by Peter Twitchell
I’m going back in time when I was eight years old and saw my first “snow plane”. The owner was Ray Jenkins of Bethel. The cockpit and the airplane engine at the rear had a two blade prop.
To start the snow plane the owner hand started the prop by putting both hands on the blade and cranking the blade by spinning it until it fired up, and running up to the cockpit and closing the door and away he went down the trail.
I thought it was the “coolest” with three airplane skis. Two side by side in the rear of the snow plane and one up front.
The front ski protruded about three feet in front of the cockpit. Away Ray went taking side roads and the trail that cut across behind Swanson’s Store, and between I.C.P. – the ice cream place in back of Swanson’s and down the street to the Brown’s Slough creating a cloud of snow behind and all the way down the Kuskokwim River.
When people talked about the unique snow plane they would mention that snow plane went up to the Tundra villages of Nunapitchuk, Kasigluk and down to the coastal village of Tuntutuliak.
From time to time I’d see that “snow plane” going up and down the Kuskokwim River.
I’m wondering where the unique transportation snow plane is resting? I know there were a couple other snow planes in existence and I wonder who’s brainchild the snow plane was?
