Alaskan Winds Scenery Manager

It is my great pleasure to announce that AW525 Richard Johnson has accepted my invitation to assume the Alaskan Winds Scenery Manager position!



I'll say that Richard has been doing the part for a long time. From scenery design to website/uploads/downloads management he has been doing it all - so it is only fair that his work may be recognized as such.
Furthermore - and this is important to me as you will understand - Richard has this thing of being on the right place at the right time saving a lot of effort. And so it was because of it that, for instance, the Yukon Quest scenery package was possible - when I was ready to go all default! (And those frozen rivers! ...I know, I know they're Holger's, RJ ;D)



I will write what I wrote for our Chief Pilot a few days ago, as it still holds true:

Alaskan Winds has set its goal to be among the very best - and therefore we must provide the same to our pilots. I firmly believe that Richard Johnson qualifies. I will turn to him for help and support on future Alaskan Winds projects, and there will be many.
And I'm sure that if you ask him something within the realm of a virtual company Scenery Manager competences he will be glad to assist you.

Just remember, at Alaskan Winds we Fly! So I'm by no means asking RJ to sit behind a desk and spend his time with paper work :) In other words, time is precious, we're all grown men (and women) with our share of real life responsibilities and we all want to enjoy this great hobby of ours!

Thanks, Richard, my honor in having you as Alaskan Winds Scenery Manager!

The Loose Goose!

The N579AW "Loose Goose" is the first FSX original repaint for the Alaskan Winds fleet, coming out of the paint shop of the skilled couple, Ida & Steen "Stones" Jaszczak, Alpha-Whikey-Five-Seven-Niner.
It was produced in record time and yet to great standards! And these two promise not to stop here, so stay tuned. Better yet, come along and hop to controls of the "Loose Goose" for some fun flying!
A Big Thank You to both, from the Alaskan Winds Main Office!

Alaskan Winds Chief Pilot

It is my great pleasure to announce that AW403 Samuel Weyermann has accepted my invitation to assume the Alaskan Winds Chief Pilot position!



Several factors influenced my choice:

* Samuel's attention to other pilots' activity, cheerfully commenting each entry in the monthly logbooks. I guess you'd call it good human relations' skills!
* The fact that he is both confident and happy at the controls of a wide range of aircraft, be it a Pilatus PC-6, a Boeing 727, or a Jayhawk helicopter, also displaying knowledge of the various aircraft systems.
* And last but not least, the fact that he is a (real world) pilot - with experience in gliders and several single piston engine aircraft.

Now, you may wonder if anything is going to change, given the fact that Alaskan Winds has no mandatory requisitions of any kind:
No, nothing is going to change in Alaskan Winds current policy. All that is expected from Alaskan Winds pilots remains exactly as outlined on this page.

But Alaskan Winds has set its goal to be among the very best - and therefore we must provide the same to our pilots. I firmly believe that Samuel Weyermann qualifies. I will turn to him for help and support on future Alaskan Winds projects, and there will be many.
And I'm sure that if you ask him something within the realm of a virtual company Chief Pilot competences he will be glad to assist you.

Just remember, at Alaskan Winds we Fly! So I'm by no means asking Samuel to sit behind a desk and spend his time with paper work :) In other words, time is precious, we're all grown men (and women) with our share of real life responsibilities and we all want to enjoy this great hobby of ours!

Thanks, Samuel, my honor in having you as Alaskan Winds Chief Pilot!

The Last Great Race on Earth!

(Capt. Weyermann wrapping up the support flights stage 1 with a cargo from Nulato to Nome)

...that's how the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race is know around the four corners of the world. And from about those same places, every year, a great number of veteran and rookie mushers sign up for the "one thousand fourty nine" - as the song goes! - miles from Anchorage into Nome.


(Capt. Weyermann arriving to Willow for the Race start)

And for the 7th year since 2001 Alaskan Winds is doing its Virtual Iditarod, one of the greatest times of the year for our pilots, when everyone leaves everything behind and it is just about flying! For some 10 days or more, Alaskan Winds Pilots root for their favorite mushers and follow them as close as possible, in the stunning Alaskan skies and through its majestic mountain ranges, flats, river beds, and into the great open spaces of the Norton Sound, where the Bering Sea winds blow fiercely, even when there's only clear blue skies above.


(Capt. Paz flying over the Skwentna checkpoint into PASW)

The race is on and, at the time of this writing, Team Norway's Kjetil Backen was the first Musher into Nikolai, at 10:39 Alaska Time.


(Capt. Fender enroute to Finger Lake)

Like if often happens, aircraft fall behind the mushers in the race - and I'm writing this note and not flying because, with the weather closing in as I was reaching AK6 Pass this evening, my plans to fly through Rainy Pass into Rohn had to be "revised"!


(Capt. Johnson also flying to Finger Lake)

So I leave you with some of the early images of the trail. They may not look much, but yes, that's the way it goes. You have to live it....


(Capt. Chambers parking at Winter Lake Lodge)