![]() ![]() Our Career Bush Pilot Program is well-known. Fishing while sitting on the float with your feet in the water is pretty awesome too! The ability to fly low, at 500’, the constant puzzle of planning your approach, without any ATC help in the middle of nowhere, the option of pulling up to a beach. What is it about float planes that draw so many pilots and fans to them? It is important to know your fundamentals. That’s great, but you can also get sloppy and not know how to read a map if your iPad dies. The navigation and flight planning tools have gotten so much more easy to use, and more detailed. You expected to work on the ramp or dock for a couple of years before you got a shot. Talk to any pilot that started their career in the early 1980s or after fall 2001. The pilot shortage is the biggest change. How is the career landscape for a commercial pilot changing? Our season for training goes all year ‘round and we have lots of time in October for pilots who are planning for the following spring. There is a lot of work in the bush right now most of the commercial pilots that have completed seaplane ratings with us at Fort Langley Air in 2018-19, and wanted to work in the bush were evaluating multiple job offers from float operators in late spring. It’s too bad, because the work is still out there, and you make more in the bush (given the lower cost of living out there). There are many more entry-level jobs close to a city, so fewer pilots are starting their careers in the bush. Many senior Canadian pilots have started in the bush. We have so much respect for airline pilots, but they will tell you that the Cessna 180 on floats has humbled many an airline captain. So much is done for you at the airline level that bush operators want to see if you can make all the decisions yourself, load your own airplane, fuel your own airplane, or handle bad weather without relying on an experienced captain beside you. The flying is so different that bush operators still want to check out pilots before handing them the keys. Is it easy to transition to a bush pilot role if you got your start at one of the big commercial airlines? The downside of landing a little crooked is really significant. The way water adds drag, these necessities are amplified. Water is a forgiving landing surface as long as you land straight, slowly and softly…like any airplane. Some small aircraft – like the Cessna 172 and the Cherokee – are so stable that pilots can get sloppy when it comes to rudder work. The safety margins for floats are much narrower so you really have to dial in your skills. If a pilot were to receive float training after flying other aircraft for years, how is it beneficial? Most destinations are out of cell range, so you just have to figure it out. Your decision-making skills get a massive boost because you have to do it all. ![]() You have to be ready to say no to that one extra bag which will push you over gross, no to that drunk passenger, no to marginal weather and no to winds that are slightly above your personal limits in a new airplane. You don’t have to wait for six months to a year for the captain upgrade, but you have to be ready for it. What are the advantages of starting your career as a bush pilot, and how does this training impact a pilot’s skills?The biggest advantage is you build PIC (pilot-in-command) time right away when you are training as a bush pilot. Pilot John Crawford discusses why the experience of training as a bush pilot first, and flying float planes is so important to any pilot and why many Canadian pilots began their careers in the bush. The lore of bush pilots is a part of Canada’s history and the profession has produced both skill and character. ![]()
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