Welcome to Kenmore Air As you get off your Kenmore Air seaplane flight today, take a moment to look back at the tail of the airplane. If it says “N765KA,” then you have just flown aboard the newest addition to our fleet. Never mind that this particular Otter first flew in 1953! You see, since its start more than 65 years ago, a “new” airplane at Kenmore Air has most often meant an old airplane rebuilt to better-than-factory-new condition by our talented mechanics. This began when my grandfather, Bob Munro, and his buddy, Reg Collins, restored a 1930svintage two-seater in the family garage and decided to start a flying service called Kenmore Air Harbor. It continues with N765KA, which arrived last fall as a battered shell of an airplane in a shipping container from Kenai, Alaska. To be sure, there are faster ways to grow a fleet. Transforming this tired, worn airframe— which hadn’t flown since the late 1980s—into the finest Otter in airline service anywhere in the world has taken more than 5,000 man hours of highly skilled work by the best crew in the business. Under the direction of project manager Sam Hale, most of the airplane’s metal skin has been replaced. A new instrument panel has been filled with modern gauges and radios. A powerful Pratt & Whitney turboprop engine has been installed, and the cabin has been outfitted with a beautiful leather interior. So why do we take this difficult, time-consuming road to “new” aircraft ownership? Why not just write a check? Because despite being decades-old designs, the Beaver and Otter seaplanes we fly perform their missions better than anything that has been produced since. And Beavers and Otters bearing a small brass plaque that reads “Rebuilt by Kenmore Air Harbor” are the best of the best. If you didn’t get to take a ride on N765KA today, I hope you’ll have the opportunity when you fly with us again soon. And when you do, I hope you’ll join me in congratulating Sam and his crew on a job extremely well done.
Schedules and fares for Kenmore Air’s 2012 summer season destinations are available now at KenmoreAir.com
Todd Banks President
The Kenmore Air Destination Magazine
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