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Anchorage to Naknek, Naknek to Anchorage, 1931

One of the earliest aircraft to fly Anchorage to Naknek was this Gillam Airways Ireland "Neptune" in 1931. Lady travelers from Naknek, from left: Anna Alander, Dorothy Regan and Sarah Johnson.

Harold Gillam began operating an air service out of Cordova in 1931 with three planes-one of them an amphibian. However, he was plagued by six crashes in his first six months. Gillam preferred carrying passengers to freight and had the reputation of being quite a daredevil. He was known to his peers as "thrill 'em, spill 'em but never kill 'em Gillam." Alaskan aviators had three classifications for weather during this period-"Pan American" (clear with unlimited visibility), the usual "good, bad, and indifferent," then there was "Gillam weather"-weather in which only Harold would fly. Gillam served mainly the railroad route to the Kennecott mines. - (The above paragraph from: http://www.alaska.net/~awss/HAviation1917.html

There is a link to photo of plane: http://aviationhistory.adattic.com/en-us/dept_461.html

©Photo and Information from the Monsen Family Collection


Anchorage to Naknek, Naknek to Anchorage, 1931
One of the earliest aircraft to fly Anchorage to Naknek was this Gillam Airways Ireland "Neptune" in 1931. Lady travelers from Naknek, from left: Anna Alander, Dorothy Regan and Sarah Johnson.
Harold Gillam began operating an air service out of Cordova in 1931 with three planes-one of them an amphibian. However, he was plagued by six crashes in his first six months. Gillam preferred carrying passengers to freight and had the reputation of being quite a daredevil. He was known to his peers as "thrill 'em, spill 'em but never kill 'em Gillam." Alaskan aviators had three classifications for weather during this period-"Pan American" (clear with unlimited visibility), the usual "good, bad, and indifferent," then there was "Gillam weather"-weather in which only Harold would fly. Gillam served mainly the railroad route to the Kennecott mines. - (The above paragraph from: http://www.alaska.net/~awss/HAviation1917.html
There is a link to photo of plane: http://aviationhistory.adattic.com/en-us/dept_461.html
©Photo and Information from the Monsen Family Collection