Hudson Air Service

In continuous operation for over 60 years, Hudson Air Service was a fixture at Talkeetna airport until the operation was acquired by Holly Sheldon Lee and Dave Lee in 2010.

Specializing in the support of those who lived in the bush along with miners, trappers, hunters and fishermen, Hudson Air Service provided access to remote camps as well as eventually joining the burgonening Denali/McKinley flightseeing services that evolved at Talkeetna.

 

What would become Hudson Air Service began in 1946, when Glen Hudson began flying outdoorsmen to premiere hunting and fishing spots in the Talkeetna area. At the time, there were no other air services in Talkeetna.  Hudson was soon joined by Don Sheldon who opened up Talkeetna Air Service in 1947 after returning from World War II  where he served as a B-17 gunner in the European theater.

In 1948 Glen's brother Cliff came to Alaska and began flying for Hudson Air Service. In 1952, Glenn Hudson died in a plane crash at Disappointment Creek and Cliff took over the air service.

According to a 2004 article in the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman,

Through the years, Cliff became well-known for his abilities as a pilot, for his climber rescue support, and for his service to the community. Hudson Air gained a solid reputation in the growing Alaska aviation industry.

In July of 2000, Hudson received the Exceptional Service Award from Lt. Gen. Tom Case of the U.S. Air Force for his part in the rescue of six airmen that took place 46 years earlier. The citation accompanying the award states that Hudson displayed "exceptionally superior courage" when he received a call on Feb. 5, 1954, that a C-47 flying from Anchorage to Fairbanks broke apart in midair during a storm, the wreckage landing on Kesugi Ridge. Ten airmen were killed. Six survived.

Within an hour after the Air Force sent out a message to local pilots, Hudson was in the air and pinpointed the exact location of the wreckage before the storm closed in. Three men were jumping up and down. Hudson scribbled a note promising to return with help, stuffed it into a weighted message bag, and dropped it to the men.

With no radio, Hudson headed back to Curry to report what he had seen. An Air Force helicopter and a Beaver, part of the rescue advance team, had arrived at the airstrip. The helicopter immediately tried to approach the crash site but soon returned due to poor weather.

The next morning, Hudson and fellow pilot Don Sheldon flew toward the wreckage. Before they arrived, Hudson spotted something among the spruce trees far below. There were three more survivors, Ed Fox, Ed Olson and Rupert Pratt, standing up to their waists in snow. Sheldon landed as close as he could and Hudson grabbed a hatchet and the extra snowshoes he had brought along and set off towards the men.

Hudson built a fire then led each of the men to the landing site on the extra pair of snowshoes.

"Hudson came walking up to us on a pair of snowshoes and said, 'It looks like you boys could use some help,'" Fox said at the award ceremony. "His face right then was the most beautiful I've ever seen."

Sheldon arrived back at the site with a doctor and the group spent the night with the men before the weather cleared and they flew out the next morning. Hudson waited behind and was picked up by a helicopter, since he was the only one who knew the exact location of the crash. He led the rescuers to the wreckage and the other three survivors.

Cliff Hudson retired from the air service in 1998. He would eventually be diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease. With Cliff Hudson's retirement the day-to-day operations of Hudson Air fell to his oldest son, Jay, already a skilled and respected Talkeetna based pilot.

Much has been made of the complicated relationship of Cliff Hudson and Don Sheldon, two now legendary pilots of the Alsaka range.

With the acquisition of the assets of Hudson Air Service in 2010, Sheldon's daughter Holly and her husband David Lee renamed the operation Sheldon Air Service. 

It's the same hangar, the same magnificent scenery and the same care and attention to each passenger on each flight, Hudson pilot Jok Bondurant has become the chief pilot for Sheldon Air Service.

While the Hudson name may be gone from the ramp at Talkeetna, the legacy continues.