ASES in Alaska: A Week of Float Training and a Flight to Knik Glacier

In August 2025 I went to Alaska to earn my single engine sea rating. I trained for about three days in a Piper Super Cub on floats at a seaplane base in the Mat-Su Valley, passed the checkride, and the next day flew up the Knik River to Knik Glacier as pilot in command. Coming from a Diamond DA40, almost everything was different: no brakes, big flaps, steep approaches, and most of the week spent around a thousand feet over lakes and trees. I also cover what I wish I had known before the trip, from rental car prices in Anchorage to groceries and August weather, in case you are planning the same thing. Narration in this video is AI generated (Kokoro text to speech) from my own script, and the music is an original score made for this film. Chapters 0:00 ASES in Alaska 0:52 Why Alaska 1:54 Good to know: getting there and getting around 3:51 The base 5:26 Training: learning to fly off water 8:35 Checkride 9:09 Pilot in command: up the Knik River to the glacier 12:06 Closing #SeaplaneRating #ASES #Alaska #SuperCub #KnikGlacier #FloatPlane #GeneralAviation #PilotLife