Flying Wild Alaska

***Flying Wild Alaska*** is a documentary television series featuring the Tweto family, who operate Era Alaska, an airline in Unalakleet, Alaska. The show aired for three seasons on the Discovery Channel from January 14, 2011 to July 20, 2012.

## Summary

The series follows the unconventional Tweto family that rules Alaska's most dangerous skies. Operating their family-run airline, Era Alaska, they battle unforgiving Alaska weather and terrain to transport life's necessities to one of the most remote and extreme regions of America. With no freeway system for hundreds of miles, Era Alaska is the lifeline for the isolated rural inhabitants of the Bering Sea coastline. From champion snow dogs bound for the Iditarod to medicine for sick children to groceries for miners working on an operation on the North Slope, the goods that the intrepid pilots ship on any given day are crucial to everyday life.

Wildly determined Jim runs his company with passion and looks to his tiny yet fierce wife, Ferno, for support. Their two daughters, Ayla and Ariel, also play a vital role in the operation. Year round, Jim and his family are motivated by the fact that the livelihood of thousands of people depend on their business and employees every day. Battling -40-degree winters and hurricane-like winds for months on end, the intrepid pilots of Era Alaska are among the best in the world, combating big storms in small planes - a scenario only suited for the most experienced pilots. Despite his company's achievements, Jim refuses to rest for even an instant, because he knows that his community's well-being depends on him.

## Cast

### Tweto family

* **Jim Tweto** - The COO of the airline, was born in Wichita, Wisconsin, but his family moved to Silver Bay, Minnesota shortly after his birth. He then moved to Anchorage, Alaska at the age of 18 with a hockey scholarship at the University of Alaska-Anchorage. Shortly after moving, he realized his true passion was aviation, and in 1980 moved to Unalakleet, Alaska, where he met his wife Ferno. He became the COO of Era when the Frontier Flying Service, Era Aviation, and Hageland Aviation merged in 2009, becoming the largest airline in Alaska.
* **Ferno Tweto** - The Unalakleet station manager and wife of Jim, was born in Anchorage and raised in Unalakleet. Ferno is also a pilot, earning her pilot certificate from a school in Everett, Washington in 1981. Ferno met Jim when he came to Unalakleet in 1980, and they married in 1988. They have worked together side by side ever since and have three daughters, of which two are also featured on the show.
* **Ariel Tweto** - Jim and Ferno's second child who works as part of the Unalakleet ground crew. Like her mother, she ran cross-country and has run every day since 2002. The 2011-12 season of the show saw her taking flight training to earn her pilot's license. Her instructor, also featured on the show, is Chelsea Abingdon Welch. Ariel received her private pilot certificate on April 21, 2012.
* **Ayla Tweto** - Another daughter of the family who, like her sister Ariel, works on the Unalakleet ground crew. Now living in Anchorage, she is studying to be a paramedic. She visits the rest of the family in Unalakleet every weekend and has her private pilot's certificate.

### Others

Various other pilots are featured throughout the show from cities all across Alaska.

* **Jared Cummings** - Pilot for the Era-based out of Kotzebue. Specializing in off-airport landings, he also owns and operates his own company known as the Golden Eagle Outfitters.
* **Sarah Fraher** - Pilot based out of St. Mary's.
* **Luke Hickerson** - Lead pilot and check airman based out of Utqiagvik.
* **Ben Henderson** - Pilot based out of Unalakleet.
* **John Ponts** - Pilot based out of Utqiagvik. He is a former pro-skateboarder from San Diego who caught a bug for flying after his pilot's license in an attempt to spot empty swimming pools to skate in from the air.
* **Erik Snuggerud** - Lead pilot based out of Bethal.
* **Doug Stewart** - Pilot based out of Nome.
* **Nick Stone** - Co-pilot based out of Nome.
* **Chelsea Abingdon Welch** - Flight instructor out of Unalakleet.

## Episodes

Main article: *List of Flying Wild Alaska episodes*

 1
 2
 3

## Awards and nominations

*Flying Wild Alaska* was nominated for the NAMIC Vision Award for Reality in 2012.