Hey all,

I'm looking towards the future and a possible job switch and was wondering if some of you folks could point me in the right direction. I have always loved bush flying and the idea of working in Northern and remote communities.

I'm quite new to this forum, and fairly new to the larger aviation industry/community. I've been building my time instructing for almost 4 years now, and flying for 8 years, on and off. 1800hrs as a class 2 instructor, current Group 1 instrument rating, but I'm flying in circles mostly. While I love instructing, and have had a lot of fun with it, I am ready to take control again and actually do some flying. My original training was very practical with a lot of dead-reckoning work... doing a ton of short/soft field operations on farmer's strips around my old home airport. With about 35 hours tailwheel.. I really want to fly something challenging again, where I can finally chip off the rust on my stick and rudder skills and land on something shorter than 3000' again. I've always dreamed of flying the Twin Otter.. or pretty much anything de Havilland, and I'm not too keen yet on getting into something much heavier. I'm sick of paved, 8000'x200' runways.

With that said, I'm also starting a family and looking at something more suited to a family lifestyle. We're both willing to move and live in a northern/remote setting, but I would like to avoid being posted away from the family for too long. I used to work in the oil field and found that camp life was difficult on the relationship... and I can't imagine it being easy when we start having kids.

I figured this would be the best place to get an overall look at what company types are out there and suitable for me before I start looking-up companies.

Cheers!

Go to the last bastion of what you described -- Yellowknife - home every night and great place for a family man to stay in touch with that life.

Sounds like you need to go get a float rating and give TMA/IASL in Maldives your resume. Go fly in the 'Dives, get a Cptns seat on the Otter and then head back to Yellowknife and do the summers back in the bush and winters down in the Indian Ocean! Dream life!!
Let us know what you decide! The Twin Otter is a great machine to fly and to make a career on!

Floatinghog wrote:Sounds like you need to go get a float rating and give TMA/IASL in Maldives your resume. Go fly in the 'Dives, get a Cptns seat on the Otter and then head back to Yellowknife and do the summers back in the bush and winters down in the Indian Ocean! Dream life!!
Let us know what you decide! The Twin Otter is a great machine to fly and to make a career on!

Easier said than done, last I checked, they don't sponsor foreigners for FO positions, only Captains.

Understand what actual life living is like in the Maldives before you commit - it's not like Canada!

PilotDAR wrote:Understand what actual life living is like in the Maldives before you commit - it's not like Canada!

That's for sure...

If you are Muslim the Maldives will be no problem.

If you are not Muslim it will give you an opportunity to get a head start in living in the Canada Justin has planned for you.

My post is not anti Muslim it is just how I see Justin's idea of how immigration in Canada works under his watch.

Sometimes paradise ain't what it seems, eh? I prefer the Florida keys. There, you get what you pay for.

Thanks for the replies, y'all. I can't see myself going somewhere tropical all that much. My body was build for cooler climates and I get pretty bothered at 30 degrees or more... especially if it's humid!

Any thoughts on Canadian companies worth looking into? Yellowknife is a fascinating city.. I flew up there a few years back, but just during my time-building cross-countries. Any thoughts on companies based there?

youhavecontrol wrote:Thanks for the replies, y'all. I can't see myself going somewhere tropical all that much. My body was build for cooler climates and I get pretty bothered at 30 degrees or more... especially if it's humid!

Any thoughts on Canadian companies worth looking into? Yellowknife is a fascinating city.. I flew up there a few years back, but just during my time-building cross-countries. Any thoughts on companies based there?

First Air, Canadian North and Air Tindi are worth a shot.

Air North out of Whitehorse is a great operation that will treat you well. Whitehorse, that is your call, let's just say it has to be experienced first hand. That place still tugs at me and if my life in the south ever implodes, look for me there.