Introduction
The article on Kodiak’s “Runways to Remember” talked about the airport out at the
Base and the infamous Barometer Mountain at its end. This article (with its fabulous,
never-
Float Planes in the Boat Harbor
One early site of regular float plane activity in Kodiak was the shoreline near Knudsen’s store, later incorporated into the boat harbor, as a mooring site. The following rare photos document this early part of the story.
This Helsel photo from the early 1940’s shows a float plane moored next to the Knudsen’s store building, and another taxiing toward the shore, in the area that would later be incorporated within the small boat harbor’s breakwater.
The Windbird, Dr. A. Holmes Johnson’s beautiful sailboat, is to the right, and a float plane in the upper center (follow the wake) within the boat harbor in this small photo from Alaska’s Kodiak Island by Chaffin and Ameigh
The Kodiak Channel: the Way it Was
As well as being the main thoroughfare for boats and ships, up to and including the
MV Tustumena, the channel between Kodiak and Near Island was the landing and takeoff
spot for amphibians and float planes for over 30 years. Kodiak Airways had its main
terminal there before and after the Tidal Wave. The early terminal was just east
of the KEA power plant, and the post-
The Kodiak Airways terminal in the Near Island channel near Kodiak Electric is featured in this photo from the book Alaska’s Kodiak Island, courtesy of the Yule Chaffin estate. Two Grumman Gooses and a Widgeon (center) are parked near the hangar.
This Sundbaum photo shows downtown Kodiak as it looked from the air in the early 1970’s. The Kodiak Airways terminal is in the bottom left, with a couple of Grummans ready to go. The Liberty Ship cannery known as the Star of Kodiak is in the bottom center (my first cannery job, as a king crab butcher) and to the right are the ferry dock and the oil float. The plane is passing right over Near Island, and the channel in the foreground was where the seaplanes would take off and land before the bridge made it impractical.
The Kodiak Airways terminal at the other end of the channel, next to the boat harbor, as it looked in 1969, in a photo taken by Travis North. A refueling truck (left)a Widgeon, and Goose (right) await a break in the weather.
A rare sight: a Sea Hawk Air De Havilland “Beaver” float plane heads out in a rare
channel take-
These photos from Dirk Sundbaum capture some of the hustle and bustle of the Near Island channel when it was the main takeoff and landing site for a host of amphibians and float planes over the years. Dirk worked for Kodiak Western, successor to Kodiak Airways, in the 1970’s. His photos are priceless!
This beautiful photo captures a float plane at the east end of the channel. The red buoy exemplifies how tricky it was to navigate through all the boat traffic!
A Goose and Widgeon wait at the Kodiak Western terminal near the boat harbor…
…and roar down the channel in a shower of spray.
One of Kodiak Western’s float planes, not quite “on the step,” prepares to leap into the air.
Channel Plane Crash: A Sequence (Dirk Sundbaum Photos)
Even with the best pilots and careful monitoring of conditions, accidents can occur in any environment because of the constantly changing variables. Thankfully, the crash documented below did not result in any loss of life. The Widgeon involved in the mishap was sold, and rebuilt by its new owner. Thanks to Dirk for the photos and to Fred Ball for some of the details in the captions.
N85U, while landing downwind, veered to the left, flipped over, and sank. Fred Ball rushed out into the channel in a Goose and plucked the pilot out of the water as the plane went under. The Kodiak King tugboat retrieved the craft after she sank. This is the same plane we see taking off so gracefully four photos up. Very sad to see!
The flotation balloons (18 wheeler inner tubes!) are clearly visible in this shot, as is the ramp the plane sits on, and the float used for pontoon planes.
The damage was extensive, and the old bird was sold to someone who rebuilt her for private use. The current designation of N85U refers to a restored Catalina PBY, so I have no updated information on this Widgeon, but it was possibly used for parts.
Lily Lake
(As of 2011 when this was written) Lily Lake has also been a major center of air traffic in the heart of Kodiak, with dozens of float planes moored along its shores. The west end of the airstrip is only a few feet from the very end of Lily Lake. The south side of the lake, along Mill Bay Road, is almost all businesses (including some that use float planes), but the north side has many homes with float planes at their docks, prime real estate for pilots! A favorite stop of mine, the “Fly By” coffee shop, is located about halfway down the lake on Mill Bay Road. The coffee shop’s windows look right out on the lake.
I once took a photo (through the window as I sipped one of their iced creations) of a float plane taking off in the lake. When I got it processed, I tried to give the picture to a friend of mine who was a barista there. And she remarked, “Why would I want a picture of work?” I guess I have a different perspective now that I no longer live in Kodiak. Amazing, fascinating things happen all around you, but I suppose we humans can get used to just about anything, including float planes taking off just outside your coffee shop. These photos show some of the frequent summertime activity on the lake. In the winter, it’s only good for ice skating (when not ruined by snow machine tracks).
Above Right: The “Fly By” coffee house does a booming drive-
Above: a float plane approaches the far end of the lake…
Below: …and takes off past Lily Lake Estates in these 2005 photos. Personally, I would love it, but perhaps these guys in the Estates are the ones who complain about the noise?
On a sunnier day in 2007, Larry, one of the Camp Woody counselors, got an up close and personal look at the process, as a plane taxis up to the end of the lake, turns around and…
Zoom! Off it goes on some exciting adventure. What a pity it would be if this scene in the middle of town faded into history; float planes are as Alaskan as fishing boats and sled dogs. I just want to go where he’s going. The view that day was spectacular!
