Alaska's Ultimate Bush Pilots | Episode 1: Meet Island Air | FD Real Show

[Music] this is the team of Island Air every day they Risk Everything Kodiak Peaks and wicked Seas make the island the world's most treacherous place to fly these are the tales of Alaska's ultimate Bush Pilots foreign Island one of the most volatile areas of Alaska kodiak's extreme weather rugged landscape and rough Seas make this place the deadliest piece of the planet to access by bush plane for over 30 years we've got an annual coming up in about two months Bob Stanford an Island Air have kept Kodiak running and all summer long this plane's been working hard three one go ahead from flights to remote villages to transporting hunters and Anglers on adventures of a lifetime all right guys we're ready let's load up do it let's go hunting [Music] here down there the fleet consists of a Piper Cherokee Six we've got a de Havilland Beaver on floats and a Britain Norman Islander they're all very tough airplanes they're pickup trucks of the North yeah we're just dropping off mail I think we got a little bit of freight for him it takes more than just machines to make this business work so the wind is going down which is good Emily pack is the dispatcher at Island Air we're not moving she keeps everything on the ground running smoothly I love Island Air we're all a big family and we watch out for each other in the air Bob has veteran pilot Eric Howard I wanted to fly here in Kodiak for the the challenge lots of adventure around here float plane pilot in training Peter Rosenthal the pilot on the cargo guy that'll be a jack of all airplane trades to do the kind of flying up here we're a Lifeline to everybody out here that's the story here you go Shannon there's the last of it I like flying I always have that's where I go to my happy place Beaver is a 54. Pilots of 56 they're both good years you know [Music] seven dew points meteorologist Craig Eckard forecasts the weather on Kodiak so this this evening storm should be pretty interesting here's the main front from this giant low out in the Bering Sea precipitation is all on right over Kodiak this looks like 35 maybe 40 knots three days ago Bob dropped off a couple hunters in Hidden Basin the storm has turned their trip of a lifetime into a nightmare we're in a bad spot uh we need we need help the wind speeds have reached 50 miles per hour and have destroyed their tent Without Shelter hypothermia could set in within a matter of hours we need something we need help the hunters are requesting an emergency rescue flight but the weather has grounded Island airs planes 40 miles per hour is a no-goat for our airplanes from the forecast we got two more days of bad winds coming in the rain we know we're not flying we're used to fast-moving weather but it's it's not moving it's just sitting here churning away on us the hunters need help we're soaking wet we're cold but it's not coming anytime soon [Music] a massive storm has brought kodiak's air traffic to a standstill bearing the brunt of the weather a group of hunters in Hidden basins we need help and we need it soon they've called Island Air for an emergency rescue flight but the planes are grounded because of a severe storm the weather's the biggest obstacle these low pressure areas built out there in that environment they just come barreling down you know along the Alaska Peninsula and you know it's bad is when they stop and decide to park here for a little while this storm's not moving so all the hunters can do is hunker down and wait [Music] overnight the storm has slowed slightly giving Bob a chance to rescue the desperate Hunters looked out there the winds dropped I see Sunshine off the east it's like you know go time outbound Middle Bay clear [Music] and I saw that wins down or weather break you don't know when they're going to come but when they do you just pick it here off we go temperatures drop to 39 degrees last night and the island was pelted with three inches of rain they probably are potentially a pretty miserable knife Bob has no idea what shape the hunters are in we're breaking records with rain when we've got nothing but rain and fog ahead of us by just looking at the Rivers right here they are there's a lot of water here I mean these overflowing their Banks I'm expecting them to be right into this area but on this 3 500 square mile island locating a few Hunters is like looking for a needle in a haystack oh there they are [Music] [Music] it's an interesting tent set up there with the tarp I'm guessing the wind came falling through here and just blew their whole Camp flat it's a good way to stay warm and dry right there [Music] hey how you guys doing got swamped that's why we were sleeping tonight the hunters have survived the frigid Night by using their tarp as shelter can't stay out there for long without a tent so worst price he came and we're happy to see it I asked him blown 40 50 goes all above that trying to keep the 10 up standing there it breaks flat they don't have a single dry item in their camp breaking the storm is quickly coming to an end angry skies are lighting up the Horizon and the wind speeds are ramping up again making takeoff a challenge [Music] there's a big swell there 10 foot Seas I thought it died down but it must have been just for that moment now the question becomes can they make it back home [Music] unwavering commitment is a requirement in this dangerous business so we're definitely not going anywhere today I don't want to say definitely about the weather is really not looking good every day the pilots are faced with life and death choices dangers that Bob knows all too intimately and Tom Larson it happened June 30th of 1995 one of the few dates I can remember we flew out to a village and picked up a group of people they were all close friends we all knew each other there was a line of nine of us and I was in the lead I flew around a place called unizinki Narrows which is all over water I had this gut feeling to hang around and wait for Chris you know everything in my life my natural life told me this is not what I should do I flew down to the Basin landed in the shower Chris got into the pass but he tried to turn around at the very narrowest portion of the pass [Music] about 10 minutes later I heard these Villa all these Sirens headed back up there just going by me and I knew right there [Music] you you see crosses on the side of the Hill I see the faces [Music] change me as a pilot change me as a person well it affected me it still does gale force wins and heavy rains have hit Kodiak Island the break in the system has allowed Island Air to rescue the hunters from hidden basin but the calm window in the storm