Life at Anchorage International Airport

Vistor at our doorstep

2007-01-19T12:21:00.000-08:00

This has nothing to do with the airport, but I thought I would share it with you. The other day we had a visitor on our doorstep. This young moose came by to eat some of our tree by the deck. Moose are common in my neighborhood and this guy has been coming by every few days for the last couple months.

All Lined up With No Place to go

2007-01-18T18:06:00.000-08:00

Wonder if any of these DC-3's flew over France on D-Day? Not sure who has bought these aircraft, but they have been parked here for a couple months now.

Museum donation

2006-12-11T20:40:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone, sorry it has been so long since I made a post. Been busy with life in general and have been having a hard time getting some good photos with the short days up here.

What we have here is an Alaska Airlines 737-200 series aircraft. This aircraft is being retired and donated to the Aviation Heritage Museum. The photos above show the removal of the good engines which are being replaced with non-serviceable ones. Since the aircraft will just be sitting on display, there is no need to have valuable parts wasting away. Enjoy the photos!

The Fire Trucks Came Running!

2006-10-15T11:59:00.000-07:00

Had some excitement yesterday. An Alaska Airlines flight landed and was told by another aircraft that they had a smoking brake.

The Airport Fire Dept. swung into action and escorted the flight to the gate where mechanics inspected the brake in question. Turns out that a small hydraulic leak and made its way to the brake and caused the smoke. The line was repaired, the brake cleaned up and everything was fine.

Got to admire the speed in which the Airport Fire dept can respond. Those guys are fast!

Fighting traffic

2006-10-15T11:56:00.000-07:00

When working at the airport, you tend to fight traffic of a different kind.

Rather than dodge other cars and trucks, we have to be on the alert for aircraft as they approach and leave the gates. Anything from small commuter airdraft like this PennAir flight to a 747 can cross your path as you drive around.

The last of its kind

2006-10-07T20:47:00.000-07:00

Behold the C-133A Cargomaster. This is the last airworthy Cargomaster left in the world. It does not fly very often, but when it does, the whole airport knows about it.

With an 18 foot prop turn, this fine aircraft makes a lot of noise when it takes off and everyone stops to take a look.

This aircraft is only allowed to fly under special provision. It hauls large items for the state to remote parts of Alaska. Some of its cargo in the last couple years have been school busses, two dump trucks, a road grater and other such large and heavy items.

Here is a good site that documents the history of this lone giant. http://www.ruudleeuw.com/c-133_by_sibitzky.htm

If you are ever in Anchorage and are lucky enough to see this bird fly, you are a witness to a very rare sight indeed!

Ever wonder where your bags go?

2006-10-03T08:45:00.000-07:00

When you check your bags for a flight, do you ever wonder where they go?

After they are placed on the conveyor belt and vanish from sight, your luggage goes into a room where the TSA x-rays it and sometimes opens it up for a visual inspection.

From there, it goes here:

Welcome to the bagwell. In the upper right of the photo, you can see where the bags come down from the TSA screening room. After that they go on the conveyor that is simply a larger version of the one you see at the baggage claim area. As the bags go around, people check the location tags and place the bags into the correct carts that are lined up (you can see them in the left of the photo.

Carts for each flight have a clipboard where the bag count is logged. When it is time for departure, a Ramper simply hooks a tug up to the carts and drives them out to the aircraft for loading.

It sounds simple, but during the tourist season and holidays, this is one of the busiest places at the airport. These photos were taken at 0330 on a Monday. Not much action this time of the morning.

Here is another shot of one of the belts in the bagwell:

Changes over the years....

2006-09-27T09:28:00.001-07:00

The above photo hangs in the break room of what is now the Alaska Airlines Hangar at Anchorage International. As you can see, the hangar was once the home to Northern Consolidated Airlines back in 1954. From what I have been told, the hangar was build in 1951, the same year ANC officially opened. After Northern Consolidated, the hangar was owned by Wein Airlines, MarkAir, and now Alaska Airlines. There may be another owner or two in there somewhere, but these are the ones that I am aware of.

This is a recent shot of the same hangar thanks to Google Maps. Things have changed from the dirt and gravel around the hangar to the pavement and smooth painted lines we see today. The large building at the top of the photo is the Alaska Airlines Cargo Facility. The hangar is currently having some work done on the roof support system. Some of the beams have cracked in recent years due to the winter snow load.

Many things have changed during the last 50 odd years, but the hangar is still there. Look for it next time you are at the airport.

Anchorage Airport- Where Cargo is King

2006-09-26T05:02:00.000-07:00

Here in Anchorage, we see lots of cargo come and go.

Anchorage is a main stopping point between the United States and Asia for cargo jets.

Did you know that ANC is:

#1 Airport in the U.S. for landed weight of cargo aircraft
#1 Airport for excellent service according to a survey in Air Cargo World magazine
#3 Airport in the world for cargo throughput

There are some days where I see between 8 and 12 747 cargo jets on the ground here at ANC at any given time. They stop to refuel and exchange cargo between aircraft. Once I get on the dayshift, I will be sure and get some photos of all these aircraft lined up.

Christmas is coming! So are the cargo jets!

2006-09-20T21:19:00.000-07:00

The sun is about to rise over the Chugach mountains and a Northern Air Cargo DC-6 waits to be loaded with freight for another days work.

