bush, and are typically the most appropriate airplane for most missions, most of the gravel strips out west (eek, kasigluk, hooper, etc.) have either already been lengthened and given lights or are on the shortlist for lights. The wx is already ###### enough, and out west about one or two planeloads of natives dies a year or so, so you don't need to be battling the runway conditions too. The big operators (Hageland/Frontier, Grant) have a fleet of sleds (207s) several caravans. Hageland/Frontier goes a step farther with B1900s for long haul, navajos for medium and short, and sleds for short or small loads. Down in Kodiak, my summer job had an Islander (not a pilots airplane, but it hauls a lot, so actually it kind of doubly sucks, first you have to fly a piece, then you have to unload twice as much as a 207) that I flew a little, and out down the chain (towards Dutch) there are a couple of places operating an Aztec. Twins are good out here because of the distances involved, however to get in short, more than quite a few guys like to bring the things in right at redline. I can't and won't, but there are plenty who do.

As for caravans out here, I think this new TKS system that cessna wants to put in will stifle the spread of the van. The tks is terrible for alaska, first, you have to have the stuff on before you get into ice, plus it can get gummed up by mosquitos. Better in my view to have boots. The caravans are fairly popular up here, but they tend to kill about a pilot a year flying into ice.

Airplanes you see few of up here include cherokees (though there are some in kodiak, and some in south east, and a spitter-spattering of them here or there throughout the bush), cessna 400 series (not the new ones the twins, though my company plans on getting a 402) and 310s (though aeromap operates one here in anchorage). Casas aren't common anymore (they're only at one place that I know of ATS), ATRs are only here for Empire. SkyVans are here and there and are considered a money maker, but they keep getting crashed, so the supply is dropping, however shorts 330/360s are all but non existant (the only ones I have seen have been military birds).

DC-6s, DC-3s, C-46s, a few DC-4s, Beech 18s and the like are still fairly common in the state. For those of you with bigger interests, NAC and Alaska airlines both operate 737-200s with gravel kits (that's right, they land the 737 on gravel). Beavers are fairly prevalent though mostly on floats (there are a few on wheels at Alaska Air Taxi, and some of the mountain companies, but they aren't exactly common). I'm sure there are others but that's all I can think of now.
 
Wow. Thanks.
I knew the 737-200 had an option for gravel kits for unimproved airfields, but I didn't know Alaska operated them.
 
so, is diamond the only aircraft company to be considering making diesel planes?!?
Cessna was going to release the 172TD until Thierlet went belly-up. They claim to be still working a diesel 172 towards production.
 
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