All the Captains at Bridger are Canadian and the senior maintenance staff are as well. Aeroflite which operate out of Spokane, Washington are the Conair south operation. They have probably 50% Canadian pilots. Yes Canada Firefighter Operations really needs to drag themselves into the 21st century wh...

Actually the pilots made a stand to try and get the cockpits upgraded with a fancier one. Said they were unsafe to operate with what they had. They ended up parked for a couple of years with the pilots sitting at home on the payroll until it was decided they would be put up for sale. You don’t know ...

They were about 2 hours off the coast when they tried to transfer. For whatever reason, it wouldn’t transfer so they turned back. Got within 35 miles off the coast and ended up ditching into the sea. Neither guy survived the ditching.

Unfortunately it’s a recovery

No ride required to get the license. It’s just a paperwork exercise. All your existing ratings and type certificates will get added to your FAA Commercial. Of course it’s the same as Canada, you will need to do an IFR/PPC ride on the aircraft that you will be flying.

I would recommend the Gleim online course. It will set you up nicely for both the Commercial Conversion Exam and the IFR Conversion Exam. Both exams are 40 questions. You also have to complete a form giving the FAA authorization to have your license credentials verified by Transport Canada. Once eve...

The Maldives

hold the controls full nose up after touching down on the water until reaching taxi speed.

Let me know how that technique works out for you when you’re landing in 4 foot swells in the Indian Ocean on a daily basis.

First of all a go around would have prevented the need for this thread. Digging the floats works well. Have used it many times to stop, not from hitting the shore but to stop quicker especially in rough water. Works great in a Twin Otter in heavy seas. Pick the spot, plant it, stick full forward and...

Aeroflite which is Conair’s American Division are the highest paid in North America. Senior guys are doing well north of $200k US for a season working 10 days on and 10 days off. The European folks are up there in Euros as well. Canada once again lags behind in pilots salaries.

MONTREAL — Bombardier Inc. announced Thursday it will cut about 5,000 jobs across the organization over the next 12 to 18 months as part of a new restructuring plan. The cuts are expected to lead to about US$250 million in annualized savings by 2021. The company also announced the sale of what it ca...

Was really impressed at how far Swoop has set back aviation. Yesterday at a Marriot in Winnipeg I watched a Swoop crew filling baggies with food from the free breakfast buffet before leaving all dressed in the ugliest uniforms I have seen a flight crew wear. Is this really what flying the big iron h...

Don’t know who had the hangar before but it is across the field from where Viking is located.

They have the hangars and 2 215’s have been moved in to begin the conversion process. The first one is being done at Cascades in Abbotsford so the Calgary ones will be a couple of months behind that one.

Wawa has a couple of float bases. Geraldton has fuel. You land on Hutchison Lk beside the airport and they will bring the bowser and top you up.

Out of province bombers in Ontario has nothing to do with privatization. They are here as part of the MARS (Mutal Aid Resource Sharing) Agreement which is in effect country wide. The provinces share resources as needed in busy fire flaps regardless of who is operating them. Alberta, Manitoba and Que...

I would suggest flying to Whitehorse and then west to Fairbanks. A beautiful flight and you follow the highway most of the way. From Fairbanks, which is also worth seeing, you can go south and follow the highway to Anchorage. You will fly right past Mount McKinley. If you don't want to go in Anchora...

One hand on power and one hand on the control column was always my method of maintaining control of any airplane I ever flew.

Guess you never flew one with nose wheel steering or 2 crew SOP's. That's the way it's done in Beavers and Otters!

Unenthused 2 canoes on a a Beaver is no problem as long as you aren't grossed out in the cabin. Used to regularly tie 2 14' boats on the Beaver with no issues. Just keep the turns gentle and no more that take off flap for landing.

OMNRF is hiring older guys these days. Some of the new pilots are older than the ones who have retired.