Tangental notes from the airfield

By the time you feel sunburn, it's already too late. Drink more water than you think you need, and use sunscreen.

Flying down the Alcan is easier than flying up, and faster. The pattern of storm fronts sweeps down from the north, so if you go down just behind a front, you'll usually get several days of beautiful weather. If you're coming up, expect at least one weather delay while a front passes over.

Heading to the west of the rockies, two good places to cross and deal with customs are Billings and Cut Bank.

No matter how averse to fruit or veggies men may claim to be, splitting a banana lengthwise, stuffing dark chocolate chunks inside, wrapping it in aluminum foil and tossing on the grill creates a treat that won't have any left over.

You always sound more inane on video than you think you will.

Before working on the underbelly of a plane, make sure all hair is well-controlled, and clothing unable to drag on the ground through oil or under the wheels of a creeper. Wear glasses so paint flecks, metal chips, and oil do not fall into your eyes.

Start backing out all the screws on inspection plates with a screwdriver. Sure, the cordless screwdriver can handle some of them, but if you just do it right the first time for all of them, it saves time, effort and stripped screws in the end.

If you can't control the outside temperature, or the room temperature, control the temperature of your sleeping bag or your bed. The warmer you are, the less stiff you'll be when you wake up.

Alaska is a very small town spread across a land mass one-third the size of the lower 48. I will always meet more people whom I know or know of than I think I will.

Nitrous oxide and full-length leading edge slats make a fantastic STOL machine... but skill will still beat modified gear hands-down.

These are all just opinions, but trust me on the water and sunscreen.