What was the most fun job you had flying

[Rowdy]

Most fun flying? or most fun job? Two totally different things. I've also been fortunate to get to do a lot of cool things. Ferried a lot of airplanes. Flew floats all over the country. A few years with Borek in the arctic. Medevac. Survey. Spotting. Flew in the maldives. Flew floats on the coast. Name a community in canada and I've been there! Been to both the true and magnetic pole... anyways..

Was hard to beat the group I was in the Maldives with. We had a blast. Flying was alright too. Pretty flat out there though. Everyone always loves flying the 6 on pontoons. I'll never forget some of the happenings and parties.

Best flying? My time at Tofino Air. Mountain Tours. Taking off and landing in the ditch. Charters to alpine lakes and remote spots all up and down the south and mid coast, forays into the chilcotin and okanagan (pretty fun landing on Osoyoos lake mid summer with all the rec boaters and 38 deg heat) . Stopping between drops for a dip in the hot springs. Going for a swim with passengers on a picnic trip. Dropping off surfers on some of the many breaks on the west coast of van isle, picking up hikers fresh off the west coast trail. Some of their stories were epic. Coastal inlets. Private island getaways. Loggers, fishermen, doctors, nurses, dentists, Chiefs, tourists from all over the world, and surprisingly a lot of airplane nerds that just desperately wanted a ride in the Ol Beav. Celebs on board every other day. Sure the daily grind of a billion nanaimo harbour scheds... but I seemed to get all the fun charters... Kinda glad they never hired me next door

I dig the career job I have now too.. but for totally different reasons!

[pelmet]

Flying the Twin Otter to just about every island in the High Arctic and a few other areas could be the both best job and the worst job. It just depended on what the job was. It could be back-breaking work with loads of bugs and sweat and digging out of the mud or freezing your ass off or light loads flying to the coolest places you have ever seen in comfortable temperatures. Fortunately for me, most of my stuff was the good stuff.

[Airtids]

As with lots of folks here, it was a mix. Maybe it was the mix?! Morning floatplane charter into some remote alpine lake (Evans Lake in the Valhallas is spectacular- look it up!), afternoon fire patrol in the 337 ripping along at low altitude, cranking and banking putting together an Initial Fire Report and feeling really good about the work you are doing, and finishing off with an evening C172 scenic flight over the local glacier. Oh yeah, and winters in Mexico were nice too!

Don't get me wrong- I love my current gig too, but for different reasons. And FUN ain't exactly one of them!

Tids

[Adam Oke]

Aerial Application was the most fun I had flying. It was the most lucrative as well. It was also the most restrictive. Near zero summer fun, ball and chain to work from June to September, and isolated from friends and family for the duration. I missed out on camping, weddings, birthdays, sailing, canoeing, house boats, fishing, festivals, you name it -- you have that commitment to work hard for about 3.5 months.

Now sitting in a Q, I certainly don't have as much FUN, but the lifestyle exchange was bar none the best change I could have ever done. For the first time in over a decade, I have enjoyed my summer and I did not have to BUY my summer in the winter months. I have a relatively predictable schedule, and a steady pay cheque. Though the pay is substantially lower, there is value in RSP matching, benefits, and having a KNOWN value come in every 2 weeks -- vs starting the season wondering if I was going to make 30k or 90k for the season (re:year).

That being said, I wouldn't have traded my career thus far for anything. A good paying job in the early years has set me up for a very stress free life with a great financial foundation -- regardless of this 1.5 year pay cut. I should be close to my normal levels of pay by mid next year -- so I can enjoy even more fun on my scheduled, guaranteed days off with a pay cheque coming in regardless of how many acres sprayed.

[Cat Driver]

Did you get to fly the Cubs and Stearman's Adam?

The Stearman was an awesome machine for Ag. work but I guess their day is long gone.

[xsbank]

You guys need to recognise an opportunity when you see it - winter layoffs for me meant going back to school to get a degree, which got me my Last Great Flying Job. Some of my friends had sailboats in the Caribbean. Some had the opportunity to be stay-at-home dads. You will regret wasting this time in your career if you don’t grab something.

[Adam Oke]

Did you get to fly the Cubs and Stearman's Adam?

The Stearman was an awesome machine for Ag. work but I guess their day is long gone.

I would have loved to try my hand with a Stearman but I don't think anyone uses them any more.

In my career I worked the Super Cub, Pawnee, GA-200, Ag Wagon, Ag Truck, Ag-Truck with a Bonair Conversion, Ag-Cat, Air Tractor AT-401 with a Walter turbine conversion, AT-504, and the -34 Thrush. I mostly sat in the Ag-Truck with the Bonair, and the AT-401 Walter for the majority of my spray career. Spotting, Seeding, Spreading, Liquid, and Water Bombing applications. It was a good run!

I think you would enjoy a turbine Air Tractor. That is a true working machine on row crop!