^Same thoughts.
I used to take float planes into the Adirondack wilderness for camping trips for years (Helms Aero Service). I had nothing but confidence in the pilots (flew with Tom Helms & his Dad in his late 70's, both deceased now). It was a 1972 Cessena. But shit happens sometimes.

Might be his daughter , same name and town.

I think he was teaching her to fly.

Really enjoyed that show.
it was on at a time when my kids were little and my side hustle was a small aviation business.

Jim was what I wanted to be when I (the business) grew up.

Yeah, that's her. She was just a little tyke running around the FBO when I was there. She got some kind of attention from Nickelodeon (I think it was). Maybe from that very show you posted. She'd been trying for a while to get some kind of an entertainment career going. So when Discovery started going nuts over the entire state of Alaska the first place they went to for a bush pilot show was Bering Air (as I recall). They told them they wanted to make a show about bush piloting that would entail them filming all aspects of the job, including inside the aircraft. Well folks, as I mentioned earlier, bending FARs was a matter of common practice. So Bering Air said "No way." But apparently Ariel and the Twetos in general heard Discovery was shopping around for a bush pilot outfit to film. Hollywood landed in their backyard. Jim worked a deal where Discovery would film his company but he had final editing rights and had strict authority over cutting any film footage that could compromise the company. After all, each episode was going to be viewed not long after being shot and the FAA was sure to be watching.

So Discovery starts filming, and admittedly, there's a lot of excitement to be seen in flying 135 around northwest Alaska. Unfortunately, most of the best stuff involved some degree of illegality. So after every editing session there'd be a pile of footage on the floor and no great stories left to tell. So they had to start inventing bullshit drama. They can't show a guy shooting a GPS-BS approach to 50' in Wales. They're not gonna show the pilots that have to use their pistols to prevent natives from attacking them in-flight. So they had to start creating stories about "the crosswinds are bad! Will she be able to land!?". I remember one where they had 2 buddies of mine, Doug Stewart and Doug Dougherty flying the 1900 with a shipment of whale charges on board. These are explosive charges the natives use on harpoons for hunting whales. The charges are very stable and safe. Yeah, it's hazmat, but very safe to handle. They had an episode where the 2 of them are flying a load of these out past Wales on a defense vfr (dvfr) flight plan and it's a little bumpy (as usual). They're acting like they're doing something incredibly dangerous and that any little bump might make them explode or that the Russians might intercept them. It was pure fiction.

Consequently the show didn't do well and wasn't brought back after the first season.

I've been flown in and out of the middle of nowhere in Alaska in small planes. It's always a bit scary knowing if we go down we are likely going to die. Still hella fun though.

Even flying the 207s I was rarely concerned about crashing. I was confident that I was good enough at off-field landings so as to be able to survive any of them. There was only a few places that made me nervous. Flying around the Brooks Range going into the Anuktuvuk Pass offered almost no safe place to land. Throw in some weather and you'd be positively fucked with an engine failure. Also, the scalloped out coastlines between Point Barrow and Point Hope were well known for their snowy cliffs where polar bears would dig their dens. If you went down anywhere within gliding range of those dens there was a decent chance they'd get you. That would be the worst nightmare imaginable as they might not kill you outright but instead drag you back to their cubs to allow them to practice killing you. A fate worse than hell.

I never saw that episode.   I had a thing for Jill.   Ariel conquered the Big Balls.  Good technique.

RIP Jim.




Ariel Tweeto is now doing Travel Channel style travel around the world.

She was on a few game shows! That is how the family got the reality TV gig.

Jim was the kind of guy you'd think was invulnerable.  He lost a brother to a plane crash many years ago if I remember correctly.

It ran for a couple seasons (3) and was fairly popular - for a small budget reality show not on a major network and not a contest reality show

Quoted:
Quoted:
Might be his daughter , same name and town.

I think he was teaching her to fly.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cslbz3X2mQE
[/quote

She was on a few game shows! That is how the family got the reality TV gig.[/quote





A cousin spent some time in Unalakleet.
He partied with both sisters and said Ariel was crazy as hell.
Ariel is also doing stuff on FNX a native channel.

Wife and I have some cousins that were on the show. Ground crew,csas and passengers.

Nah, it was decent. 3 seasons and the Twetos pulled the plug because they were tired of cameras.

Did the FAA report ever get released?

My ex worked for ERA Aviation when we lived in AK. I met him once, pretty nice guy.

To early

@Vne I need to remember your name and profile pic as a resource for later. Everything you've written is dead accurate for out here. I am not a pilot, but I am in a 206 or 208 several days a week in the PAOM region. To this day, flying IFR here is exactly as you described it. And nobody wanted to give NTSB a ride out to this site because nobody wants them seeing what is done.

Flying into Anaktuvak Pass one of the times in bad weather, with a rear facing seat, was the sickest I've ever been on a plane. I've rarely gone to Barrow and wasn't aware of how high the chances were of getting eaten from going down. Guess I will save the last round for myself, just in case.

That went for 3 seasons!? I'm blown away by that. I made it maybe half way through the first one and gave up. Never watched it again. Can't remember where I got the idea it was canceled so quick.

I always liked watching those retards on Bering Sea Gold. I loved how high and mighty they'd get over being captain of a floating pile of garbage. I also liked it because it seemed like they showed more of the town and my favorite haunts. Any time they were in the Nome harbor I could see my apartment that overlooked it. They've since bulldozed that apartment to put in some kind of big tanks. But they showed a lot of Breaker's Bar and Anchor Tavern. Those were my usual hangouts.

I watched that show, seemed like a genuinely good dude.

Shame, better than dying in a diaper I guess.

That's a fact. I hope to die mid-coitus then have my viewing in an open casket with my face paralyzed in a permant O-face.

A Man with a Plan!

I met them when they came to Airventure after season 2?  great people.  deer in the headlights look with the amount of attention they got at Airventure.  line around the tent kind of attention.

was sorry they pulled the plug because of the intrusive nature of reality tv cameras.  it was basically the only thing on directv that we looked forward to.

More information about the crash.

https://mustreadalaska.com/ntsb-initial-report-shows-unusual-wind-event-was-factor-in-deadly-shaktoolik-cessna-crash-last-month/


Looks like get there itis.

15 knt gust is to blame, eh?

So if Juan is to be believed in the video above, Tweto actually had 2 passengers onboard (one of which died) and half the bear hunting party's gear. So 3 adults and half the gear for a 4-man, back country, bear hunting party, packed into a Cessna 180.

I'll be surprised if Tweto wasn't over gross.

This. Also applies to skydivers and climbers. Seems like the more experienced the lazier or willing to take unnecessary risks the person becomes.

He had a big engine put in some years ago.
Runway was at a angle.

Far as I have read Tweto and the guide were the only ones in the plane.


You can pack a lot shit in plane.
The faa is pretty conservative on the weight. (As per the old time Bush pilots)

Yeah, I'd be curious to know what the stc for the 550 entails. Does it only improve takeoff/climb performance or did it include a useful weight increase? Bigger engines, while improving performance, will usually cut into the useful load. The 550 along with it's accessories is going to weigh a fair amount more than the factory engine. Did he have anything that would've increased the plane's useful load? STOL kit, wing extensions, VGs, etc?

I won't be surprised at all if Juan Brown's interpretation of the preliminary is wrong. That guy has been full of shit in the past. I say it every time one of his videos shows up here, but I can't stand that guy.

Old Juan STFU quick when it is a silver bird involved. Maybe he should take the hint about that in professional aviation.