About Us - Kingfisher Air & Kingfisher Aviation

About Kingfisher

Feel safe during your flying experience. Kingfisher Aviation & Kingfisher Air Inc are licenced and inspected to operate by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and State of Alaska. Our pilots are examined annually by the FAA. The aircraft are thouroughly inspected by and maintained by a certified mechanic every 100 flight hours - which is about once a month. We are CPR/First Aid certified and have special use permits to operate in the Kodiak Refuge, Katmai National Park and Alaska State Parks. We meet all the applicable insurance requirements by the state and federal goverment. Most important and is a mainstay in our company attitude is to NOT PUSH THE WEATHER. Glen & Kyle take a conservative attitude, and will cancel flights if they deem the weather is not (or will not stay) good enough to safely complete the flight.

"Don't be a show-off. Never be too proud to turn back. There are old pilots and bold pilots, but no old, bold pilots" E. Hamilton Lee, 1949.

The weather always clears and we plan to be here for a long time! We are based in the city of Kodiak on the Lily Lake seaplane base and operate flights from April through November every day the weather is flyable. Currently, we operate two Bush Hawks and a DeHavilland Beaver on floats and we can move up to 2000 pounds or 10 passengers at one time. For your convinience, we offer a courtesy van that can provide you transportation to and from our office on the day of your scheduled flight. Stop by our office at 1829 Mill Bay Road or call us toll free (866) 486-5155 for reservations or information.

Our Pilots & Family History

The Eaton’s have a long history in Kodiak and with aviation. Marty & Linda Eaton originally moved to Kodiak in 1965, and they raised their three sons here, Andy, Glen & Kyle. Flying has been in our family’s heritage for generations, starting with Linda’s father, George Iley Steinke, who purchased his first airplane in 1925 and taught himself to fly. He earned pilots license #1582 (when the licenses were issued in numerical order). After decades of barnstorming, being a corporate pilot, starting an airline and all aspects revolving around aviation, George Steinke was inducted into the Arizona Aviation Hall of fame in 1991.

Glen started flying in 1991 and has been flying commercially since 1995. He has accumulated over 7,500 hours of flight time, most of that being in Alaska. Working for different air taxi services - Island Air (Kodiak) & Pen Air (Kodiak, Bethel, Dillingham) has given Glen a broad range of experience with different aircraft and management styles. We have taken his experiences and developed our company policies to focus on a safety first approach. Glen graduated from the University of Alaska Fairbanks with a B.S. in Biology. Although not professionally employed as a biologist, he gets to utilize much of the knowledge in the everyday aspects of flying around this remote and wild country, especially while taking our clients on the bear viewing tours.

Kyle started flying in 1998 and has been flying commercially since 2001. He has accumulated over 4500 hours of flight time, most of which is in floatplanes around the Kodiak Island area. Working at Zachar Bay Lodge since the age of 10 provided great opportunity to spend countless hours in and out of floatplanes, bears and the remote lakes and rivers throughout the Island. Kyle also has experience flying in along the Central California coast, Western Arizona, and throughout the Idaho and Washington mountains while attending college at the University of Idaho. Most of his flying took place in his Aeronca Sedan, which he would take out on weekends and days when not attending classes. Kyle earned a B.S. in Marketing fro

About Kingfisher

The story behind our company name.

During one summer at Zachar Bay Lodge, a belted kingfisher flew into one of the large glass pane windows of the lodge, and knocked itself out. Glen nursed the bird back to health over the course of several days and released it back into the wild. The next morning when checking on the floatplane, there was the belted kingfisher sitting atop of the tail of the Aeronca Sedan. After seeing the kingfisher on the tail, it was decided that the company would be called Kingfisher.

Our family has a long history in the aviation industry, and it continues with brothers Glen & Kyle Eaton. Both brothers were born and raised in Kodiak where flying floatplanes is as natural to most people as driving a car. Glen started Kingfisher Aviation in 1998 with a 1947 Aeronca Sedan aircraft while working for Zachar Bay Lodge on Kodiak Island. We strive to provide our passengers a safe, reliable and fun flying experience - whether it is your first floatplane flight or you are a seasoned traveler.