Christensen, Hakon, 1902-1956
Person
Dates
- Existence: 1902-1956
Biographical Note: Hakon Christensen
Hakon Christensen was a Danish aviator who set up a flying service in Alaska in 1934.
Christensen was born in Pastbro, Denmark on May 30, 1902. He learned to fly in 1917 in Iowa and later performed as a barnstormer in the midwest United States. In 1933, he sold his plane to Ed Lerdahl of Fairbanks, Alaska and went to Alaska from Iowa to fly it for him. Christensen set up his own charter flight service in Cantwell, Alaska in 1934, flying between Peters Creek Mine, Valdez Creek Mine, Fairbanks, and Anchorage with a Curtiss Robin. He moved his business to Anchorage in 1940 and extended service to Seward. At that poing he flew a Grumman Widgeon. He was one of the first pilots to land mountain climbing expeditions on Mt. McKinley. Christensen sold his business in 1952 and began a new air service.
Christenson and his passenger, Anchorage businessman E. Wells Ervin, died in an airplane crash near Cordova on April 9, 1956 in a snow storm on a flight from Seattle to Cordova with a stop in Yakutat. He is buried in Anchorage.
Biographical information derived from
Christensen was born in Pastbro, Denmark on May 30, 1902. He learned to fly in 1917 in Iowa and later performed as a barnstormer in the midwest United States. In 1933, he sold his plane to Ed Lerdahl of Fairbanks, Alaska and went to Alaska from Iowa to fly it for him. Christensen set up his own charter flight service in Cantwell, Alaska in 1934, flying between Peters Creek Mine, Valdez Creek Mine, Fairbanks, and Anchorage with a Curtiss Robin. He moved his business to Anchorage in 1940 and extended service to Seward. At that poing he flew a Grumman Widgeon. He was one of the first pilots to land mountain climbing expeditions on Mt. McKinley. Christensen sold his business in 1952 and began a new air service.
Christenson and his passenger, Anchorage businessman E. Wells Ervin, died in an airplane crash near Cordova on April 9, 1956 in a snow storm on a flight from Seattle to Cordova with a stop in Yakutat. He is buried in Anchorage.
Biographical information derived from
- "Hakon Christensen film" https://archives.consortiumlibrary.org/collections/specialcollections/hmc-0089/, accessed July 2, 2021.
- "More Alaska Bush Pilot Information" http://www.alaskabushpilot.org/MyMoreAKPilots01.html Accessed July 2, 2021.
Found in 1 Collection or Record:
Terry Buckridge Alaskan Aviation Film Collection
Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: 1993-11-22
Contents of the Collection
The Terry Buckridge Alaskan Aviation Film Collection is a small collection containing two privately-shot films from the 1940s relating to Alaskan aviation. The first film depicts a Star Air Service aircraft and a fishing trip to Lake Iliamna, Alaska, circa 1940s. It begins with footage of an unidentified group of men with fishing equipment, followed by shots of a Star Air Service Bellanca CH-400 Skyrocket seaplane (tail number NC-10795) and aerial views of towns, bodies of water,...