Our Planes

K2 Aviation has two Cessna 185s- high-winged tailwheel aircraft with hydraulic wheel-skis mounted on non-retractable landing gear. The hydraulic wheel-skis allow us to take off from a tarmac runway and land on snow on the same flight. Our two aircraft were built in 1975 and 1977. In addition to flying from Talkeetna through the summer, our 185s also participate in the annual Iditarod Air Force; they fly supplies, volunteers, and dogs along the route of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race from Anchorage to Nome.

K2 flies four de Havilland Otters, considered by many to be the quintessential “bush plane.” Similar to the Beaver but on a larger scale, it has spectacular short takeoff & landing, and is designed for bush use. Easily converted from passenger to cargo use, making them useful for diverse operations; we convert ours for combi flights (half passengers, half cargo) for flying mountain climbers with gear. During the winter, when the Otters aren’t flying in Talkeetna, they’re working in Alaska’s North Slope, where in the heart of winter the sun won’t rise for 56 days and the temperature can get down to -6o°F!  

K2 owns three de Havilland Beavers. These planes are high-winged aircraft with non-retractable hydraulic wheel-skis. Our Beavers can land anywhere from the Talkeetna tarmac, to mountain glaciers, to remote bush strips. In addition to spectacular takeoff and landing capabilities, the Beaver boasts doors large enough to fit a 45-gallon drum, and an oil reservoir filler inside the cockpit to allow the pilot to add oil in-flight. Our Beavers were built in 1957 and 1958, but these models are so reliable that they’re still actively used by the US military.

K2 Aviation flies one Piper Cherokee Six, a larger variant of the Piper Cherokee. A low-wing aircraft with non-retractable landing gear, the Cherokee lands on wheels alone which makes it great for non-glacier landing flights. The Cherokee is our fastest single engine aircraft; it is the perfect flightseeing aircraft, and K2 Aviation’s owner Suzanne Rust says the Cherokee is her favorite aircraft!