14 Days to Alaska: Two Brothers in a 57-Year-Old Airplane Fly the Ultimate Cross Country Flight Training Adventure

By Troy Hamon

Flying a small plane to Alaska is an adventure many pilots only dream of. In 2008, the author, a student pilot, and his brother, a flight instructor, embarked on this adventure in an airplane old enough to be their mother. On their journey, they examined how to fit twelve feet eight inches worth of grown men into one of the smallest cockpits on earth--for as many as eight hours a day. They visited places they had planned on going, to see friends and relatives, and made unintended stops in places they hadn't ever heard of. They waited out weather, waited on maintenance, and wrapped the whirlwind of learning to fly into one of the grandest cross-country trips imaginable. In the end, they covered in two weeks what takes commercial air carriers only a few hours to accomplish--but they had a lot more fun--and a much better view.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Publication Consultants
• Release date: Jan 1, 2016
• ISBN: 9781594332906

Troy Hamon

Troy Hamon had spent years working as a field scientist in Southwest Alaska, often being dropped off in remote places by other pilots. Eventually, he decided he wanted to learn to fly himself. Finding no planes to rent in King Salmon, Alaska, he bought one of his own, sight unseen, rounded up an enthusiastic instructor and set off to learn. He recorded the journey, both the learning and the traveling, and has since continued to fly the venerable Piper Tri-Pacer N624A, using it to transport family, go moose and caribou hunting, and gain a grander perspective from which to enjoy the beauty of Alaska, the Last Frontier.