Getting into Bush Flying - For Keeps!

[Binners93]

Afternoon fellow Pprune'rs

You guys have always lent help and advice with different questions so I guess I have another more career orientated one to ask your opinions on, any guidance that can be offered will be accepted with great appreciation!

As I'm now in the post PPL stages of flying, it becomes more and more evident that there isn't a great deal of advice available for those of us in the UK who want to get involved with bush flying as a career when going through the ATOs - at least that's what I've found!

I completed my PPL training with a great school at Shoreham Airport who are nothing short of brilliant, but their fleet of aircraft (excluding the single PA28, or 'trusty rusty' as I like to call it) and training style is all aimed at getting students into the left hand seat of a major jet airline - which isn't what I want to do with my flying. I've always had my heart set on earning a just above livable wage, flying small and light aircraft in beautiful scenery around the world - the real bush or mountain flying types, but I just don't know where to go from here! :bored:

Has anyone else been in this stage and known where to go straight away? I've been looking at companies like Air Hart in Canada who will train CPL on floats - but is that somewhat limiting your choices?

I realise that in today's climate, bush flying is just as competitive as jet flying - but I'm not looking to hour build and work my way up, so wonder if there's a different route anyone know's may be better :)

Any advice or guidance would be welcomed. If I could spend my future flying days flying a Cessna Caravan for a living, I'd be a happy guy :ok:

Thanks All!!

[Romeopapa]

Just my thoughts but I reckon you are in the wrong part of the world.

Not much bush flying up there.

Hard enough in Australia and Africa plus you need all the visas etc.

For Canada look at Vancouver based float instructor Mike Peare at http://mpaviation.com

[paco]

Also try Harv's Air in Manitoba for bush stuff. Speak to Adam Penner.

You might want to look at float ratings with a view to doing firefighting - you won't get much more exciting than that, but they want 500 hours on floats first.

Phil

[500 above]

Romeopapa

When Mike is not in Thailand may be a good caveat. Just don't start him on the Condor Club!

[9 lives]

For floatplane training, I highly recommend Lake Country Airways: Lake Country Airways: floatplane training, endorsements, float charters and rentals (http://lakecountryairways.ca/contact.php)

They are an hour and a half drive north of Toronto. Beautiful scenery, and hardly any traffic, you're never waiting.

bear in mind that bush flying demands a whole different skill set than wheel flying from airport to airport, or IFR flying. You can get a float rating in 10 hours, but that is nothing more than a license to learn the water. 50 hours of water flying experience is a good aiming point before even thinking to go to work water flying.

Bear in mind that nearly everywhere you land a floatplane is not an aerodrome, and there is no infrastructure to make it easy for pilots. You're figuring out the winds, and making all the decisions, with no help. And, getting it wrong means you're in trouble at a place where there is little or no help. Weather information is difficult to obtain, and when you do, it lacks the detail you're use to seeing.

Float flying is great, see some of my photos on the photos sticky, but it is demanding....

[megan]

If I could spend my future flying days flying a Cessna Caravan for a living, I'd be a happy guy
You could do no better then than trying for this. Big operator, and you'll find plenty of your countrymen (and others) in employment.

Four shows in the seriesxBu-2EP_eMU

Good luck in chasing the dream.

[Romeopapa]

500....

Good point but he will be back in Vancouver very soon now the weather is improving.

Good luck Binners

[Sir Niall Dementia]

Glad I didn't reply first, I thought this was about the hosties at Lufthansa:E