[AKTransAM]

This one is from a few years ago, and showed up in my FB memories and reminded me of a fun day. When a friend calls you out of the blue and asks if if you want to play hooky in his 50's vintage Cessna, you say yes (as an aside, the Cessna is actually more fuel-efficient than my 77 Trans-Am that's in the 1st pic ). He was about to fly up to the Juneau Icefield since he hadn't removed the skis from his Cessna yet, and wanted to do one last trip up there before removing them. I let the boss know I was taking off from the office and left work for the day. I hadn't been up there yet, so figured it'd be fun. Since Wikipedia can describe things much better than I can:

"The Juneau Icefield is an ice field located just north of Juneau, Alaska, continuing north through the border with British Columbia,[1] extending through an area of 3,900 square kilometres (1,500 sq mi) in the Coast Range ranging 140 km (87 mi) north to south and 75 km (47 mi) east to west. The icefield is the source of many glaciers including the Mendenhall Glacier and the Taku Glacier. The icefield is home to over 40 large valley glaciers and 100 smaller ones. The Icefield serves as a tourist attraction with many travellers flown in by helicopter for quick walks on the 240-to-1,400-metre (790 to 4,590 ft) deep ice and the massive, awe-inspiring moist crevasses. The icefield, like many of its glaciers, reached its maximum glaciation point around 1700 and has been in retreat since. In fact, of the icefield's 19 notable glaciers, the Taku Glacier is the only one presently advancing. Much of the icefield is contained within the Tongass National Forest. Since 1948, the Juneau Icefield Research Program has monitored glaciers of the Juneau Icefield. On the west side of the icefield, from 1946-2009, the terminus of the Mendenhall Glacier has retreated over 700 metres (0.43 mi)."

Anyhow, it's one of the local landmarks that I still hadn't checked out, so I couldn't refuse. After gassing up his plane, myself, my colleague, and his dog squeezed in and after flying over a few glaciers and amazing valleys, made it up to the icefield for lunch and a ski/snowshoeing day. I don't care for skiing, so I used snowshoes, and was thus considerably slower than my athletic colleague who was up front skiing. Quite an amazing place. The peaks in the icefield don't convey the scale-those were mountains.

Cessna and Trans-Am


On the way


Shadow of the Cessna


Valley


Generic glaciers


Landing run 1


Landing run 2


Our ride


Another pic of our ride


Icefield snowshoe walk/ski


Friend skiing ahead way in the distance


Icefield mountains 1


Icefield mountains 2


Icefield mountains 3


Old and still functional


The pooch in back


Mountains and sun on the icefield

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Travelogues section. Thanks for sharing!

Going to our homepage today

[Flying_machines]

It must be an amazing experience, I always dreamt of flying a 172 or a Caravan there, with your post it has reignited the wish!!!

[AKTransAM]

Originally Posted by Flying_machines

It must be an amazing experience, I always dreamt of flying a 172 or a Caravan there, with your post it has reignited the wish!!!

Yes it was a very fun day for sure, getting up there.

[ryzen7@5800u]

That's a beautiful airplane! Which Cessna is it - maybe a 170? I'm also curious to know how does one maintain a 70 year old aircraft.
New destination added to the bucket list - Juneau!

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by AKTransAM

This one is from a few years ago, and showed up in my FB memories and reminded me of a fun day. [/ATTACH]

What a superb read! Your photos also are simply wonderful. You are actually motivating me to become another ‘Walter Mitty’.

May I also know, ref the Senior Dog in the picture. Does he not like/ need a coat or sweater and mitts in those areas?

[AKTransAM]

Originally Posted by ryzen7@5800u

I'm also curious to know how does one maintain a 70 year old aircraft.

Yes, it's a Cessna 170B. As far as maintenance goes, all I know is that's never been an issue for my friend. Easy parts availability and such, as well as mechanics to work on them.

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

What a superb read! Your photos also are simply wonderful. You are actually motivating me to become another ‘Walter Mitty’.

If I recall, I think the dog had a dog coat on when we got out on the icefield, but she didn't need mitts or anything. She enjoyed running around.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by ryzen7@5800u

I'm also curious to know how does one maintain a 70 year old aircraft.
!

Originally Posted by AKTransAM

Yes, it's a Cessna 170B. As far as maintenance goes, all I know is that's never been an issue for my friend. Easy parts availability and such, as well as mechanics to work on .

Not a problem as mentioned. In the USA the average age of so called GA (general aviation) is creeping toward 50 years as it is!

Obviously, all plane need to adhere to very strict maintenance checks and procedures. The biggest problem with most (aluminium) older planes is corrosion.
Often difficult to spot unless you start taking things apart.

There are literally thousands and thousand of old planes about. Cessna being the most abundant one, as they have produced more GA single prop planes than any other manufacturer.

When I took my check ride in 2009, to obtain my private pilot license it was on a 50 year old Cessna 152!

Jeroen

[ryzen7@5800u]

Originally Posted by AKTransAM

Yes, it's a Cessna 170B. As far as maintenance goes, all I know is that's never been an issue for my friend. Easy parts availability and such, as well as mechanics to work on them.

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Not a problem as mentioned. In the USA the average age of so called GA (general aviation) is creeping toward 50 years as it is!

I wonder how the bureaucrats of Delhi would react seeing many 50-year old aircraft flying

I hope it's not too off-topic to ask, but I'm still curious. The 170 being a tail-dragger, I'd assume that not too many parts are common with the 172/182 etc. Does Cessna still offer spares support, or are there aftermarket replacement manufacturers like cars? I read that for older jet aircraft like the 707 and 727, hush kits are legally mandated. Is this also the case for GA aircraft?
I'm sorry if this goes too off-topic, I've never had the chance to ask questions about these aircraft from people in the know

[AKTransAM]

Originally Posted by ryzen7@5800u

I wonder how the bureaucrats of Delhi would react seeing many 50-year old aircraft flying

I hope it's not too off-topic to ask, but I'm still curious. The 170 being a tail-dragger, I'd assume that not too many parts are common with the 172/182 etc. Does Cessna still offer spares support, or are there aftermarket replacement manufacturers like cars? I read that for older jet aircraft like the 707 and 727, hush kits are legally mandated. Is this also the case for GA aircraft?
I'm sorry if this goes too off-topic, I've never had the chance to ask questions about these aircraft from people in the know

I unfortunately would have no idea-I'm a car guy who only tags along in my friends Cessna Jeroen would probably be able to answer your question!