Claire McCann came to Fairbanks, Alaska in 1966 with her family and has been in this great state ever since. Her first airplane ride was in 1968. While attending college and working at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, the Trans Alaska pipeline construction began and she signed on as a surveyor. As luck would have it most of the initial work was done with helicopters, and a few of the fellows she worked with had aircraft. The timing was as good as the income, and she was able to purchase her first airplane in 1972. She hadn’t yet learned to fly but had been a passenger for many hours around Alaska. The purchase was in Ohio; fortunately a friend offered to teach her to fly on the trip north in her newly acquired Piper PA 12. Arriving in Juneau, she soloed; and her friend had her landing on local beaches that very week.

Over time Claire realized that she needed to know how to maintain the aircraft she operated. She attended airframe and powerplant courses in Fairbanks, AK. She graduated with a Degree in Aviation Technology, an AP license and a newly refurbished PA 12 with many bush modifications.

It became clear that flying was infinitely more fun than working on airplanes, so she decided to get both commercial and instrument ratings. Opportunity came and she went to work for Tanana Air on the Yukon River. During this time she got married and had two children. Many milestones and airplanes later she was ready to move out of interior Alaska.

In a round- about way, Claire ended up in Homer after helping rebuild a Stearman in Montana. For over a decade, she worked as a pilot and mechanic for a couple of different air taxies in Homer (with a season in Yakutat). In 1998, a business partnership was formed, a wrecked Cessna 185 was rebuilt and Smokey Bay Air was born. Back then it was a single pilot operation with one airplane. Today Smokey Bay Air operates 5 Cessna 206 aircraft and has a year round staff of 12. Smokey Bay Air's number one goal remains the same: "To provide the best customer service with the highest level of safety possible."