Arctic Air Ltd was started by Pete Cowie in the mid 1960's in Fort Simpson. He had bought the old Northern Mountain Airlines base there. With the oil and gas boom in the late 1960's Pete couldn't keep up with he demand and sold to Keen Industries (Bob Keen). Keen Industries got into trouble on the e...

Arctic Air Ltd was started by Pete Cowie in the mid 1960's in Fort Simpson. He had bought the old Northern Mountain Airlines base there. With the oil and gas boom in the late 1960's Pete couldn't keep up with he demand and sold to Keen Industries (Bob Keen). Keen Industries got into trouble on the e...

CF-ZQR taxiing for departure as Slate Falls Norseman lands in the bay.

In 1972 the shop got a fresh coat of paint. New docks had been build earlier in the season just before break-up.

No mention of 702 operations where one can work 100-130 days straight unless of course you count a day on call as a day off after the fact.

Try $250 a month and 4 cents a mile on a Cessna 180… a few years back.

CF-WYR departing Bingo Lake, Ont for Sioux Lookout.

June 1972 Mid morning on June 24th, 1972 a call came in on the HF from John Naylor. He was flying a Cessna 180 CF-LBR from Round Lake to Sioux Lookout for an engine change. Unfortunately he cut it a bit too close and the engine quit over Bingo Lake some 30 miles north of Sioux Lookout. CF-VSD, an XL...

Severn's Sioux Lookout base the summer of 1972. The new docks were built in May that year by Henry Ogamah, if I am not mistaken, and his helper. The Cessna 180's are CF-VSD and CF-VGA. The Beech 18 is CF-YQB. CF-VSD had large floats that were nice in rough water. CF-YQB was operated out of Shell Lak...

Severn's office in Sioux Lookout the summer of 1972. Later that summer the painters showed up and painted it blue. One of the apprentice engineers lived in the small suite in the upstairs.

Buffalo departing Prairie Creek northbound.

Air Tindi Dash 7 on Prairie Creek airstrip 2006

Worked for Severn out of XL 1972-73. Started on C-180 for $250 a month and 4 cents a mile. Got a raise to $275 a month. When Don Wieben hired me he said there are no days off but when the wx is out you can do your laundry. Good experience and we were just happy to have a flying job. Whenever anybody...

Fatal accidents: Beech twin at Fort Simpson. Crashed onto the Laird River at night after takeoff quite a few years back.