What others say: A state of aviation

  • Wednesday, September 7, 2016 5:08pm
  • Opinion

A great thing about Ketchikan is its involvement in aviation.

Our sky is alive with aircraft. We’re fascinated with the floatplanes taking off and landing in Tongass Narrows, and crane our necks to see what a helicopter might be lifting by cable. Ketchikan International Airport is visible from most of town, providing a daily display of passenger planes and other aircraft.

The volume and variety of aircraft in Ketchikan airspace reminds us how important aviation is to the community. It’s a vital part of how we live, work and play here. Without aviation, southern Southeast Alaska would feel — and be — a very long way from anywhere else.

In that sense, Kentuckian relationship with aviation is not unlike that relationship experienced in most of the other towns, cities and villages in this immense state of Alaska. Alaskans from Barrow to the First City depend on the economic, service and personal mobility benefits that aviation provides us every day.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

It’s fitting then, that Gov. Bill Walker has proclaimed September as Aviation Appreciation Month in Alaska.

The proclamation signed Monday gives a sense of aviation’s place in Alaska.

We have more private planes per capita than any other state, according to the proclamation. We fly, on average, more than eight times as often as do residents of other states. Alaska now has 747 registered airports and seaplane bases; 9,346 registered aircraft; and 7,933 active pilots. We are an aviation state.

Walker’s proclamation also encourages adherence to the highest of aviation safety standards and practices. Wednesday’s news of a mid-air collision of two small planes near the western Alaska village of Russian Mission highlights that the focus on safety is vital for all Alaskans.

The history of aviation in Alaska — and Ketchikan in particular — has been a great story since the first airplane flight in the Last Frontier took place over a Fairbanks field on the evening of July 3, 1913.

Count us among those who truly do appreciate aviation in Alaska. We’re looking forward to seeing what the future of aviation brings.

— Ketchikan Daily News,

Sept. 2

More in Opinion

President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin of Russia at a joint news conference in Helsinki, Finland, July 16, 2018. (Doug Mills/The New York Times file photo)
Opinion: Mistaking flattery for respect

Flattery played a role in Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill.

(Juneau Empire file photo)
Opinion: Life is harder when you outlive your support group

Long-time friends are more important than ever to help us cope, to remind us we are not alone and that others feel the same way.

Deven Mitchell is the executive director and chief executive officer of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. (Photo courtesy of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp.)
Opinion: The key to a stronger fund: Diversification

Diversification is a means of stabilizing returns and mitigating risk.

A silver salmon is weighed at Three Bears in Kenai, Alaska. Evelyn McCoy, customer service PIC at Three Bears, looks on. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Opinion: Will coho salmon be the next to disappear in the Kenai River?

Did we not learn anything from the disappearance of the kings from the Kenai River?

Jonathan Flora is a lifelong commercial fisherman and dockworker from Homer, Alaska.
Point of View: Not fishing for favors — Alaskans need basic health care access

We ask our elected officials to oppose this bill that puts our health and livelihoods in danger.

Alex Koplin. (courtesy photo)
Opinion: Public schools do much more than just teach the three Rs

Isn’t it worth spending the money to provide a quality education for each student that enters our schools?

Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks to reporters at the Alaska State Capitol on Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)
Letter to the Editor: Law enforcement officers helped ensure smooth, secure energy conference

Their visible commitment to public safety allowed attendees to focus fully on collaboration, learning, and the important conversations shaping our path forward.

Laurie Craig / Juneau Empire file photo
The present-day KTOO public broadcasting building, built in 1959 for the U.S. Army’s Alaska Communications System Signal Corps, is located on filled tidelands near Juneau’s subport. Today vehicles on Egan Drive pass by the concrete structure with satellite dishes on the roof that receive signals from NPR, PBS and other sources.
My Turn: Stand for the community radio, not culture war optics

Alaskans are different and we pride ourselves on that. If my vehicle… Continue reading

U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) delivers his annual speech to the Alaska Legislature on Thursday, March 20, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)
Opinion: Sullivan, Trump and the rule of lawlessness

In September 2023, U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan established his own Alaska Federal… Continue reading

UAA Provost Denise Runge photographed outside the Administration and Humanities Building at the University of Alaskas Anchorage. (courtesy photo)
Opinion: UAA’s College of Health — Empowering Alaska’s future, one nurse at a time

At the University of Alaska Anchorage, we understand the health of our… Continue reading

U.S. Rep. Nick Begich III, R-Alaska, address a joint session of the Alaska Legislature on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
Opinion: A noncongressman for Alaska?

It’s right to ask whether Nick Begich is a noncongressman for Alaska.… Continue reading

Boats return to the Homer Harbor at the end of the fishing period for the 30th annual Winter King Salmon Tournament on Saturday, March 23, 2024 in Homer, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)
Opinion: Funding sustainable fisheries

Spring is always a busy season for Alaska’s fishermen and fishing communities.… Continue reading

You're browsing in private mode.
Please sign in or subscribe to continue reading articles in this mode.

Peninsula Clarion relies on subscription revenue to provide local content for our readers.

Subscribe

Already a subscriber? Please sign in