I've flown for a few different companies in the Caribbean. Best experiences of my life. Check out my Facebook page "Habitual Lawbreaker" for tales of adventure and daring and maybe even buy my book.

CF-AUQ on the back bay at Big Trout Lake about 1971.

The Duncan family that lived in Big Trout sent me some excellent photos of the Bristol. I have posted them on my FB page called "Habitual Lawbreaker." in the "Bearskin Air album. Too many to move here.

Very sorry to hear that. I've known Lyle since the early 70's. I agree, one helluva pilot!!!

I remember those old wings. They were laying in the bush a few feet from these old cat train sleds. This was on the old Central Pat Airport. Most don't even know it even existed but this photo I took a dozen years ago is in the runway.

Here's a little Pickle Lake history for you. The guy on the step ladder is my old friend Sam Cole. This is 1977 and the DC-3 needing and engine is CF-IAZ. Sam is freezing his fingers off working for Pat Air on the ice at Pickle working with these guys to hang that engine for less than the going rate...

Damn, there are a couple of excellent post here unlike the usual shit slinging. Valley boy, you speak right from my heart. We were brothers, we were dedicated to the planes and everybody that kept them flying. We didn't have a time clock and we didn't want one. We worked until the job was done and t...

I guess it,s just inevitable that with technology everything must change. Not that long ago, it seems, aviators would meet at the end of the day and discuss anything they had learned about the machines they were flying, engine issues, weather conditions, runways, ice landing areas and they would exp...

I've been around a long time and I've seen a lot!!! I've seen how aviation has changed and the attitude of young aviators. To be honest.... I thought I would see about 50 or 60 comments about a legendary bush pilot but I saw one!!! The era of real pilots is long gone. But I do know that pilots from ...

Correction....Pete’s Memorial page is “Celebration of life for Pete Johnson”

Packsack Pete Johnson has been flying bush planes in Pickle Lake as long as I can remember. It was with deep and profound sadness that I learned of his passing. I first met him in the early 70,s when I was starting my apprenticeship as an engineer and Pete was flying a piston Otter for Hooker Air. M...

Beech landing gear has a yoke. So it would fasten on both sides of the ski. These have a flange on one side. How well I remember..."It's the main lead!!" Also a DC-3 landed with a rough running engine. Rigger grabbed the prop, rocked it back and forth about 2 feet and said..."Well, they're all there...

Good to hear. At our age I'm always nervous to ask that question. Ray

I put these skis on Bearskins Otter, CF-APR in the 70's. They are Beech18 skis from the Weiben operation. Unlike your photos they have square tips. If you check out some of the last photos posted by Beech18 on his Superior Airways thread you will see an otter with similar skis to the ones you have p...

Junkers CF-AQV at Ear Falls shortly before the trade.

I can offer this. In Sept 1939 Junkers CF-AQV crashed near Ear Falls. About 1970 a local resident dragged the remains out of the bush. The Western Canada Aircraft museum wanted it so the Beech 18 CF-ZQG was traded for it.

I've found out a little more info on the photo of Junkers remains I posted above. This was CF-AQV that crashed near Ear Falls on Sept 1-1939. It was dragged to Ear Falls by a resident and traded to the WCAM in Winnipeg. Here is a photo of CF-AQV in better days.

For what it's worth. Everything is modified to suit the present conditions and operations. At the MNR in water scooping conditions, on floats of course, the auto-feather is selected on for the entire water-scooping operation. The aircraft is very complicated with all the water-bombing systems and hy...

Badmash, in the first picture C-FDTB is an old Transport Canada DC-3 that was once stationed in Winnipeg. In the second picture I see C-FFAY, this bird was once owned by Perimeter Aviation in Winnipeg and was sold to Dave Knox of Red Lake. I did a lot of maintenance on this plane in Red Lake 20 some...

CF-YQG