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"A lot of people are affected adversely," said Andy Greenblatt, owner of Shadow Aviation, based in Fairbanks. "Mine has been a loss of business, just because of the smoke."
He lost more than 100 hours of flight time this summer, roughly one-fifth of his summer season, Greenblatt said. "You just can't make up for it."
Late June and early July were the worst weeks for Interior aviators dealing with smoke, although in mid-August, Greenblatt said he couldn't fly back home to Fairbanks for several days. And in mid-September, he was again grounded, in the midst of the busy hunting season.
"I've never seen it like this, ever," he said. "People ask you to predict what it will do, and there's no way to do so."
Bob Bursiel, president of Wright Air Service in Fairbanks, also said this summer's smoke conditions in the Interior were unlike any before. "I've never had it last this long in the 35 years I've been flying up here," he said.
Wright Air lost some business and charters, due to the smoky conditions, but gained some business flying supplies and firefighters for federal fire managers. "We came out even," Bursiel said.
That wasn't the case for Larry's Flying Service, as owner Larry Chenaille described it as "very serious, critical. It's basically shut us down."
His business currently has 14 aircraft, most of which are single-engine planes operating under VFR or visual flight rules. Those planes are now parked, operating just for charter work, as Larry's gave up at the end of August its contracts to deliver mail to Interior Alaska villages.
"We kept transferring the mail to other operations flying bigger aircraft, flying instruments," he said. "It's probably over a half-million dollars we lost this summer."
More of an impact due to smoke was the lack of tourists wanting to go flight-seeing, Chenaille said. "It was one of the biggest tourism years in Fairbanks but we didn't have the weather to fly."
Even large jets flying on instruments experienced some limitations at Fairbanks International Airport in the midst of smoky conditions this summer, as IFR (instrument flight rules) require a minimum of about one-half mile visibility and a 250-foot ceiling.
VFR standards require a three-mile visibility and a 1,000-foot ceiling, although a special VFR landing or departure can be requested by a pilot from the local air traffic control tower, provided there is one mile of visibility and a 1,000 foot ceiling.
During days of limited visibility, smoke slowed up air traffic at Fairbanks International and nearby fields, as air traffic controllers can allow only one aircraft at a time within an approximate five-mile radius. Federal Aviation Administration rules require that IFR aircraft have priority during these kind of weather-induced visibility limitations.
VFR-operating traffic then enter "the waiting game," either circling a few miles out of town while waiting for a slot to land, or idling at the end of the runway or float plane pond, waiting for permission to depart.
That adds unproductive time to the aircraft engine and adds considerable delay for flights, said Jim O'Neill, who with his wife, Letha, owns NorthStar Aero, based at the Chena Marina floatplane pond and gravel runway, a couple miles west of Fairbanks International.
"This clearance has taken me up to 45 minutes to get released here out of Chena Marina, and of course during this waiting game the clock is running on the airplane because the engine is running," O'Neill said.
Charter rates don't cover the additional time required, nor is it fair to pass on that extra cost to the customer, he added.
The O'Neills started their business about a year ago, offering a variety of aviation-related services. But even that business diversity didn't help this summer. "The fires and smoke killed the float instruction, flight-seeing and guided fishing trips," O'Neill said. "Fishing trips weren't practical even on days with good visibility for fear of not being able to pick up clients in a timely scheduled manner for fear smoke would roll back in."
For a leased aircraft, O'Neill "conservatively" estimated flying 240 hours for June through August. As of early September, he's been able to fly 40 hours, "which pays about three-quarters of the aircraft lease obligation with no insurance payment, which is considerable dollars plus no profit."
The lack of flying has been "devastating," costing NorthStar Aero about $8,500 out of pocket, O'Neill said.
In addition, the smoke and fires affected his repair service, with fewer people flying to Fairbanks, and fewer locals taking to the air. "If people don't fly they don't break things on their aircraft and don't need to spend money on repairs," he said.
Assistance available
The O'Neills' recently completed loan applications offered to businesses impacted by this summer's fires. The loans are available from the U.S. Small Business Association, which declared Alaska's Interior a disaster area.
SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans are available to small businesses in the affected fire areas. Businesses may request up to $1.5 million in loans to assist in paying fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other obligations they cannot meet due to the economic impact caused by the fires.
"I estimate that I've lost what should have been $20,000 profit on the flying end and another $15,000 profit on the repair business, which will make paying overhead this winter very, very tight," O'Neill said.
The economic damage will take a lasting toll, affecting NorthStar Aero through the winter months and possibly into next summer's tourism season, by limiting funds needed to renew an aircraft lease and pay costly aviation insurance.
"This season was especially critical to us because we have invested our life savings during the course of the past year, the money is gone, and it's time for the business to start paying the way," O'Neill said. "This fire business up here has been devastating to us, and I pray that we'll be able to recover without having to shutdown and go to work for someone else."
There's some hope for Fairbanks-based aviation businesses. The smoke this summer was the worst ever in the past 50 years, Chenaille said. "If it's not this bad for another 50 years, I won't be around to worry about it."
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