RV on a ship

Yep....'somewhere in the '69 - 72 timeframe IIRC but memory is a bit hazy

PA12DRVR wrote:
I had the good fortune to be in RAA's old office in the Pennys building with my old man when Bob said into the phone that "If that's what it takes to get my price, I'll have a check there tomorrow afternoon".....a check for what? 2 or 3 (I can't recall now) Lockheed Electras. The Good Old Days.

Hope that was the post-earthquake Penny's building. Don't think I would have wanted to spend much time in the old one around March 1964!

Flew on a Combi on the milk run last fall from Ketchikan to Anchorage....ever seen a 737 do "map-of-the-earth" like a SuperCub? Pretty impressive....think it was the Petersburg - Wrangell leg(s) where the thing never got above about 4500 feet.

Flew a Combi from Seattle to Los Anchorage a couple of weeks ago, well Christmas Day to be exact....late switch of A/C; of course, I had used miles to upgrade to 1st class, but the agent was pretty good about it: gave me my miles back and let me have "any seat you'd like"....none of which were any better than the others.

"Back in the day": the DC-6's and Convairs were more often than not "combi's", but the "freight" wasn't so containerized; was pretty interesting to see some of the stuff just piled in and then netted down.

RAA went the way of the dinosaur (IMO) primarily due to some bad business decisions, but the relatively quick shutdown of the government transport needs on the chain certainly had to be a contributing factor. It may also have been that something was lost when the 2nd generation took over (that's not unique to RAA): I had the good fortune to be in RAA's old office in the Pennys building with my old man when Bob said into the phone that "If that's what it takes to get my price, I'll have a check there tomorrow afternoon".....a check for what? 2 or 3 (I can't recall now) Lockheed Electras.

The Good Old Days....:)

The planes are called "Combi"s because of the combination of passengers and freight. Alaska Airlines bought some newer 737 units a year or two ago. They fly them every day in southeast Alaska from Seattle to Anchorage stopping in most of the towns on the milk run.

Bill

PA12DRVR wrote:
I think I made 4 flights to Shemya (for that project) and on one of them the outgoing 727 did consecutive 90 degree rolls (opposite directions)....a very interesting experience.

I was there in 1992, but, thank God, the 727s I was on never rolled! That 727 was interesting in other ways too. Our seats were at the rear where the 727's onboard stairs were located and the cargo rode between us and the cockpit. The plane had a large side cargo door that could be used to unload the cargo with a forklift.

I read that Reeve Aleutian Airways is no longer in business. Maybe because Adak and Attu shut down and Shemya's military contingent was removed in favor of contractors? No more military contracts, no more airline? There weren't many other reasons to fly to any of the Aleutians, especially the ones 1,500 miles from Anchorage!

Despite the "we don't need the Feds telling what to do" attitude in Alaska, a lot of Alaskans and Alaska companies are still dependent on Federal agencies and spending for jobs. My consulting experience was that even Anchorage's oil-fueled economy would be hurt badly if the Feds suddenly pulled the plug on Elmendorf and Ft. Rich!

One of my friends was transferred to Shemya when I was in the AF in the 70s. I had never heard of it until then. I'm not sure if it's still open or not. Many of those sites either went contract or shut down.

fanrgs wrote:

Trackrig wrote:
Then there are several barge lines. There's AML (Alaska Marine Lines) which is part of the Lynden Transport companies. . . Also the barges take about 14 days to make it from the States to Anchorage because they stop in all of the various ports to load and unload cargo. Bill

AML was the shipper that the AF used to resupply Shemya Island. It took a month to get there from Seattle and they got two barges a year--one in April and one in October.

Because Shemya had no natural harbor, the barge had to wait until the Bering Sea swells died down sufficiently to land at the dock on the NW side of the island. I got there in early November and the October barge had been anchored offshore for a month waiting to dock and unload. The day after we arrived, it finally docked. The crew and the RORO truck drivers worked 24 hours a day to unload, so the barge could get out before another storm came in.

The barge also had massive fuel tanks. Six months worth of fuel oil for the power plant and diesel and gasoline for all the vehicles had to be pumped into the tank farm at the same time the containers were being unloaded. It was a very impressive operation, planned almost to the minute, to get the job done as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Wow....this takes me back. Did a construction project on Shemya in the early 90's and the boiler and air handlers were on the October barge. The boilermakers ended up getting two -three weeks of pay while we waited for the weather to die down enough for the barge to get in. A heat exchanger fell overboard during that time.....in the end, it was clear why we typically put a 200 - 300% markup on all of the soft costs (labor, OH, freight) of doing work in the Aleutians.

I think I made 4 flights to Shemya (for that project) and on one of them the outgoing 727 did consecutive 90 degree rolls (opposite directions)....a very interesting experience.

Trackrig wrote:
Then there are several barge lines. There's AML (Alaska Marine Lines) which is part of the Lynden Transport companies. . . Also the barges take about 14 days to make it from the States to Anchorage because they stop in all of the various ports to load and unload cargo. Bill

AML was the shipper that the AF used to resupply Shemya Island. It took a month to get there from Seattle and they got two barges a year--one in April and one in October.

Because Shemya had no natural harbor, the barge had to wait until the Bering Sea swells died down sufficiently to land at the dock on the NW side of the island. I got there in early November and the October barge had been anchored offshore for a month waiting to dock and unload. The day after we arrived, it finally docked. The crew and the RORO truck drivers worked 24 hours a day to unload, so the barge could get out before another storm came in.

The barge also had massive fuel tanks. Six months worth of fuel oil for the power plant and diesel and gasoline for all the vehicles had to be pumped into the tank farm at the same time the containers were being unloaded. It was a very impressive operation, planned almost to the minute, to get the job done as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Trackrig wrote:
Yes, Clear AFS is still operational, just south of Anderson. Not sure why it is, but it is. It is being run more and more by civilians working for DoD or contractors that work for the Air Force. . . .

In the beginning Clear consisted of three large slightly curved radar screens. Considering that most of you were watching football today, these screens, if laid flat, are larger than a football field. . . .

So the sites have continued to live and often receive upgrades. They've added new radars, additional back up power supplies, updated housing for both the military and civilians and a lot more. Bill

When I was on Shemya Island (Eareckson AFB/Station) in 1992, it had a smaller version of the same type and vintage of active, curved radar antenna. It was about the size of a large drive-in theater screen (for those old enough to know what they looked like), but was supposedly used for warning of military aircraft takeoffs from fields in Siberia.

The entire base was being converted to automated systems requiring only a few contractor personnel for maintenance. AF personnel were later moved out, to their everlasting relief, as spending a 12-month tour on Shemya definitely deserved hardship pay.

Regarding Joe's comment about "staying clear of Clear," the Shemya antenna was set right on the edge of the seacliff and was on the opposite side of the island from the runway, facing away from the landing pattern. That way, no one could walk, drive, or fly directly in front of it. But, once a week or so, someone had to scoop up the pile of dead birds (fried by the antenna) at the bottom of the cliff and haul them to the dump!

I was in the AF for 22 years and tried to get to Alaska for most of my career. I applied for a special duty assignment testing A-10s in sub zero at Fairbanks and it looked like I was going to get it. About halfway through the application process I got an assignment to Germany instead. I got another assignment that was classified. All I knew was that I would be assigned to Richardson, but would be gone most of the time. It was a four year tour and families weren't encouraged to go with you. I turned it down because of the timing and put in my retirement papers. I wish I would have taken it.