Fairbanks, AK, USA - 08/04/2008

On Monday April the 7th myself, Paul Dunn , Paul Filmer and Mark Rouse set out on what was potentially the trip to end all trips.

Our first morning in Alaska started with a post-breakfast visit to Everts Air's operation at Fairbanks.

Everts Air is made up of three distinct entities; Everts Air Alaska, Everts Air Cargo and Everts Air Fuel. The two former companies are owned by Robert Everts, son of Cliff Everts, the owner of the Everts Air Fuel operation.

Everts Air Alaska deals with the passenger side of the organisation, operating Cessna Grand Caravan and Piper Lance aircraft.

Everts Air Cargo, as the name suggests, provides scheduled freight services to 19 of the major markets in Alaska. They operate a wonderful fleet of Douglas DC-6, Curtis C-46 Commando and Embraer 120 Brasilia aircraft. In addition to Fairbanks, Anchorage is the other main location of the operation.

Everts Air Fuel also operate the DC-6 and C-46 and specialise in the delivery of quality fuels throughout Alaska. Their aircraft are equipped to carry between 2000 and 5000 gallons of fuel at a time. Fairbanks and Kenai are their main hubs, though the latter location is largely inaccessible during the winter.

Upon arrival we were met by our host for the morning, "Rink". A quick visit to the ops room showed that a DC-6 was due to depart imminently, so a quick dash was made for the flightline. We arrived just in time to witness the following sight.

The thin layer of cloud that was in residence made for some very unusual, almost surreal conditions for our first walk around the ramp. In addition to the 'live' aircraft here, Fairbanks also plays home to Cliff's vast collection of other 'toys', many of whom have a rich and varied military history behind them.

Once our walkaround was complete, Rink took us into the hangar to see what was happening. Two DC-6s were in there undergoing maintenance, including the example Skippy had been so keen on seeing, having flown on it some years earlier.

By the time we emerged the conditions had improved markedly, and so another wander was called for - thankfully Rink was more than happy to humour us!

This is Curtis C-46D Commando N54514, "Maid In Japan". She started life as a troop carrier in the USAF, before joining the Japanese Air Defense Force in 1955. She returned to the US in 1978. In 2002 she suffered a landing gear collapse at Fairbanks which caused significant damage to the wing, flap and engine, but she was back in the air in a remarkably short time. It's pretty obvious why she's the pride of the fleet.

N1837M "Hot Stuff", a Curtis C-46F Commando was built in 1945 for the USAF. After WW2 she was leased to a number of airlines before being sold to Wein Alaska Airlines in 1955. Much of her time since then has been spent in Alaska, save for a 17-year break where she was operated by Reindeer Air Services in Canada.

As you can see, she's currently missing an engine.

The time for the arrival of the DC-6 we'd seen departing earlier was now approaching, so we made our way back to where we wanted to shoot her from. She wasn't on the ground long (a quick refill on the tanks) before she sprang into life again.

After lunch in the excellent 'Pikes', over the road from the airport, we returned to catch her returning once more.

The afternoon started in the yard of Brooks Fuel. Roger Brooks, the owner, set the company up in 1986, operating fuel delivery flights within Alaska. In 1997 he was also given a contract to fly cargo and supplies to Bettles Lodge.

Unfortunately no-one was available to give us a guided tour and so we were left to our own devices to wander around the yard.

Whilst on our way to lunch we'd seen one example of a Brooks' DC-4s depart, and this one was receiving some attention, so it seems fairly safe to assume that at least two of the aircraft in the 'collection' are still flyers.

It's not impossible that the yellow-cheatlined example below is also airworthy. A shot of it 2005 showed it to be propellar-less at the time, so some progress has been made since then at least.

Another prime example of just how hard these old girls work was provided when our Everts Air Fuel DC-6 from earlier, departed for her third mission of the day!

With everything photographed we headed down the road towards town to shoot the DC-6 nose that was preserved in the roof of one of the nearby shops.

Next stop was at the offices of Northern Air Cargo. This once bustling cargo hub now sees no resident aircraft operations. There are, however, seven Douglas DC-6s in open storage on the ramp.

In 2006 the company was purchased by Saltchuck Resources, a transport holding company. NAC became the first airline to operate under their banner, joining other companies such as TOTE, Delta Western Fuel Co and Inlet Petroleum.

The new ownership brought with it a new fleet. Three Boeing 737-200s, each capable of carrying 30,000lbs of cargo and fitted with roller deck flooring for fast on and off-loading of palletised freight, have enabled NAC to offer better customer service than ever before.

Today, NAC's efforts are concentrated from their remaining Anchorage hub.

Having spotted a Short SD360 Sherpa, or "Shed" on the ramp, an impromptu visit to Arctic Circle Air provided some excellent access to the preparation for and subsequent departure of this old girl. She was off down to Anchorage to spend the night.

All in all, a superb way to start the trip with excellent access and superb hosts throughout. My sincere thanks go to them all.

Next stop Eielson AFB and Red Flag Alaska 08-2.