After our visit to the NAC facility in Fairbanks earlier in the trip, it was refreshing to visit their Anchorage base. The Fairbanks location is very much in decline, but the Anchorage operation is thriving. Currently, 5 aircraft are operated from the facility on Ted Stevens International Airport at Anchorage, comprising two DC-6s and three 737-200Fs.
First, the DC-6s. The 2 operational aircraft are N2907F and N6174C. The first of these, N2907F was in regular service during our visit, and seen flying on a number of occasions. This aircraft began life as a Douglas C-118A, and was delivered to the USAF Military Air Transport Service (MATS) on 21st April 1955. It left the military in 1976, being sold to Cryderman Air Service, Pontiac, MI. Over the years, it went through a number of owners before being purchased by NAC and arriving in Anchorage in 1990.
NAC eventually modified the aircraft to DC-6A standard, and it remains one of their busy operational fleet.
The second operational aircraft, N6174C, was in the process of going through scheduled maintenance, so was not seen flying during our visit. This aircraft has a particularly interesting history, as it was built as a DC-6A, in contrast to most DC-6s still flying in Alaska, which began life as C-118 military freighters, or DC-6B passenger aircraft. The DC-6A was a factory built freighter version of the DC-6, and this particular aircraft was built in Santa Monica and delivered to Flying Tigers in 1954.
It saw a variety of operators in the next 20 years, before ending up with the famous DC-6 operator Zantop at Ypsilanti, MI. After spending some 15 years in their service, the aircraft moved again, this time to Canada, with Conifair Aviation. NAC purchased the aircraft in 2002.
In addition to the 2 flyers, a third aircraft resides at Anchorage, missing an engine. N43872 is another former C-118, delivered to the USAF in November 1955, and in service until 1974, when it was placed in storage at Davis Monthan AFB, AZ. Time Aviation Services purchased the aircraft in 1976, and after being used by several operators over the years, it was acquired by NAC in Nov 1989.
NAC have recently undergone a modernisation program, and acquired three Boeing 737-200F aircraft to replace earlier Boeing 727F aircraft. The aircraft operated are all ex-Delta Airlines passenger aircraft, modified to freighters.
Of particular interest is N322DL, which has received a modification to the nose gear to allow operation onto unprepared, gravel strips. The modification also includes equipment added to the underside of the engines, to prevent gravel ingestion.
The 737s are much more economical to run than both the 727s and the earlier DC-6s. In fact, the writing may be on the wall for the DC-6 fleet, already a shadow of its former self. However, the 737s are not capable of fully replacing the DC-6s, as they are unable to operate into many of the fleet destinations. Whether NAC will retain its DC-6 fleet purely for these destinations, or retire the aircraft and pull out remains to be seen.
With grateful thanks to the staff at NAC for taking the time to show us around their aircraft. Their professionalism, enthusiasm and pride in their work was obvious, and great to see.
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