Post by Deleted on Oct 13, 2015 10:29:43 GMT -5
Well, lots going on, although only part of it is flying. Air Caribou has sold off its NW Ontario operations to Wasaya, and is now officially out of that region, likely for good. We got a very good offer for it though, so I made a tidy profit from the sale. Our ops area now is out of Elliot Lake and Parry Sound, with a seasonal base in Killarney as mentioned. We really are becoming almost a "mom-and-pop" type of operation were it not for our air ambulance work with the King Air and PC 12. All our pilots are hired though with all airplanes covered, the AA machines at least twice over.
Our second and last week of the moose hunt is on out of Elliot Lake, with the camps mostly full this time around. It's been a good year for us, short as it may be. Camp checks will be coming up tomorrow and it's probable that we'll have a camp or two (if not more) coming out early with their moose. Saturday everyone comes out, then we spend a few days going in and cleaning camps and making them ready for the winter. They are used very little over the winter, with only a couple used for ice fishing. We plan to add a couple more fishing camps as the lakes that are very small are really only suitable for hunting on. They are too small to support much fish, at least for what our guests hope to pull out. We'll do some scouting over the winter.
Speaking of winter, the plan at this point is to put 1 of the 185's on skis. Other than that, it will be our charter business out of CYEL that will be our revenue generators for the winter season, along with any AA flights of course (which actually could be the most prolific).
With everything in place now, I have decided to take a back seat in the operation and let my pilots build their times on the machines. I'll only fly the occasional flight when needed and take some of the overflow. Basically I'm going into semi-retirement. I've bought a 185 for myself that is on floats (wheel/skis in winter) and have put down a deposit on a small place up one of the secondary roads north of town. The spot has a really nice cabin and even a hangar of sorts on it (the previous owner had a Super Cub) where I can change the gear over in the fall and spring. It's very secluded, which is just the way I like it. I still have the Comanche of course, and may take some trips south and perhaps west, although I am considering stepping up to a twin so as to cover some longer distances. We'll see what happens.
So stay tuned. I'll be involved in some of the camp checks tomorrow. Later
Our second and last week of the moose hunt is on out of Elliot Lake, with the camps mostly full this time around. It's been a good year for us, short as it may be. Camp checks will be coming up tomorrow and it's probable that we'll have a camp or two (if not more) coming out early with their moose. Saturday everyone comes out, then we spend a few days going in and cleaning camps and making them ready for the winter. They are used very little over the winter, with only a couple used for ice fishing. We plan to add a couple more fishing camps as the lakes that are very small are really only suitable for hunting on. They are too small to support much fish, at least for what our guests hope to pull out. We'll do some scouting over the winter.
Speaking of winter, the plan at this point is to put 1 of the 185's on skis. Other than that, it will be our charter business out of CYEL that will be our revenue generators for the winter season, along with any AA flights of course (which actually could be the most prolific).
With everything in place now, I have decided to take a back seat in the operation and let my pilots build their times on the machines. I'll only fly the occasional flight when needed and take some of the overflow. Basically I'm going into semi-retirement. I've bought a 185 for myself that is on floats (wheel/skis in winter) and have put down a deposit on a small place up one of the secondary roads north of town. The spot has a really nice cabin and even a hangar of sorts on it (the previous owner had a Super Cub) where I can change the gear over in the fall and spring. It's very secluded, which is just the way I like it. I still have the Comanche of course, and may take some trips south and perhaps west, although I am considering stepping up to a twin so as to cover some longer distances. We'll see what happens.
So stay tuned. I'll be involved in some of the camp checks tomorrow. Later