is closing fast Bob has precious little time to make it back to base quite a swell these Big C is easily it just shows right in the water so I'm between those areas you're gonna have shears shears are quick changes in wind direction that can be deadly I'm just gonna stay down mission accomplished foreign the windows that's what we got to do as I got flooded and this morning about four in the morning we got a Yale force wind in kind of broke the tent up it's so great to hear Island Air today he playing boss [Music] Kodiak is one of the toughest places to fly in the world rapidly changing weather rough seas and high mountain peaks make this a location that only the best Pilots can navigate I would say we average 75 hours of training and it takes probably a month and a half two months to get a pilot online [Music] hey Bob working for Bob's unique because he will take a brand new pilot to Alaska and train you up from day one Alaska flying let's go on down and we'll see how you do I started flying in high school in Richardson Texas my dad was an airline pilot his dad was also a pilot I always wanted to be a pilot so I packed a couple bags and moved to Kodiak so we might just do a couple of loops around I'm sure my grandpa's looking down I'd be really stoked on what I'm doing and my dad's always decided to hear my new stories let me show you something on this line Island Air only accepts pilots who have finished traditional flight school they need that experience under their belt before they can tackle a float plane all right when you get into the beaver there's no wheels on it it's only floats not to fight Mother Nature you won't work to do this job you need to be pretty confident in what you do you definitely learn from your mistakes so we're just gonna practice sailing into this ramp he's tacking the plane basically driving it right in front of the ramp and then he's going to shut it off hip hop goes right ready you notice how it shifts so the plane will consistently move this way so he has to get over on the corner and it'll slide back to it but the only way to figure that out is Miss the dock 20 times this way this is a fun stuff you don't like it this ain't a good place to come fly how much feels he got on board add a little power cut it cut it cut it cut it it's there um Bob knows what he's doing and he can be pretty intense he'll let you know when you're doing something wrong and he'll let you know when you're doing something right now swing your tail that way [Music] and then but you had to kill the engine [Music] you can either fly or you can't when they come to me I go out and figure that out really quickly what I want to know is how to apply them for our environment all right good job you can see yourself grow I'm completely different pilot than I was when I got up here we're just going to call it good for now okay yeah I'll be in about seven minutes flying is second nature to veteran pilot Bob Stanford I've got some gusts coming here he's had his wings for 30 years and has weathered everything Kodiak has thrown at him [Music] been a little overwheld here but at any point things can go south fast hey I've got no problem with it voltages going up too high it should be around 27 volts we're up to 33 that's one of my lights on Bob's alternator has suddenly stopped working a huge problem with the alternator offline the sole source of electricity is the beaver's battery there's always Adventures his first step is to hit reset to get it back online quickly I'm not going to take a chance I'm just going to shut off I want to cook a battery here Bob must conserve what power is left in case the alternator doesn't reset so I got my alternator shut off but if I shut my master off and my GPS goes down you know I've got my chart right here you go right back to your old school what you need to do a younger pilot might panic but with thousands of hours in the Pilot's seat it's no big deal to Bob it's just a machine so it adds a different Quirk and you deal with it the good news is Bob's got Peter flying with him in a second plane the bad news the fogs rolled in and Bob has lost sight of him oh do you have me inside nope I don't okay then I should just be a little bit ahead of you I do not see you [Music] 've been a little overvolved here while on a routine flight Bob's alternator has mysteriously stopped working without an alternator Bob must conserve what battery power he has left I'm just going to shut off I want to cook a battery here Bob knows Peter is close by but can't make visual contact [Music] even though they can't see each other constant radio communication helps them avoid a mid-air Collision but nope I don't okay I couldn't hold it some come around see what we get when we get up here I guess let's go another 100 yards apparently I'm just gonna keep heading this way to make matters worse the storm is beginning to hit again and this time with a vengeance come up a little bit now I'm not gonna get in a hurry never hurts to ask good Lord to be on your side too keep us safe 40 45 out of the piece [Music] finally Bob sees a landmark he recognizes just went by the point there idiot Bob finally puts eyes on Peter you know I've got several more trips down this direction I personally don't think I'm coming back down it's uh it's just too much [Music] good to have this one done [Music] Adam Lutz has been an airplane mechanic in Alaska for the past 10 years you earn your pay on a day like this [Music] one of his favorite planes to work on is the de Havilland beaver these beavers are a part of History they're they're monsters that's it I trust the beaver it's tough It's got a lot of power you can have things go wrong and it's just gonna keep going just a badass [Music] for the team of Island Air being kodiak's Lifeline is more than a business it's a passion I think Kodiak Pilots are some of the best in the world we have to deal with a lot of weather your younger Pilots when they first get here they're scared to death they have a healthy awareness of what's going on if I can't impart what I know the pilots that work here then I've failed [Music]

Channel: FD Real

Views: 95,398

Keywords: Free Documentary, Reality Shows, Reality TV Shows, Show (TV Genre), Documentaries, Factual Entertainment, Factual Television, non-fiction, Best factual series, FD Real, FD Real Show, Alaska's Ultimate Bush Pilots, Alaska's Ultiamte Bush Pilots Full Episodes, Bush Pilots, Kodiak Island Alaska, Island Air Service, Island Air Service Alaska, Alaska Documentary, Alaska The Last Frontier, The Last Frontier, Kodiak, Alaska Pilots, Bush Pilot Alaska, Dangerous Flights

Id: DWoxh3sF09k

Length: 21min 35sec (1295 seconds)

Published: Wed Dec 07 2022