Katmai
Tourism in Katmai Country
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CHAPTER 5:
THE KATMAILAND CONCESSION OPERATION
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Fig 30. Through most of the 1950s,
Katmai-bound guests flew from King Salmon to the various NCA camps in
either a Norseman or a Cessna T-50. Most used the Cessna, which the
airline modified for use in the bush. This photo, taken in 1951, shows
it on Naknek Lake at Brooks Camp. Mt. Katolinat, southeast of the camp,
is in the background. (Don Horter photo, Katmailand Collection)
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Fig 31. The Kulik Lake airstrip,
constructed in the mid-1950s, was doubled in length in order to
accommodate NCA's new Fairchild F-27B turboprops. In 1959, the company
began offering weekly service in the 40-passenger craft from Anchorage
to King Salmon via Kulik Lake; it continued with intermittent service
for the next several years. The bus, which was used to transport guests
between the airstrip and the camp, has long since been abandoned. (Ward Wells Collection, AMHA)
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Fig 32. Vice President Richard M. Nixon,
and his wife Pat, flew to Anchorage in December 1958 to dedicate
Northern Consolidated's new fleet of F-27B turboprops. Ray Petersen,
holding the bouquet, looks on. (Ward Wells Collection, AMHA)
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Fig 33. From the early 1960s into the
early 1970s, the concessioner used the Swiss-designed Pilatus Porter as
a primary means of access to the Katmai camps. (Wien Collection, AMHA)
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Fig 34. NCA introduced the Grumman
Mallard, an amphibious aircraft, in the late 1960s, and continued to use
it for much of the next decade. This photo was taken on the Naknek Lake
side of Brooks Camp; the landing mat has largely disintegrated in recent
years. (Ward Wells Collection, AMHA)
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Fig 35. Wien Air Alaska and Northern
Consolidated announced their merger in 1967. Shortly thereafter, WAA
President Sigurd Wien (left) and NCA President Ray Petersen celebrated
the proposed new venture, to be known as Wien Consolidated
Airlines. (Wien Collection, AMHA)
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Fig 36. Wien and NCA merged largely
because neither, on their own, had sufficient capital to purchase jet
aircraft. During the late 1960s they purchased several Boeing 737s. In
April 1973, Wien Consolidated's Board of Directors met at Boeing's
Renton (Wash.) plant in a recently-purchased B-737. Those standing
(left to right) are Ray Petersen, Sig Wien and Boeing representative A.
Scott Gilson. (Wien Collection, AMHA)
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Fig 37. In September 1976, Anchorage
businessman Jim Flood (right) was chosen to succeed Ray Petersen as
president of Wien Air Alaska. Flood presided over the company, and the
concessions camps, for the next seven years. (Wien Collection, AMHA)
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katm/tourism/chap5a.htm
Last Updated: 13-Oct-2004
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