Northern Air Cargo used to operate the largest fleet of DC-6 aircraft in the world. When the company was sold Saltchuk Resources in 2006, the decision was made to update the companies fleet and phase out the DC-6.

Today the honor of the largest fleet of operational DC-6 aircraft goes to Evertts Air Cargo based on the other side of the Anchorage Airport.

Propeller driven aircraft are very much in use in Alaska and there are many rare and unique models that are still in service up here.

Many an aviation buff travels up here to see these aircraft fly once more. Many of these aircraft are over 50 years old and got their start in service to the military. While they are considered relics in other parts of the world, their abilities to carry large loads and use short primitive runways make them perfect for use in Alaska.

Medical Emergency at ANC

2006-09-20T06:37:00.000-07:00

Heard there was an emergency landing today. An American Airlines 777 diverted to ANC due to a passenger suffering a heart attack in flight.

Sadly, the person died before the flight could land. What a way to start or end a vacation. I feel sorry for the friends and family.

I forgot my camera again today. I start a daylight shift in two weeks. It will give me the chance to get some much better photos of stuff that goes on around the airport. With the shorter days in Alaska, there is no daylight while I am on shift anymore. Makes the picture taking a bit difficult.

2006-09-15T09:41:00.000-07:00

These guys who work the JAL (Japan Airlines) Cargo flights have it down.

Frist thing in the morning, two or three JAL 747's land within 30 minutes of each other. They line up, cargo is shuffled between the flights, the aircraft is refueled and checked over and they are out and in the air in less than an hour. They haul everything from electronics to cars from Japan headed for auto shows here in the states.

The only bad part is that they park right in front of one of the parts storage rooms we use. Most days it is not a problem, but every now and then I find myself having to work around a crowd of aircraft, trucks, people, and carts to get to the parts room. Makes for a fun time for all.

2006-09-14T07:17:00.000-07:00

I tried my cell phone camera this morning and found that it can take better night shots than my regular digital camera. Not as high of resolution, but it seems to do better in the dark. I will be on a different shift next month and can get some daylight shots of life at ANC.

This is a photo of the only 737-400 freighter aircraft in the world. Alaska airlines converted one of their 737-400 passenger aircraft to a freighter and it went into service this summer. It took a number of years to get the FAA approval for the conversion. Not many people get to see this aircraft because it does not come to the terminal, but rather it pulls up behind the cargo warehouse to unload. That and a 0300 arrival time tend to keep it out of the public eye. It makes several runs a week between Anchorage, Seattle and Juneau. Look for it next time you are in one of these towns.

In the next couple months, the airline will take delivery of some 737-400 "combi" aircraft designed to replace the aging 737-200 fleet. The new 400 series combi will carry more cargo and passengers than the 200's and will only burn a fraction of the fuel. In the coming days I will get some shots of the 200 series 737. These aircraft work very well in Alaska and have been the workhorse of the airline for many years.

Cockpit window crack in Fairbanks

2006-09-13T20:29:00.000-07:00

Last week an MD-80 was on final approach to Fairbanks when the co-pilots side window cracked. Just the inner pane cracked, the outer pane was not damaged. This happened at 3000 feet when the defroster on the window shorted out and caused a power arc. The plane landed with no problems, but was grounded till the window was fixed. I spent a good part of my shift sending parts and tools to Fairbanks for the repair. 6 mechanics, 300 pounds of tools, more parts than you can shake a stick at, and 24 hours later everything was repaired and back to flight status.

These windows are very thick and heavy. If you look at the side cockpit window of an MD-80, you will see that they are not very large, but they weigh over 50 pounds due to the thickness of the glass. None of the mechanics on shift had ever seen such a crack caused by an electrical short before. Window cracks happen from time to time, but are usually caused by ice or the occasional bird that was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

2006-09-13T09:26:00.000-07:00

Not much going on at 0430. The terminal is nearly empty, just a few people sleeping at the gate waiting areas here and there. One thing that lots of folks miss when they pass through the airport is the 1937 Fairchild 24G hanging from the ceiling at the end of the C concourse.

Many people enter the terminal and go to or from gates C1 through C6. The Fairchild is hanging up at the end of the concourse by gates C7 through C9. It is worth a look for sure.

Another nice exibit is at the end of the B concourse. There is a Brown Bear on display over there. Unless you are flying up on United or Northwest, you will miss that one too.

Sorry for the photo quality, I will get a better one next time I am up in the terminal during the daytime.

Gotta love the night shift!

2006-09-13T00:29:00.000-07:00

I have spent most of my time here at the airport on the night shift. Seems that I get off the night crew, but always come back for one reason or another.

Things are usually busy till around 0100, then there is not much action till around 0500 when the morning flights are loaded and readied for the first round of departures at 0600. The mechanics are busy all night long checking each aircraft and doing any scheduled maintenance to insure the aricraft is fit to fly.

I brought my camera with me tonight and will try and take some photos. Not sure how well my camera will work at night. If I am not having very good luck, I will wait till dawn and get some shots then.

Until next time, be sure your tray tables are in their upright and locked postiions.

Welcome to life at ANC!

2006-09-12T03:24:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Life at ANC!

I have worked for Alaska Airlines at the Anchorage International Airport for the last 12 years. I created this place to share some views of life behind the scenes at the airport. This is the stuff that the traveler nevers sees or barely notices as they pass through Anchorage.

Enjoy!