Seaplanes Anyone?

There wont be much substance in this post. Even less than usual!

This one is all about the photos.

My second trip to Anchorage this summer resulted in a perfect day for a bike ride. Temps started out in the 50's with no wind and sunny skies. The bike rental shop hooked me up with a nice road bike and pointed me towards one of the nicer trails around the town.

First stop...the train station...where I got a shot of this GP-40 ready to go to work.

Then back on the trail.

This particular trail runs along the coastline and winds up back near the Anchorage airport.

And what a fine trail it is!! Very scenic.

I couldn't pass up a great day like this without visiting the Lake Hood seaplane base. It is the busiest seaplane base in the world. It is co-located at the Anchorage airport.

I had to so a double take when I saw this one! How many general aviation people have ever seen a Cessna 195 on floats? This was a rare sight.Cessna U206Piper PA-14 CruiserSome of these are a little blurry. Remember, I was shooting from a bike.Piper PA-18 Super CubDe Havilland DHC-2 BeaverPiper PA-18 Super CubAnother rare sight was this Helio Super Courier H-295Cessna 208 Grand CaravanYes, I know it's not a seaplane but what fun this must be to fly and land just about anywhere off the pavement.

I could have remained for hours. The action on the lake was very entertaining, but it was time to return. So back to the trail I went with a watchful eye for any wildlife.




With the bike returned to the shop, all that was left was a short rest-up and clean-up before leaving on the all-nighter back to Texas. The days are starting to get a little shorter now, but the first hour of flight still allowed for some great sightseeing just before darkness fell.No more Alaska trips for me this year. Service from DFW will cease at the end of September only to resume again next spring. I'm looking forward to another trip North next year.




For a look at some more of my photos, please aviate over to Plane & Simple.