Category: Flight Simulator 2004 - Scenery
Kotzebue PAOT on the northwestern coast of Alaska

Images related to this file:

• kotzebue_ak-1.jpg
• kotzebue_ak-2.jpg
• kotzebue_ak-3.jpg
• kotzebue_ak-4.jpg
• kotzebue_ak-5.jpg
• kotzebue_ak-6.jpg

File Description:
There are four main northwestern Alaska towns which have good airports and are serviced by Alaska Airlines. From these airports local flights connect to nearby villages, "nearby" in Alaska meaning up to 150 miles away. The northernmost is Barrow. Southwest of Barrow is Kotzebue, then Nome, and the furthest south is Bethel. The town of Kotzbue is north of the Bering Strait on the northwestern coast, 320 miles southwest of Barrow. The population is just over 3,000 people. The location was for a long time a base for trading in furs, with three rivers emptying into the sea and providing routes into the interior land and villages; a meeting place between hunters and traders from Russia and elsewhere. The Kotzebue airport is called the Ralph Wien Memorial and has two runways. The modern one is aligned 08-26 and is 5,880 feet of 150 feet wide asphalt built across a shallow lagoon, with an ILS on 08 and PAPI on both ends. The second and older runway is originally military and gravel, aligned 17-35 and 3,786 feet long and used (wind allowing) by the GA planes that park alongside the runway. The prevalent wind is from the west; when the wind is from the east it is generally relatively feeble and with a much lower cloud base, possibly to the ground, hence the need for an ILS. All AI aircraft in FS9 much prefer to use a runway that has an ILS and so will continue to use 08-26 even if the wind is from the south until it reaches 30+ knots, even if they are a Cessna 150 flying VFR. So for AI realism in FS9 a northern or southern wind needs to be a strong one so that the runway is actually used. However, as Alaska Airlines, Northern Air Cargo, and Everts Air also fly to Kotzebue and can only use the east-west runway (as less than 4,000 feet of asphalt would be seriously inconvenient for a Boing 737 or DC6) it is necessary to have the northern or southern wind UNDER 30 knots at the times when they are landing or taking off. Your choice. I suppose a permanent strong wind from the west would be the most realistic on a daily basis, deterring all planes from ever using 17-35. The AI will develop along with further scenery additions in the neighbourhood.