A Float Plane Tale
Testing Load Limits Alaska Style
The other day my husband and I had a lovely lunch date together in downtown Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. After stuffing ourselves full of lovely wok cooked cuisine, we decided to take a stroll through the grounds of the Coeur D'alene Resort. While standing on the boardwalk admiring a particularly nice specimen of wood boat, a float plane descended and landed on the lake.
In that moment I was taken back to my childhood in Alaska, a time when float plane flights were quite a common feature in my life. One particular flight stood out in my memory, the Mayonaise and Mustard Express.
My mom, brother, and I were visiting my aunt in Metlakatla, Alaska. Metlakatla is an island south of Ketchikan. It was time for us to go home, so we were catching the fifteen minute puddle jumper flight to Ketchikan. My brother, being the tallest of our group, got to sit in the co-pilot seat. Grrr. My curiosity was piqued when the pilot directed my mom, aunt, and I to a bench seat in the rear of the plane, having us bypass the two passenger seats mid plane.
Mom, Aunty, and I all looked at each other, but then I noticed the dock was really rocking vigorously. Down the dock came two local legends, Mayonaise and Mustard. Metlakatla is a native reservation, and the island is supposed to be a "dry" island, as in alcohol free. Like any prohibition, the proclamation had the opposite effect, and M and M were the island's bootleggers. I had over heard whisperings of false walls and 1/2 gallons of whisky a plenty along with mention of their names, but it was the size of the sisters that gave them a true sense of notoriety.
Both sisters weighed in at around "440 field dressed" as my Papa used to say. They are still the biggest people I have ever seen, and our pilot was going to put them both on our little float plane with us. My nervousness grew immensely when after the two ladies were buckled in, our little back window was not very far above the ocean water. It exploded into all out dread when our pilot blurted,
Float planes taxi across the water at a pretty brisk pace in order to take off, and as my carcass rattled between my aunt and my mom as we hurtled across the ocean at take off speed, I found myself hoping we wouldn't flip over.
Finally, after multiple uttered curse words the pilot whipped us around and took us back to the dock. He never said a word until we glided up to the floating receptacle and then he spouted,
I'm not sure which sister exited, but a short while later when we were finally airborne I found myself feeling some sympathy for those bootlegger ladies. The whole ordeal was slightly terrifying for me, but it had to been embarrassing for them. Or maybe they didn't care, all I know is that I will never forget that trip.
That must have been pretty cool getting to fly so much. Yeah, I feel some for the ladies too, but then they were in legal terms drug dealers.
"Illegal" doesn't mean immoral.
I would say immoral goes with unnecessary harm, but some things are hard to call.
Well, it was interesting anyway, ha ha, I mean, it totally toughened up my nerves for sure:) I was talking with some friends last night about how I didn't realize that flying could be boring until I flew to destinations like Phoenix, Kauai, and Mexico. Those flights were sedate compared to what I grew up knowing!
And I am so happy to hear from you Pryde, I sure hope things are going well for you up that way:)
Thanks, Kat. Just been busy with novel writing and homeschooling. Try to poke in a few times a day though. Always happy to see your posts:)
I was only on one once going into Canada for a fly in fishing trip when I was about 10. It was a de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver and our pilot must have thought he was still dive bombing in WW2 lol.
You mean he didn't glide sedately along? LOL LOL!
I have flown on that particular model of plane, and an Otter too. When I was a kid I always wondered why they had to name the plane models after animals, I mean, the way people fly them it would make more sense to call them things like the De Havilland Trebuchet or something, ha ha!
That’s a new one to me. My dad likes to say, “all the more to love.”
Ha! I like your dad's more polite descriptive turn of phrase:).
I can just picture that plus-sized pair! I would have been scared, too. Nice shot of the lake downtown, by the way.
Oh thank you! It was such a gorgeous day, so the T and I wandered around a bit and of course being a Steem-fiend, I had to snap some pics, lol!
And yes, it was a bit of gut wrenching encounter to be sure:)
The story is amazing. After all really amazing photography
Glad you enjoyed it all, lol!
Love it, Mayonnaise and Mustard. Classic. And that sounds like one bonny grand adventure, of the scary kind. And as a little person, probably even MORE scary. I was of that mental ilk a lot as a junior person. Now, not as much. But then, a few years of experience will help a bit. Though flipping a plane of any sort at any age would be more than a bit scary.
Reminds me of my old days fighting fires. Get on the helicopter, toss on our gear and all climb in. Try to lift off, then land..."one of you get off", toss out their bag, then lift again, then touch down again, "another get off", toss their gear after them, lift a bit, then finally, "OK, we're good to go" and fly off. Now is this the way we REALLY should be doing this, folks?
Some things do get better with time and a bit of forethought for safety. Not sure they do that anymore. Though in the NW corner of the world you were in, it still probably hasn't changed much. "Climb out on the struts and bang on the engine with a wrench, I think we're icing up". Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do to stay vertical.
Here's to hoping your day is a peachy one, 'brare up and smile big for all the' brarachters that wander through on a daily basis. What storyfodder you have at your mental fingertips. Life never seems boring in Katville.
Cheerio(s) -The Pan