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JULY, 2007
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This presentation is the result of a trip by David Whitney and his father, Bill Whitney to Alaska and back from Auburn, WA, in a Cessna 170B airplane. They departed Auburn on July 8, 2007 and returned to Auburn on July 19. Total flight distance was approximately 4,300 nautical miles and 50 flight hours over the 12 days. It is a followup to a similar trip made in 2004 which was also presented on webpages which can be accessed at: http://www.toandos.com/FlyAlaska1.html.  The single engine four place plane built by Cessna Aircraft in 1954 has a wingspan of 36 feet and a useful load of 1,000 pounds. It is powered by a Continental C-145 engine rated at about 145 horsepower. The plane is in excellent condition with a recent engine major overhaul and a completely new interior. It cruises at approximately 100 nautical miles per hour (105 statute mph). Fuel consumption is about 7.5 gallons per hour and tankage is 37 gallons of fuel. Larger tires (26 inch) had been ordered for the trip for landing on soft earth strips but did not arrive in time. The following map shows the routing of the trip up through the interior of British Columbia to Williams Lake and then to Smithers at the beginning of the Cassiar Highway. An attempt was made to fly the highway to Watson Lake without success because of low fog and clouds. A turn around was made and the route changed to head to Prince Rupert on the coast. Flight then proceeded up the coast in marginal VFR conditions to Ketchikan Two nights were spent at Ketchikan because of weather. Flight then was made toward Sitka but weather forced diverting to Juneau. Upon leaving Juneau the route was up the coast from Cape Spencer in marginal VFR conditions with a stop at Yakutat, then to Cordova. Leaving Cordova the route was to Seward and Kenai then on to Talkeetna. From Talkeetna, the route was southwesterly to Rainy Pass and over to Farewell Lake. The route then was up the west side of Mt McKinley and on to Fairbanks. From Fairbanks the route followed the highway to Tok and then on eastward to Whitehorse, Watson Lake and Fort Nelson. The route was then south to Fort St John, White Court, Calgary and Lethbridge. The route was then south crossing the border into Montana through Glacier Park to Kalispel and then west to Ephrada and back to Auburn. Overnight stops are indicated by round marks and are numbered in white. The short red line marks are intermediate fuel and rest stops.  |
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On the following pages are digital photos taken during the trip. Most of them were taken from inside the plane and the fidelity is greatly effected by the windshield which after 53 years is showing noticeable discoloration. Also, the images have been reduced in size and memory to provide for reduced downloading time. In spite of the reduced photo memory size, download may take a while. The original photos have been reduced to 800 pixel width size and further reduced for page display to 400 pixel width. To view any of the photos at the higher 800 resolution increased size, click on the photo. You will have to use your 'BACK' key to return to this webpage. TRIP LOG AND PHOTOS DAY 1 For the first day, the route began from Auburn to Abbotsford, B.C., to clear Candadian Customs with an intermediate stop at Lynden Washington to await scheduled time to cross the Canadian border.. From Abbotsford, the route followed the Fraser River to Williams Lake with an intermediate stop at Lilooett. Williams Lake was selected for the first overnight stop. Accomodations were made at the The Super 8 Motel. The distance flown during the day was approximately 98 miles to Lynden, and 6 miles to cross the border for a total of 104 nautical miles to Abbotsford. The route then followed the Frazer River for 120 miles to Lillooet and then an additional 91 miles to Williams Lake. The total for the day was 315 nautical miles in about 4 hours flying tinme. |
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DAY 2 For the Second day, after checking the weather, it was decided to fly to Smithers and then follow the Cassiar Highway to Dease Lake and onward to Watson Lake and Whitehorse. From Williams Lake the chosen route was to fly to Prince George for a stop and then onward to Smithers. The Cassiar highway route was selected in that the 2004 trip had gone up the Trench and neither Bill or Dave had been over the Cassiar route. Weather reports incicated that the weather was marginal at Whitehorse but was expectred to improve and that the Cassiar route waould be VFR conditions for the next day. Because of a late start and the deteriorating weather it was decided to overnight at Smithers.. The distance flown during the day was approximately 105 miles to Prince George and then 175 miles to Smithers for a total of 279 miles. in about 3 1/2 hours flying time |
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DAY 3 For the third day, after checking the weather, it was decided to fly to attempt to follow follow the Cassiar Highway to Dease Lake and and onward to Watson Lake and Whitehorse. Visibility and clouds were satisfactory at Smithers but closed in rather rapidly about 50 miles north of Smithers. Two layers of clouds began to merge with the upper clouds becoming solid and the lowerground clouds obscuring ground vision. An attempt was mdade to proceed to Dease Lake as reported weather from there to Watson Lake looked passable for VFR. However the clouds won out and the decision was made to turn back while there was still sufficient fuel to return to Smithers or Terrace. It was decided to return to Terrace and consider going to Prince Rupert and up the coast. A landing was made at Terrace for fuel and the route was then to Prince Rupert and then to Ketchikan. Marginal VFR conditions were again encountered near Ketchikan but the runway was easily seen in rather heavy rainfall. The distance flown during the day was approximately 106 miles north up the Cassiar Highway and then 111 miles back south to Terrace. From Terrace the route was west 66 miles to Prince Rupert and then 78 miles north to Ketchikan. Total mileage for the day was approximately 361 miles in about 4 hours flying time. |
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   on the following envelope:   This page and the other associated pages covering the Alaska 2007 adventure have been assembled by Bill Whitney for his personal pleasure and the possible enjoyment of his friends and visitors. There is no commercial intent and viewers utilize any information presented herein at their own risk. |