Pilot station

A pilot station is an onshore headquarters for maritime pilots or place pilots can be hired. To get from a pilot station to an approaching ship, pilots need to take a quick vessel to arrive in time, i.e. a pilot boat. Historically, pilot stations would often be found on an island or other point at sea near a harbour, giving them ample time to transfer to an approaching boat. With modern pilot boats being much faster, however, the need for this has been reduced and most pilot stations are on the mainland.

Occasionally pilot station can refer to a place on the bridge of a ship where a pilot is positioned while guiding a ship, for example a pilothouse, but this use is less common.

Pilot Station, Alaska

Pilot Station (Tuutalgaq in Central Yup'ik) is a city in Kusilvak Census Area, Alaska, United States. The population was 550 at the 2000 census.

Geography

Pilot Station is located at 61°56′10″N 162°53′0″W / 61.93611°N 162.88333°W / 61.93611; -162.88333 (61.936050, -162.883403), on the northern bank of the lower Yukon River, approximately eighty miles ('as the crow flies') from the Bering Sea.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.3 square miles (6.0 km²), of which, 1.7 square miles (4.4 km²) of it is land and 0.6 square miles (1.6 km²) of it (25.55%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 550 people, 109 households, and 92 families residing in the city. The population density was 326.2 people per square mile (125.7/km²). There were 126 housing units at an average density of 74.7 per square mile (28.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.91% Native American, 2.36% White, and 0.73% from two or more races.