A Majestic Flight Service Assignment in Alaska
FAA specialists based in Kenai fly to remote locations to provide essential services to pilots who aid Iditarod sled dog teams.
by C. Troxell, FAA Office of Communications
FAA Flight Service specialists positioned at the remote station in McGrath, Alaska, are supporting more general aviation flights for the Iditarod than ever before due to a trail redesign intended to limit the spread of COVID-19.
The 49th international sled dog race began March 6 in Anchorage and is expected to continue beyond two weeks. This year’s race started and finishes in Anchorage instead of continuing through interior Alaska, to the Bering Sea coast and on to Nome. Sled dog teams in this year’s race travel to the middle point of the traditional Iditarod trail — to the abandoned village of Flat — and reverse course back to the starting point.
The modified trail halves the number of race checkpoints, thus limiting potential COVID-19 exposures in small, remote towns where some medical supplies are scarce or unavailable. The new map also means Flight Service specialists have their work cut out for them, as the aircraft that support the race are in more constrained airspace and will be following the teams two ways along the trail.
“The pilots are using McGrath as their home base for the entire western half of the race,” explained Kenai Operations Supervisor Josh Daily, who worked the race from McGrath last year for his first time. “There’s usually three days where we see a big spike in traffic, and then it slowly trickles off as the race moves to points beyond McGrath. But now we’re probably going to see a spike in traffic for six or seven days.”
McGrath is located about 300 miles northwest of Kenai and is the fourth checkpoint from Flat. Daily said on the busiest day last year, he and the other specialist assigned to McGrath worked more than 800 operations, more than 80 flights an hour at the 10-hour facility.
Daily prepared his fellow Kenai-based specialists, Sam McQuillin and NATCA Facility Representative Dustin Briggs, to work McGrath in tandem to support this year’s Iditarod Air Force. The 31 volunteer pilots transport food for mushers and dogs, veterinarians, communications volunteers, race judges and more in support of 66 sled teams across 500 miles.
McQuillin and Daily arrived in McGrath the day before the race started to conduct familiarization training and to learn about the runway setup, airspace configuration, parking area and more. Kenai Flight Service Station operates like a call center year-round, as specialists provide pilots with weather briefings, flight plans and other services, whereas in McGrath during the Iditarod, the specialists play a larger role in providing air traffic services to the pilots.
“Each facility has an area knowledge, so I have to solidify my knowledge and have Josh help over my shoulder the first couple days,” McQuillin said before making the trip to McGrath. “The amount of ops is going to be insane. I’m looking forward to it.”
An Alaska native in his second year with Flight Service, McQuillin previously had seen the ceremonial start from Anchorage but could not wait to be part of the race from a remote checkpoint. He and Briggs are members of the Iditarod Trail Committee (as Daily was last year), in which they volunteer to aid the sled teams when they stop in McGrath.
McQuillin was inspired to pursue a career at the FAA by his father, Duane, who retired in January 2020 from Anchorage Center after working there for more than 38 years as a controller. Duane brought his son into the control room at times to peak his interest in the profession.
“Working for the FAA is a dream come true,” McQuillin said. “Flight Service has been a total blast. It’s been a really neat experience to build my skills and see how valuable we can be to the pilots.
“The better work we do, the more they respect us. The more we can do to help out those guys to make Alaska safer for flying, the better off we are.”
Briggs, too, was inspired by his father to pursue a career in aviation. His father was a Flight Service specialist in Boise, Idaho, and Briggs remembers going to the station as a boy and being fascinated by all the different services they provided to the public. His father’s passion for the profession was apparent, and Briggs was driven to emulate him.
“I knew right away that’s what I wanted to do with my career,” Briggs said. “Aviation in Alaska is vital to people’s survival, and I think we in Flight Service take our responsibility to provide support to the flying community very seriously.”
Briggs said he can’t wait to see the Iditarod in person for the first time and do his part to help pilots fly safely and support the sled teams.
Daily is glad to be showing the ropes to the new specialists, but he may go back to McGrath in the future for another two-week stay at the remote, seasonal facility, to experience the special enchantment of the Iditarod once again.
“The fresh snow dampens the sound of everything, so you have this perfectly silent, dark place in the middle of nowhere at the end of the earth,” Daily said. “Then you can hear the dogs come around at the end of the river before they reach the McGrath checkpoint. The bells and even the ice on their fur will jingle — it’s a unique sound. And all you see is the headlamps of the mushers. It’s really majestic.”
