Ice Pilots of NWT Series on History Channel this Fall!

[lost in the north]

Fly you seem to agree with the old dog no matter what he says,he is no longer t.c,you can know diagree...he won't hurt you.LOL

[flyinthebug]

Fly you seem to agree with the old dog no matter what he says,he is no longer t.c,you can know diagree...he won't hurt you.LOL

agreeing with someone is not = to submission.

I know OFD and my respect for him is due to the fact hes earned it.

If you say something intelligent, witty, even rational..Ill agree with you too.

If you follow my posts so closely, perhaps you`ve noted I often agree with those that have been there and done that far more then I. Cat, Doc, XS, beaverbob etc etc.. I respect the experience these gentlemen have and hope to learn from each of them. When you truly understand what respect is and how it differs from submitting..then you will have learned something. Never mistake kindness for weakness.

Oh and PS.. I happen to enjoy the rants of OFD and the eloquent way he writes. He uses wit and humour to lighten a sometimes raw mood. Besides the guy did my initial Multi/IFR ride some yrs ago and helped me get on with one of the best owner/operators/mentors that Sask aviation has ever had.. we go back a ways. Lighten up.

Fly safe all

[lost in the north]

You can't mean PA aviation...besides I was just pulling your leg....I do respect your posts

[co-joe]

Can anyone tell me WTF 40/40/40 conditions are? They must have used that expression 10 times but it made no sense to me. Mind you I missed the beginning of the show, but considering how many times they recap everything else that's going on you'd think they could explain that one???

[Meatservo]

Meatservo has me worried if—and here I make the assumption that he/she is a fine upstanding & reasonably intelligent member of our society—took you seriously for a bit. If your diatribe sounded realistic, we’re in much bigger trouble than even I believed! By the way, I particularly liked the part about how Joe “grabbed too many marbles in the school yard of life”!

Of course I knew he was joking. I've got to stop making comments here. Please Prairie Chicken don' be worried.

I thought the 40/40/40 thing meant they won't fly if the temperature on the ground at departure, in the air, or on the ground at destination is below minus 40. What I didn't really get is whether they won't fly if it's below minus 40 at any one or more of these three things, or whether it has to be below minus 40 in all three places at once before they won't fly. I'm not sure why the narrator wouldn't just say "below minus 40" instead of reciting "Fourtyfourtyfourty" throughout the show like its a magic word or something.

I'll say again, I like the show. Flying IS exciting, I'm glad the public can share a bit of the drama by watching this show. If they have to spice things up a little, so what. I'm also glad to see the engineers getting their fair share of play too, it's got to be a pretty unique job for those guys as well.

[JMACK]

That really was the best one so far! Loved it. I delivered a C-208 to NBO in 93 stopped in the Azores what an awesome old terminal you could just imagine the old Clippers coming and going in the day. Hope they show some shots in Santa Maria.

Keep up the good work Mr Producer......Lovin It.......Jim

[Prairie Chicken]

Hey fly, I agree with you 100%, & well said.

Joe has worked damn hard in a very harsh environment and deserves the few monetary gains he has EARNED by working so hard and diligently. He HAS given many a break to CPL`s both male and female and he follows the regs to the very best of his ability.

Equality is relative. If you want the guy pumping your gas to be paid the same as the guy that owns the service station.. then vote NDP.

As far as north of 60 goes, I didn't want to do that, did that, don't want to do it again... but it was an experience not to be missed. You're right on when you say

All the fancy "tools" available to those south of 60..freeze up in 10 mins at -40 and wont work anyways (hydralics etc etc). You adapt to your surroundings and I believe Buffalo Joe has done a GREAT job at it.

I enjoy the show too, and am happy to see the story being spread around the entire operation.

[Coast-dog]

I thought the 40/40/40 thing meant they won't fly if the temperature on the ground at departure, in the air, or on the ground at destination is below minus 40. What I didn't really get is whether they won't fly if it's below minus 40 at any one or more of these three things, or whether it has to be below minus 40 in all three places at once before they won't fly. I'm not sure why the narrator wouldn't just say "below minus 40" instead of reciting "Fourtyfourtyfourty" throughout the show like its a magic word or something.

It's when the temps in all those 3 places arrive at -40 together, or 'at once' as you said.

