Career Articles

Beech 1900 Pilot
Boeing 727 Pilot
College Flight Instructor
Airline Pilot
Corporate Pilot
Bush Pilot
Charter Pilot

Career Links

Pilot Career Centre

VFR Bush Pilot

Early in my career, I spent several hundred hours flying small single engine airplanes in northern Alberta, Saskachewan and the southwestern portion of the North West Territories. At the time, the minimum requirement for a pilot to get this job was 1000+ hours as the operator required pilots to be self sufficient and there was the fact that several government contracts required experienced pilots to do their flying.

The flying was in a variety of single engine Cessna airplanes on both wheels and floats. The wheeled aircraft were used to do wildlife surveys as well as to fly people and supplies to Native villages, fishing lodges, hydro dams and small towns such as Fort Smith, Hay River, Fort Chipewan, Stony Rapids and Yellowknife. On floats, the aircaft were used to fly to remote locations that did not have airstrips available. In Canada's north, aircraft are the primary mode of travel for people and supplies, especially in the summer when the ice roads are out.

A typical day in the life of a bush pilot would involve being out of bed at 6am at the latest to get to the airport or dock to prepare the aircraft for departure including a pre flight inspection, flight plan, fuel load and weather analysis. Once the passengers arrive, you will get them loaded along with their belongings, brief them on the safety features of the aircraft, do a weight and balance and depart off to wherever it is they want to go.

In the north, there are incredibly huge areas with virtually no weather reports, so pilots have to keep a close eye on the weather as they are enroute to destination. It would not be unheard of to have to return to the departure point due to bad weather enroute that you were unaware of before departing.This type of flying is very demanding and requires pilots to be self sufficent as they not only have to operate the aircraft, but also have to be the dispatcher, loader, fueller and customer service representative. Hard work and long days, for sure.