Hosts:

We are friends who share aviation experiences, Alaskan adventure and the desire to introduce others to the wonders of Alaska and the experience of flight.  Decades of flying in Alaska never grows old but what a special joy it is to see a guest’s eyes open wide and hear the fresh stories that are shared in the evening after a satisfying fun filled day of flying in this great State. 

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Martin & Toni Hinshaw

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Ron & Lisa Galindo

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Instructors:

For each of us, aviation and flying has been an everyday part of our lives. While it has been the necessity of flying that has gained us our experience, it is from the joy of flying that we desire to share that experience.

 

Our aviation background is broad and varied; from Mooney Mite to Boeing 747; from hovering to Mach 2; no engines to 4 engines; floats, wheels, skis and skids, we have flown, owned and operated a wide variety of aircraft.  Aerodynamics, physics and technique can be studied and taught, but the “feel” of flying has to be learned. Drawing from our own experiences, our aim is to not only teach and explain but ultimately to help facilitate that special moment when you yourself start to sense the environment surrounding you and the aircraft protecting you.  You can feel what the aircraft is doing and how it will respond to your touch. There is harmony between you and machine. When that happens, our job is done. Pilot and aircraft are one and the beauty of Alaska comes alive as we explore this great land together.

 

Aircraft and Adventures:

The Beaver

Our DHC2 Beaver is the Queen our our fleet.  She is stately and beautiful in appearance and when she “speaks” the whole lake stops and listens.  The Pratt and Whitney R-985 Wasp Junior radial engine produces 450 hp to pull the float equipped Beaver up on to step and into the air with ease.  Our Beaver has the rare dual controls so you can fly left seat while your instructor walks you through the finer points of become a Beaver Pilot. Plan to log some PIC time in the Beaver and experience the true freight hauler of backcountry flying.

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The Super Cubs

Did I say short?  It’s a Super Cub and Super Cubs are, well… Super Cubs are just plain Super, so every takeoff or landing is considered ‘short”.  What we used to measure takeoff and landing performance in hundreds of feet we now measure in 10’s of feet. It all started with a 90 hp engine before growing to 125 hp, 135 hp, 150 hp, 160 hp, 180 hp and now our Backcountry Cub boasts a fuel injected 210 hp engine.  Tandem seating, slow flying, fantastic visibility, a “stick” instead of “yoke”, the Super Cub is the ubiquitous and quintessential aircraft of Alaska. While you won’t find a lot of Super Cubs in commercial 135 operations, you will find it the most sought after and most common personal aircraft that is used for both hunting and fishing.  Flying a Cub is like putting on a comfortable set of boots; it feel right and becomes part of you.

 

We operate two (2) float equipped Cubs.  We will use this Cub for most initial introductions to float flying.  Don’t be fooled though, by no stretch of imagination is the Super Cub just a trainer type aircraft.  Some of you will want to do nothing else but command the front seat of the Cub and go explore the Alaskan wilderness and land on lakes that are too small to water ski on.  The Cub can haul a load out of most any lake. Except for the intercom, you might forget that your instructor/guide is sitting directly behind you as you and the Cub become one.

 

Tighten your seatbelt and prepare to second guess your instructor.  Our Cub on 35” Alaska Bushwheels is the closest thing to a helicopter with a fixed wing.  Our Backcountry Cub needs little more than a few aircraft lengths to slip the surly bonds of earth.  Truly amazing, this experimental aircraft will re-define fixed wing flying. Not all techniques learned here can be applied to other aircraft, but the experience will certainly widen your understanding of aerodynamics and make you believe that what might appear impossible is actually possible with the right tools and the right mindset.  For most pilots, the first take-off in this aircraft will cause a head shake and a spontaneous laugh. Yup, it’s that fun and new possibilities become almost endless.

Helicopters

Ok, skip short and go directly to vertical.  Prove us wrong but we believe that almost anyone can learn to hover a helicopter in a single lesson.  Yes, it might help if you are a heavy equipment operator or a drummer but even without a prior base, we will walk you through basic helicopter aerodynamics and controls and then we will light off the turbine and let you learn how to “feel” each control input needed to maintain position and altitude.  It’s sort of like learning to ride a bike; if you work at balance with wild control inputs you will wobble down the road, but once you feel the balance, the control input is hardly felt and suddenly without thinking too hard, you will find yourselves maintaining hover. We can practice this on our private runway or we can take a quick 7 NM trip, climbing 4,000 ft to the top of the mountains right behind our facility and practice there.  If you are easily distracted by spectacular views though, we suggest starting out on the runway and save the adventure helicopter flying for mountain top berry picking, fossil hunting or possibly a special fishing hole on a river.

 

We exclusively fly Enstrom helicopters.  With an unbeatable safety record and a high inertia rotor system, these easy to fly roomy helicopters have an unbeatable clear view for pilots and passengers alike and offer a true 2 stick cyclic control for that real helicopter feel.  

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Accomodations:

We invite you enjoy lake life as you reminisce over your day's flight or dream of tomorrow's adventure. You are welcome to join the loons on the lake with a paddle board or canoe which are available during your downtime.  The lake warms quickly in the summer to bathwater temps for swimming and also provides very decent fishing for rainbow trout.

 

We offer two (2) separate lodging facilities for our guests.

1. Upper Hangar Apartment- The orange upper hangar houses the Beaver and has 3 bedrooms each with a queen bed, 2 full bathrooms (1 upstairs, 1 downstairs), an upstairs common room with chairs and a sofa bed.  The main floor has a kitchen, dining room and laundry area with a stacked, high capacity washer and dryer.  This upper apartment is located on the main Apex property but set back a bit from the lake. Your view out your window will be mostly trees but we don't expect you will be spending much time in your room unless you are there to close your eyes against the midnight sun as you rest up for tomorrow's adventure.

2. Lower Hangar Loft - The blue lower hangar loft is a cozy residence above the main Apex hangar.  It has two separate sleeping areas. The upstairs has a queen bed and a full bath.  You can open the door to the upstairs deck and enjoy a spectacular southern view of Visnaw lake.  You will be sleeping directly above the hangar floor. The downstairs has a full bath, a sofa bed in the living room, along with a kitchenette and a washer and dryer.