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Ronald de Roij of Karo-Aviation report on propliners in Alaska
Pictures by the author

One of the best if not the best place to still find those beautiful old Propliners in daily service is Alaska, where they transport vital supplies to outlying communities. Over the past decade the numbers of active Propliners in Alaska has steadily dwindled. Now the numbers of piston-powered classics is reaching a level where the cost of going there outweighs what there is to see. However, it’s not all doom and gloom; there are still enough of the old props to make the journey worthwhile.

Due to the large territory of Alaska roads are confined around the large cities an between them , leaving the rest of the territory on accessible by cars , opening a gap for companies to supply the remote communities by air. From the start this was done with old Propliners off whom a lot have a former military history, ranching from the small DHC-2 to the large Douglas C-133 . During a family vacation some of the main operating bases where visited to see some of the Propliners in operation.

The first airfield visited was Fairbanks the home base of Evert Air Cargo , next to the operational aircraft, Evert Air Cargo holds a large store of Propliners at the airport. It operates scheduled and charter airline cargo as well as passenger services within Alaska and Canada. Its main base is Fairbanks International Airport with its major hub at Anchorage International Airport. Started in 1978 with a single Cessna 180 aircraft to provide air transportation for miners in the remote places of Alaska.

With the introduction of larger aircraft like the Douglas DC-6 and Curtiss C-46 the company split between Everts Air Alaska and Everts Air Cargo.  Everts is also the last company using the Curtiss C-46 Commando in regular fuel hauling and cargo service. They have a total of four Curtiss C-46s in operational service and some more in store.

Around the field you can find stored propliners from former operators like Northern Air Cargo ,Brooks and Conifair.

Northern Air Cargo was founded back in 1956 and is headquartered at Anchorage Airport. Originally established as a charter air freight service, Northern air cargo pioneered air cargo transportation in Alaska. The used the odd looking Fairchild C-82 in the delivery of outsized cargo to rural communities. At a later stage the all-cargo Douglas DC-6 became the back bone of the fleet .The Boeing 737 model has now taken over most of the Northern Air Cargo  routes.

Next airport visited was Palmer where two Fairchild C-119,  the new owners recovered these aircrafts from Anchorage and Kodiak airport. And after a long process of being restored to airworthiness the owners hoped to get some contracts for hauling freight. Judging by the looks of the aircraft   this never became a reality . Alongside the Fairchild C-119's there are some  Douglas DC-4s of the “new” company Alaska Air Fuel. This company seems to have taken over the planes from Brooks fuel. The fleet is based around the Douglas DC-4 . On the airfield there are also some Douglas DC-3’s  of which the operational status is not known.

Based at Kanai airport  both Everts and Alaska Air fuel where seen flying on a regular base.

Everts Air Fuel used a Douglas DC-6 and a Curtiss C-46 and Alaska Air fuel  a Douglas DC-4 they are all equipped with multiple fuselage tanks to be able to carry different kinds of fuel in one trip. They are carrying fuel to places  where ground transport is simply not possible or not economic.

At the edge off the airport there where two Douglas DC-6’s of Universal Airliners waiting for better times in the salmon hauling trade

The last airfield visited was Anchorage International Airport which has a lot of cargo activity, not only by modern companies like Federal Express and UPS, but also by a few small airlines still operating piston-engine airliners. Currently the biggest player in the propliners scene at Anchorage International airport is Everts Air Cargo Operating the Curtiss C-46 and Douglas DC-6 from here.

TransNorthern Aviation is a other company based here with their fleet of three Douglas DC-3s, a pair of Fairchild Metro IIIs, a Beech 99 Airliner, and a weird looking freight-configured Volpar Turboliner. A fourth “spares” Douglas DC-3 aircraft sits in storage on the airfield. There are smaller company's based at Anchorage like Dessert Air an Bush Air Cargo, operating only a couple of aircraft on request.

Alaska still holds the title of the last ‘Great Bastion’ of the prop-driven airliners for me. Although Northern Air Cargo has operating propliners other airlines like Everts and Alaska Fuel are still active. There are still Douglas DC-6s, Douglas DC-4s and Curtiss C-46s in the skies to enjoy.