[canwhitewolf]

yes its when its -40 on the ground and -40 at destinat1on and -40 in the air

all three and no fly

however having spent 5-6 years on dc3's I think thats pushing it

[sky's the limit]

My Wife sat down tonight and watched 20 minutes worth and made one comment:

"Looks like career suicide to me. Why would any low-timer get involved with something like that?"

I've always said she's a lot smarter than me...

stl

[No Conflict]

I've watched 2 shows... and......

I did the northern thing, worked in the -40 cold and loaded airplanes, and hear time and again on this stupid show about what these rampies are going thru... I LOVED the qoute from the manager guy saying "These guys are not pilots when they come up here, until you know how to load a plane, and can tough it out getting used like slaves for 6 months, then you're a pilot".... what a load of HORSESH*T...

I see the favoritism, the working 7 days a week in extreme conditions, and applaud the rampies for putting up with such BS...Alot of us have done it, and it should not be the start of a so-called professional career.

Instead of teaching these pilots the ins and outs of the routes and planes, they make them sit on the ramp for ages, not even touching a plane unless the CP allows you to sit there in level flight... Now THAT is developing good solid piloting skills, and grooming someone for a safe effiecient captain one day.

These rampie jobs could be used to employ locals for fair pay and working conditions, and use the pilots for what they are intended to do, get the plane, pax and cargo to the destination safely.

I can't see the company hurting too bad after the what, 7 MILLION dollar sale of their CL-215's? Maybe then the pay and working conditions will rise above third world standards.

Just my 2 cents... tired of seeing young pilots getting raped.

[niss]

What kind of Pilots is buffalo turning out? What are the future prospects of a DC3 or C46 Captain after this?

[canwhitewolf]

they will be better at any type of flying after that

man up pilots

[Morav]

Better pilots says who? The Opps manager? AHAHAHA good one!

What kind of Pilots is buffalo turning out? What are the future prospects of a DC3 or C46 Captain after this?

Their future prospects are the same as any other pilot flying commercially in Canada. Flying a DC3 or C46 will get you no where faster, or better than Joe Smith flying a Convair.

[Cat Driver]

You don't think that flying a big tail wheel airplane in the environment that Buffalo operates in dosen't make for a better hands and feet pilot than flying a Convair?

Well I for one disagree with your opinion.

With all due respect of course.

Here is a scenario for you Morav, take a DC3 or a C46 pilot and put him/her in a Convair.

Then take a Convair pilot and put him/her in a DC3 or C46, who do you think will do better during the take offs and landings?

[niss]

So a 200hr wonder with a multi-ifr does what he can on the ramp then eventually makes Co, then Captain, and in that span he will be no further ahead career wise, or capability wise than someone who went the instructor route or the navajo, or caravan route in the same amount of hours?

It seems to me that Joe can do what ever he wants and it looks to me like the juice is worth the squeeze.

That said, the whole industry shouldn't be this way, but he has kind of a niche area.

[matt777]

How can someone with C46 or DC3/4 PIC time operating in the North not look better than a guy with the same amount of time flying King Airs around Alberta?

[C-GGGQ]

King air is turbine and has more similarities to the larger more modern aircraft he is now applying for?

[Double Wasp]

King air is turbine and has more similarities to the larger more modern aircraft he is now applying for?

Just tell yourself what ever you have to to get yourself through the night LOL

Listen while a king air is more modern, any system can be learned in a groundschool. The hands and feet picked up here as well as the energy management skills that need to be aquired to fly these airplanes can be transfered to any large airplane you will fly. Many of the techniques used to handle these old airplanes are the basis for what is used in large airliners today. Forward planning and profile flying is a must in the old girls and it is taught early, I am not just talking about planning a 500 fpm descent here either.

Now I am not saying that a person can not learn these things while flying a King Air but in my experience it just isn't taught. I also know that there are plenty of good pilots out there who never touched these old airplanes. I for one am glad I did and in the process I learned many things including how I react when stuff goes wrong because guess what... it does go wrong more often in an old airplane and you have to deal with it that is just part of the job.

I love how people talk about being farther ahead in this industry. Ahead of who? Do you think the CP at Buffalo feels he is behind? I doubt it.

Cheers
DW

[C-GGGQ]

I was just answering a question. I don't feel either is particularly better than the other, just different. I was just voicing a possible reason why DC3 would or would not be favored over say a King Air. My grandfather was a gov't king air captain for the majority of his career, didn't bother him he never went to the airlines. While I believe flying a DC3 would be a great experience, I also have no desire to work for Buffalo. Just playing devils advocate.