Four classic photos of air traffic in and out of Lily Lake, taken by Dirk Sundbaum in the early 1970’s:
A Goose comes in for a landing on Lily Lake. A Goose settling down on the water is one of the prettiest sights any machine can ever achieve!
A Goose, enveloped in spray, nearly obscures the buildings on the shoreline.
Tragedy: A float plane crashes shortly after takeoff from Lily Lake, landing unceremoniously in the Aleutian Homes in this photo from the early 1970’s. I don’t know the fate of the pilot or any passengers here; but Alaska aviation has its definite dangers!
This Goose’s eye view of the center of Kodiak shows the runway (angling off to the lower right) and Lily Lake in the center of the photo. Kodiak has built up considerably since this photo was taken in the early 1970’s; (Personal bias alert!) where’s King’s Diner? The white roof to the right of the runway is the Kodiak Western hangar where planes were repaired and repainted.
From Shore to Sky: Kodiak’s Planes that Float
By Timothy Smith, Revised in 2011, latest revision in 2020
From Shore to Sky: Kodiak’s Planes that Float
Part of the “How to Get to Kodiak” series of articles
A Companion to “Runways to Remember 1 and 2”
This ad from Alaska’s Kodiak Island (1962) — used with permission — shows Bill Harvey’s planes in many of the places described in the Tanignak.com articles. Harvey Flying Service was based at Lily Lake and the airstrip. Bill Harvey died in a tragic plane crash in 1967 at the KDK landing strip, but his son Steve Harvey still flies a Grumman Widgeon under the Harvey Flying Service banner, carrying on the legacy. Steve’s photos are featured in the article: “Goose and Widgeon – Still Flying,” and Steve has advised me on many of the details in these articles.
The Legacy of Harvey Flying Service
The New Seaplane Port on Near Island
This is surely an improvement over the Near Island channel, where planes had to constantly watch for boat and skiff traffic. The secluded bay is an ideal location. Several charter companies run their flights in and out of the Seaplane Base, with its easy access to town and its more dependable waters. (2005 photo)
Two of Andrew Air’s striking yellow and orange planes wait at the ramps at the Seaplane Base in May of 2010. The Beaver is warming up while her passengers get ready to board. The lovely yellow Beaver from Andrew Air made it into many of my photos in the summer 2007, including (in order, below):
One of my favorite Alaska shots: the Beaver makes a turn after takeoff from the seaplane port, captured from at least a mile away on Woody Island with my super telephoto Nikon 300 mm (film equivalent 450 mm) VR lens. One of the “Three Sisters” mountains is on the far right.
Top: the yellow plane makes a pass close to Pillar Mountain as we pause partway up. This time Woody Island and Long Island are in the distance, with a tiny corner of the main Camp Woody building visible in the lower right.
Busy plane: the yellow plane passes further away with Woody Island (and the main building of Camp Woody) in the background in another shot taken from Pillar Mountain. The same plane is also visible moored on Lily Lake in one of my shots from 2005.
Go straight instead of making a hard right as you cross the bridge to Near Island (left side of photo), and you end up at the Seaplane Base, a new, sheltered mooring for many float planes.
Conclusion
This affectionate photo essay will hopefully fill your memory with the smell of av-
With this series of articles, it’s good to slow down and appreciate the grand spectacle, and to see the daily comings and goings of Kodiak as the unique adventures they are. As someone who now lives within blocks of two major freeways, surrounded by traffic lights, I can tell you it’s wonderful to watch Kodiak people getting around! I wonder if they appreciate the adventures that surround them? And on those rare occasions when one of those departing flights includes me, don’t be surprised if my camera is constantly in use, as I attempt to capture, however imperfectly, the essence of one of Kodiak’s everyday adventures. The companion pieces to this article are “Goose Stories,” “More Amphibian Adventures,” “Runways to Remember Part 1 (NHB) and “Runways to Remember 2 (ADQ and KDK)” at the “How to Get to Kodiak INDEX” link below.
A plane’s destination: Dirk’s wonderful photo of the bay in Ouzinkie shows a Goose heading toward the beach below the church hill (center right) in the early 1970’s. As a high school kid, I had to live in Kodiak for school. I had the privilege of making this journey a couple of times a month, since my folks lived in Ouzinkie and I was boarding in Kodiak. These planes are a very personal part of my journey, both literally and figuratively. I write these articles out of great love and affection for Alaskan aviation, past and present.
Acknowledgements
I wish to thank Dirk Sundbaum, a Kodiak Western Alaska Airlines (Kodiak Airways) employee in the early 1970’s, whose wonderful slides comprise the majority of the photos in this essay. His generosity in scanning them and allowing me to use them at Tanignak.com has now made those historic photos available for the whole world to see and enjoy. The several “photographer unknown” shots were sent via email to me over the past ten years, but I lost my separate text backup in a computer crash a few years ago. When you identify yourself, I will quickly credit you!
I also thank the estate of Yule Chaffin for the use of several photos from Yule’s first book, Alaska’s Kodiak Island, published in 1962 (written with G. C. Ameigh, Jr.)
Finally, I wish to credit Fred Ball, a master Grumman amphibian pilot, who helped me identify aircraft, correct mistakes, and clarify wording throughout. His photos (and my photos of him in action) are featured in the new article “Goose and Widgeon – Still Flying” here at Tanignak.com. Timothy Smith, web author, March, 2011 Tanignak@aol.com
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