OUTSTANDING FLIGHTS: Blazing the Air Mail Path in Alaska

by Vintage Aircraft Association | Feb 4, 2017 | Outstanding Flights

With no roads, no trains and a frozen Bering Sea, shipping options were limited back in 1925 when Nome desperately needed diphtheria anti-toxin.  Ground transport by experienced mail carriers and their trusted dog teams would be the tried and true method but Aviation enthusiasts were quick to suggest airmail would be a much faster way to deliver the serum.

Could the airplane save the children of Nome?  There was a long list of concerns, yet there was one compelling advantage for using the airplane – TIME.  An airplane could cover the distance between Nenana and Nome in 6 hours compared to dog teams taking weeks.  Would the reward of time outweigh the risks of flying?  The difficult decision would fall on the shoulders of Scott Bone, Governor of the Territory of Alaska.

During the summers of 1923 and 1924, pilots Carl “Ben” Eielson and Noel Wien took to Alaska’s air space delivering passengers and supplies out of Fairbanks.  Many believed the airplane was the answer to accessibility across the territory.  Noel Wien made the first nonstop flight from Anchorage to Fairbanks during the summer of 1924. 

In 1924, Ben Eielson secured a U.S. Postal Service Airmail contract between Fairbanks and McGrath.  Eielson flew the 275 mile mail runs in a government-issue De Haviland.  The airmail experiment was a great success, however after eight of the ten contracted flights the post office cancelled the contract.  With the rigors of cold weather flying, the plane was continually in need of parts.  Postal officials refused to send more parts saying the territory wasn’t ready for regular airmail service and they wanted the De Haviland back.

The De Haviland used for early airmail was far sturdier than any of the three open cockpit bi-planes that would be considered for the life-saving flight to Nome.  The coldest temperature Eielson endured in the De Haviland on the mail runs was -10 degrees.  He was wearing so many layers of clothing, he could hardly climb into the plane then upon returning to Fairbanks, Eielson – cold, stiff and exhausted, had to be helped from the plane.

Commercial flying in Alaska was a fledgling industry and the available aircraft were unsophisticated.  There were three planes in all of Alaska.  In January of 1925, all were sitting in Fairbanks just a short distance from Nenana’s railroad terminus.  All were stripped down awaiting repairs and overhaul after the flying season of 1924.  In The Cruelest Miles, the planes with dismantled wings, oil caked props and engines were described by the authors as dilapidated.

When Nome’s need became known, a mechanic, a pilot and the manager of Alaska’s only airline went to inspect the corporation’s planes to see if one might be made airworthy on short notice.  Would airworthy be enough for a safe flight from Fairbanks to Nome with such precious cargo?

A WWI surplus Standard J-1 open cockpit biplane, known as the Anchorage, seemed the most likely of the trio to succeed.  The plane had an upgraded engine and for the flight of 350 miles from Anchorage to Fairbanks made the previous summer by Noel Wien, an additional 30 gallon fuel tank had been added.

The rigors of cold weather would severely challenge the safety of the pilot.  An open cockpit would offer little to no protection in the brutally cold temperatures plus there was the windchill factor.  How could a pilot survive the extreme cold for the duration of the flight?

Anti-freeze would not be invented until 1931.  The water cooled engine in the Anchorage, like all water cooled engines was unreliable in cold weather.  Water cooled engines were known for excessive vibration which often caused bolts to loosen, screws to come undone, water lines to break and spark plugs to foul. 

De-icing procedures were many years off so wings, propeller hubs and radiators could ice up.  Snow and ice particles might clog the carburetor’s air intake affecting combustion.  In any of these circumstances, a pilot might be able to make an emergency landing but if the engine stalled, the outcome would likely be disastrous for pilot, cargo and plane.

Mother nature offered up many challenges too – the coldest temperatures in 20 years, coastal snow storms, gusty winds and haze obscuring the ground and the horizon which pilots say is like flying inside a bottle of milk. 

There would be no beacons between Nenana and Nome to guide a pilot in low light conditions.  Maps were not accurate so pilots had to fly by land marks or as Wein did between Anchorage and Fairbanks, follow the railroad tracks.  The Anchorage had no air to ground radio and the accuracy of her magnetic compass was suspect.

One more factor – pilots.  The pilots who flew for the Fairbanks Aircraft Corporation,  Ben Eielson and Noel Wien, where outside of Alaska on business.  But Roy Darling had flying experience and happened to be in Fairbanks on business for the Justice Department.  Darling had sustained serious injuries in a seaplane crash five years earlier that continued to challenge his mobility .  Even so, he was willing to take to the air for the sake of Nome’s children.  However, Darling knew none of the local landmarks so he’d need a navigator to make his way to Nome.

Chapter 5, Flying Machines, in Gay and Laney Salisbury’s book The Cruelest Miles, goes into great detail about the people advocating for air rescue and all the factors that Governor Bone considered in making the best decision for the children of Nome. For an in-depth look, please find and enjoy a copy of The Cruelest Miles!

When Governor Bone decided to send the serum by dog team, he chose the tried and true ways of Alaska’s indigenous people over the yet to be proven airplane.  Deciding on the side of caution, Bone likely saved the life of a pilot, the serum and an airplane.

Information shared in this story comes from The Cruelest Miles, Alaska Aviation Heritage Museum website and various articles on Carl “Ben” Eielson.