Leaving Anchorage

The day we left Anchorage was a pretty dreary one. The weather was blustery and grey. There were reports of moderate to severe turbulence and we were going to have to climb through it to head back home. They offered us a quick departure on one of the east-west runways, but it would have meant a pretty mean crosswind so we declined and had a forever hold awaiting our IFR release. I never knew just how much air cargo moved through Anchorage, but it seems there was an endless parade of 747's landing. The delay allowed me to get the above shot. Pretty cool I think. I think we were waiting there for about 40 minutes. The plan was to stop in Juneau after a quick touchdown in Yakutat to drop off some parts for one of our other aircraft. Just before they cleared us for departure an Alaskan Airlines 737 landed and the controller asked about the ride in, and he said "It was exciting." Not what you want to hear when you fly something with a fraction of the mass of a 737. Luckily we must have missed all the squirrely air because aside from a few minor bumps the departure and trip to Juneau was rather uneventful.