Iditarod from the Air… Up There
Wonder what the connection is between aviation and Iditarod? We’ve got the inside scoop for one of Alaska’s most iconic events.
By C. Troxell, FAA
There’s truly nothing else like it. A 1,000-mile journey on a sled pulled by 16 huskies and malamutes, through the vast, snowy Alaskan wilderness. The iconic, awe-inspiring Iditarod.
Back in 1925, the Iditarod Trail was the life-saving highway for diphtheria-stricken Nome. Air travel became impossible due to the harsh winter, so 20 mushers and their heroic dogs carried serum in a 674-mile relay from Fairbanks to Nome, where today’s Iditarod race ends. As detailed in this Travel Weekly article, Joe Redington, Sr. and Dorothy Page led efforts to establish Iditarod race events in 1973 that commemorated Alaska’s sled dog culture.
But what does aviation have to do with this? Air assets are essential to the “Last Great Race,” which kicks off March 5 on its 50th anniversary. Fifty-nine mushers and their dogs will start the race from downtown Anchorage, and, along the snowy trail, in freezing temperatures, they will need substantial support and supplies. Much of that air support comes from pilots.
A team of volunteer pilots, named the Iditarod Air Force, have been supporting dogsled teams since 1978, and general aviation pilots in smaller numbers were involved years prior, from the first Iditarod. This year’s group of 21 pilots has about 200,000 flight hours collectively, with specialized skills for flying in Alaska.
“We’ll fill the airplanes up with straw, cans of HEET, which the mushers use to make fires so they can cook meals for the dogs, stakes they use to mark the trails, lots of propane, tents, stoves, everything they need — and that’s before we bring people,” said Iditarod Air Force Chief Pilot Ed Kornfield.
The pilots then transport judges, veterinarians, checkpoint and other volunteers ahead of the race. During the race, they follow the teams and support them as needed with food and fuel deliveries, as well as airlifting dogs that cannot finish the race due to injury, illness, or other reasons.
“I don’t think people get to know how important aviation is to mushers in rural Alaska, but how important the Iditarod Air Force is to the Iditarod; they kind of quietly go about their business, but it makes the race happen,” said Richie Diehl, a two-time top-8 finisher who will compete in his 10th Iditarod tomorrow. Diehl explained that the dogs need tons of food throughout the race as they burn thousands of calories pulling the sled.
Kornfield, a former 13-year FAA aviation safety inspector based in Anchorage, and five-year safety program manager with the FAA Safety Team that conducts pre-flight briefings with the pilots, has been flying since 1970. He’s been supporting Diehl and other mushers from his Cessna 180 for 18 years — after former Chief Pilot John Norris “drafted” him for the role.
“I told him I was looking for something to do with my airplane,” Kornfield said. “He said, why don’t you come to one of our meetings? When we arrived, he introduced me as their newest pilot.”
While Kornfield is long retired from the FAA, he still has close ties — especially during the Iditarod. That’s because every year, FAA Flight Service specialists and Iditarod pilots exchange critical weather and aeronautical information to help the pilots fly safely. And in the early years, they were even involved in forming parts of the trail.
As described in the 2014 book, “The Iditarod — The First Ten Years,” Flight Service has been supporting the race and pilots from their McGrath station — and race checkpoint — since the first sanctioned event. The book spotlights former McGrath Flight Service Chief Nick Forsgren, who rallied his FAA colleagues and volunteers from the U.S. Weather Bureau in 1973 to create central part of the Iditarod trail with snow machines. They even housed mushers for a period. Forsgren continued leading this effort through 2004. He also was a part-time member of the Iditarod Air Force and served on the Iditarod Board of Directors. This “On the Trail” article details more of the FAA’s involvement in the 1970s, including air support.
The FAA’s support remains today. Flight Service specialists staff the remote, seasonal McGrath station, located west of Denali National Park & Preserve and open only during the summer, early fall and for about a week and a half for the Iditarod. McGrath also serves as home base for the pilots. For this year’s race, Kenai Flight Service Operations supervisor Sam McQuillin will fly northwest to McGrath for the second year in a row, alongside Kenai Flight Service specialist Michael Holey, who will be working the event for the first time. Holey gained experience in McGrath by supporting pilots from the station last summer and fall.
“I’ve seen the ceremonial start several times but getting to be there with the teams last year, see the dogs, see how the mushers interact — it almost didn’t feel like work. I’m so excited to go back and see it again,” said McQuillin, a native Alaskan whose father was a career air traffic controller at Anchorage Center. “And it was pretty neat to know the pilots cared and valued our opinions so much. Like if I said the weather was IFR, they would ground stop their pilots.”
Holey, who served the U.S. Air Force as a meteorologist, worked the station from June through October last year, every other week, with only a radio and fax machine. He relied on fellow specialists from Kenai to provide weather info that he then relayed to pilots. “I’m looking forward to going back,” Holey said. “It was my home for the summer. I can’t wait to see the locals, pilots and dogs.”
Holey and McQuillin will be in close communication with the pilots before and during the race.
“I spoke with Ed to ask him what he needs from us and let him know what we need from him,” McQuillin said. “Essentially, it’s all going to come full circle. We need their reports on visibility, ceilings, precipitation, so we can let the forecasters know and they can produce better models and forecasts to share with pilots, and they’ll know what’s coming based on what was there.”
Kornfield echoed the importance of ongoing and effective communication between Flight Service specialists and pilots during the long event.
“They really do give us a thorough briefing. They’re professionals, and really give us a lot of help. If the weather goes down, they’ll work with us and help us.”
Fun fact: The late Steve Christon, retired Anchorage Center air traffic controller, was the first FAA employee to finish the Iditarod, on March 14, 1992, three years after he began mushing.
