Essay on History of Alaska’s Aviation Infrastructure

To begin this paper, we should have an understanding of what Alaska likes. Alaska is no small state by any means stretching as far as 663,267 square miles. With that said Alaska is known for its cold climate with mountains, hill, and more. Not just that but you can also find blizzard and having snow year-round. Pilots that fly in these areas should be ready for IFR conditions. Alaska is also home to forests, lakes, and a diverse amount of wildlife. Also housing to cities and towns like Fairbanks, Anchorage, and Juneau.

With the stage set, we can start to better understand the importance of Alaska’s aviation infrastructure. We should start by taking a look at its beginnings. Starting with Carl Ben Eielson, a soon to be bush pilot from Hatton, North Dakota. During World War I, Ben Eielson enlisted into the U.S. Army Air Service, where he started his flying. After Eielson got his wings, he went back home to North Dakota. On February 11, 1920, his club, which he helped found, bought an airplane. Eielson would make money by giving lessons, holding exhibition flights and rides with this plane. He would later be persuaded to move to Alaska, motivated by the idea that Alaska could be something amazing though air travel. With that said, Eielson would find himself buying an aircraft, which he would give eight-minute rides to paying customers. More importantly, Eielson started using the plane to deliver supplies like medicine and bring people to mining camps and other places in Alaska. Following this, he would get a contract to ship mail to McGrath, a remote place. Carl Ben Eielson the bush pilot, would later be known for being the first airmail pilot in Alaska (Erikmoen, 2011).

Other pilots that are noteworthy was Oscar Winchell. From Verdigre, Nebraska, born November 19, 1903, Winchell was like many other pilots in the fact he started with Jenny. A short time later, Winchell discovered that Pioneer Airways was flying around Anchorage and the Kuskokwim area. Oscar Winchell would eventually fly for Star Air Service and Alaska Airlines (Dickson, n.d).

While on the topic of Star Airlines, John E. Waterworth was born on December 2, 1906. Waterworth would later in life buy a bunch of biplanes and move them to Alaska in the spring of 1932. With some funding from some locals, he found Star Air Service (Dickson, n.d).

Finally, but not least, a person who had a huge impact on Alaska is Noel Wien. On June 8, 1899, Noel Wien was born in Lake Nebagamon, Wisconsin. Wien started his flying career as an extra pair of hands for a barnstorming group, which later taught him how to fly. Wien would later move to Alaska scoring a job as a Hisso Standard biplane pilot. Around July 1924, Noel Wien would fly from Anchorage to Fairbanks, back and forth. Adding on to that, he would later be the first to fly to Seattle from Fairbanks. 1927 would be a notable year for Wien because he found Wien Air Alaska, the very first of many airlines to come to Alaska. Noel Wien would continue to fly, known as the ‘the Arctic Ace’ for all his accomplishments (Darvell, 2015).

Something that Noel Wien and Carl Ben Eielson shared was that they were bush pilots. Bush pilots were known for flying in nasty terrain and areas with no landing strips or runways. What made bush flying important was that it gave access to places that were once unable to get to or just not very easy to. For our example, Alaska, which is home to many remote places like the one mentioned earlier, McGrath. Bush pilots would be at the forefront of delivering mail, food, and most importantly medicines (The Canadian Encyclopedia, 2006).

Finally, the most important tool for a bush pilot, the plane. For most Alaskan pilots it would be the Curtiss JN-4 Jenny and the HS-2L. The Curtiss JN-4 or better known as Jenny was easily one of the most aircraft. This mainly has to do with the fact that more than ninety percent of American pilots during World War I were trained on Jenny (Smithsonian natural air and space museum, 2019). Jenny is one of many aircraft from the military surplus that could be found on most pilots leaving World War I.

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Following all of this came the rise of airfields in Alaska. Like it was stated earlier bush pilots didn’t find themselves near any landing strips or runways. Insisted bush pilots would find places to land like Baseball fields, hayfields, and other patches of open clear land. In fact, around 1929, Alaska was said to have about 44 landing fields. Of course, this was not where it ended. With the help of radiotelephone stations, but this came with its problems (George, 2018).

Legislation and other regulations came to Alaska to no one's surprise. One of these was the 1937 Alaska Aeronautics and Commission. The commission covers the installation of aviation equipment and activity. Seen through the building of weather stations and other equipment like radio-telephone stations (George, 2018).

All these upgrades and focus on the aviation section of Alaska helped really strengthen it, making sure that aviation in Alaska would be around for a long time to come. Regulations in Alaska also have their placed too. One regulation on March 22, 1943, made it so that Alaskan aircraft must carry emergency rations. That same one would also add maps that indicated commercial routes, radio stations in use, and areas for irregular routes (Grorge, 2018).

Moving on to airlines, note that there is a fair bit of them throughout Alaska. One of them being Alaska Airlines, a giant in Alaska. Alaska Airlines had it starts as bush pilots. One of those pilots being Linious McGee, the founder. Moving its way up the ladder by buying other airlines to make one big one. Alaska Airlines would later buy a huge amount of aircraft from military surpluses. Leading to the airline opening a route around 1951 from Portland, Seattle, Fairbanks, even Juneau. After getting a jetliner, Alaska Airlines would become a regional airline (Crowly, 2000).

Another airline that was mention during this paper was Star Air Service. Mentioned earlier Star Air Service was founded by Jack Waterworth and others. The day Star Air Service was founded was April 1932. In the beginning, it was about giving flight instruction and charter services later having commercial operations around 1933. Star Air Service would later buy McGee Airways, Arctic Airways, and Alaska Interior Airways. By 1944 Star Airlines would officially switch to the name Alaska Airlines Inc (Alaska Airlines, n.d).

Now of days Alaska has all types of airlines. With Taquan Air, Wings of Alaska, and others like Evergreen Helicopters. Matter of fact, the importance of aviation is crucial. For starts, one of the most obvious reasons for its importance is transportation. Like it was stated earlier, Alaska has many remote areas that ether take days to get to or are just too rough to travel, with about 82% of Alaska’s towns and cities being inaccessible by road. Another reason for aviation's importance in Alaska is the movement of materials, medical services, and overall goods. Playing a big role in the economy of Alaska. By doing simple things like keeping track of documents, communications, and helping pilots flying (Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities, 2018).

Overall, aviation in Alaska is a crucial part of life. Without the accessible and the communication that aviation has brought is Alaska would definitely have a harder time. The amount of people that have benefited is also undeniable. Whether it’s a person in need of a certain medicine, looking for a job in aviation, or just trying to get to travel, aviation has helped fulfilled that.