Four recreational pilots in custom aircraft stopped in Haines last week as part of a two-week trip in Alaska, originating in Arlington, Wash. and basing out of Wasilla. The two-seat, SX-300 planes feature a six-cylinder, 300-horsepower engine and reach speeds of 300 mph. “It’s kind of like driving a Ferrari,” said pilot Mike Smith of Jackson, Miss. Others on the trip included Tuck McAtee of Williamsburg, Va., Jerry Mercer of Ventura, Calif., and Marty Abbott of Calgary, Alberta. McAtee said they stopped in Haines at the urging of river guide Nelbert Niemi, a classmate of McAtee’s at the U.S. Air Force Academy.
