Alaskan Holiday : Everts Air Cargo in Fairbanks

[harrysone]

We've just been for a magic holiday in Alaska and Canada for last few weeks and were able to take in a few aviation themed activities...

We were able to squeeze in a ramp tour at Everts Air Cargo in Fairbanks, where they still operate and maintain a sizable and very busy Douglas DC-6A and 3-4 Curtiss C-46 fleet. The staff there were only too keen to show us around and let us walk through a DC-6 and a C-46, the maintenance hangar and the graveyard. All maintenence and engine work are carried ot on site in Fairbanks, incidentally they reckon that there is at least another decade of use with the DC-6 fleet they are using as they have cornered 80% of all available spares, some of which came from NAC (Northern Air Cargo) which wound up their DC-6 services in Alaska about a decade ago. Likewise the C-46s are likely to still have a long life with Everts. They say that there are no replacements available for these aircraft, the only likely candidate being the C-130 good ones are too highly priced/prized on the civilian market.

8 (Medium) by Harry Follas, on Flickr

1 (Medium) by Harry Follas, on Flickr

Howard Hughes former personal DC-6A, now flying freight for Everts.

h by Harry Follas, on Flickr

Howard Hughes former personal DC-6A, now flying freight for Everts.


3 (Medium) by Harry Follas, on Flickr

DC-6 being readied to fly beer, pallets of timber, house paint and nappies to some isolated community

c by Harry Follas, on Flickr

In the hangar

6 (Medium) by Harry Follas, on Flickr

refurbished engines lined up.

7 (Medium) by Harry Follas, on Flickr

e by Harry Follas, on Flickr
C-46 "Maid in Japan"

g by Harry Follas, on Flickr

2 (Medium) by Harry Follas, on Flickr


5 (Medium) by Harry Follas, on Flickr
The Graveyard

4 (Medium) by Harry Follas, on Flickr


Everts freight DC-6s are outlasting their DC-9s which are now just on the brink of being retired as they are no longer economical to keep operating. Most of these are reaching C or D check maintenance schedules and are likely to be retired as they reach this status. Everts are starting to move towards freight converted MD-82s to replace them, however at this stage they only have 1-2 in service.

[harrysone]

some more pics...

C-46 cockpit

Img_5923 by Harry Follas, on Flickr

DC-6 cockpit

Img_5940 by Harry Follas, on Flickr

refurbished R-2800 on the stand

Img_5976 by Harry Follas, on Flickr

retired DC-6 behind the hangar, being parted out

Img_5971 by Harry Follas, on Flickr

some more recent Everts acquisitions including a couple of former Conair DC-6 water bombers

Img_5994 by Harry Follas, on Flickr

[harrysone]

other aircraft at Fairbanks include the remains of the Brooks Air Fuel DC-4 fleet...some hiding in the weeds. Lots of treasures hiding in the weeds

Img_6001 by Harry Follas, on Flickr

Img_6002 by Harry Follas, on Flickr

Img_6004 by Harry Follas, on Flickr

[dustyredgodfrey]

Pure gold! Thanks for posting.Interesting contrail in the 2nd from last photo.

[harrysone]

Re the contrails, incidentally the 3rd to last photo is even more interesting!! I suppose there is a large US Air Force Base nearby (Eielson AFB) ... we saw some F16s blasting off from there the following day when we started driving back down to Valdez. Eielson also had large numbers of A-10s parked around in addition to some KC-135s.

All very visible from the road, however signs about everywhere...parking & photography verbotten!!

[Dave Homewood]

Really interesting thread, thanks Harry!!

[harrysone]

Here's an Everts DC-9 30 freighter, recently retired...

IMG_5943 by Harry Follas, on Flickr

[harrysone]

We also caught up with Everts aircraft again up at Barrow (the oldest and most northern settlement in USA with 2K years of Inuit habitation). Barrow is on the shores of the Arctic Ocean at 71 deg, 17 min North (well inside the Arctic Circle). We were there just before the summer solstice, so we had 24 hour sunlight ! However the sea ice was yet to break!!

Barrow has no roads that connect to the rest of Alaska so during most of the year (except when the ground is frozen solid) supplies need to be delivered by air...enter Everts and Northern Air Cargo...& some of the most expensive grocery items you are likely to see anywhere!! How is $US 20 for a jar of peanut butter or $11 US for 1.5 Litres of orange juice? then there are the disposable nappies at $US 25 a packet!

The MD-82 was already at the airport when we arrived, however the DC-6 snuck in the next day while I wasn't watching. I was able to photograph it departing, pure magic! The sound of a quartet of R-2800s is sweet music, it would have to be similar to the 'blue note' produced by some 1950s British fighter jets! The rumbling reverberations of those radials could be heard for the next 10-15 minutes following its departure.

IMG_7202 by Harry Follas, on Flickr
Barrow town with sea ice

Downtown Barrow
IMG_7190 by Harry Follas, on Flickr

Everts MD-82
IMG_7227 by Harry Follas, on Flickr

DC-6 unloading

IMG_7300 by Harry Follas, on Flickr

IMG_7308 by Harry Follas, on Flickr

DC-6 departing
IMG_7332 by Harry Follas, on Flickr


IMG_7334 by Harry Follas, on Flickr

[kiwithrottlejockey]

I've got an interesting DVD featuring those Everts DC-6. It was released by JUST PLANES back when they were issuing actual hard discs (DVDs and BluRay discs).

It is mostly cockpit footage during actual operations, but also footage of their maintenance and engine overhaul facility, as well as footage of loading and unloading the aeroplanes. Also interviews with captains, co-pilots and flight engineers about the operational side of things as well as a guided tour of the cockpit from each crew members' point of view.

From memory, the DVD is around three hours in length.

In the same series, I've got a DVD featuring C-46 and DC-4 operations with Buffalo Airways, about four hours in length.

And a BluRay disc from the same series featuring the ex-Eastern Airlines DC-7B restored by the Historical Flight Foundation in Florida. This disc is about three hours in duration and features a flight from Florida to Puerto Rico and on to Saint Mararten, then return to Florida, also mostly cockpit footage.

Unfortunately JUST PLANES stopped selling hard-discs a few years ago and now only sell their titles via downloads.

[harrysone]

Funnily enough, Everts have a memorabilia sales desk, you can buy that DVD, a calendar, a cap or one of several different Tee shirt designs.

We asked them if they had ever been approached to do reality TV shows (like Buffalo with Ice Pilots). They said that the networks approached them first before Buffalo, however their management and company lawyers identified the risks early on and they turned down the offer.