Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Bush flying
Bush flying refers to aircraft operations carried out in the bush. Bush flying involves operations in rough terrain where there are often no prepared landing strips or runways, frequently necessitating that bush planes be equipped with abnormally large tires, skis, skids or any other equipment necessary for unpaved runway operation. It is the only viable way of delivering people and supplies into more difficult to reach, remote locations.
This term bush has been used since the 19th century to describe remote wilderness area beyond clearings and settlements hence bush flying denotes flight operations carried out in such remote regions. In Australia, in particular, bush refers to areas that might be called forest or wilderness in other countries.
Bush flying is the primary and sometimes the only method of access across Northern Canada, Western Canada, Alaska, the Australian Outback and many other parts of the world.
In Canada, the first real use of bush flying was for exploration and development, while in Alaska, transportation was the main purpose. Later, bush flying became important during rescue operations. Bush pilots are needed in rescue operations and are important for many different reasons.
After the 1918 Armistice with Germany, Ellwood Wilson, a Canadian forester employed by the Laurentide Company in Quebec, realized that airplanes could be used to spot forest fires and to map forested areas. In early 1919, after Wilson discovered that the U.S. Navy was giving Canada several war-surplus Curtiss HS-2L flying boats, he asked to borrow two. He then hired Captain Stuart Graham to fly the planes. Graham and his engineer, Walter Kahre, then flew the first HS-2L to Lac-à-la-Tortue on 4 June 1919, arriving on 8 June 1919. The flight had covered 645 miles, the longest cross-country flight executed in Canada at the time. He then delivered the other HS-2L to Lac-à-la-Tortue.
Equipped with the aircraft, the first bush flights occurred when fire patrol and aerial photography began in the summer of 1919 in the St. Maurice River valley. Graham and Kahre continued this service for two more seasons, but it became so expensive that the Laurentide Company underwrote the operation. In response, it was split into a separate company called Laurentide Air Services Ltd. with Wilson as president[citation needed] and former Royal Naval Air Service instructor and barnstormer William Roy Maxwell as vice president. These were the first bush flights in Eastern Canada.[citation needed]
In Western Canada, after Wilfrid May was discharged from the Royal Naval Air Service and moved to Edmonton, a Montreal businessman offered the city of Edmonton a Curtiss JN-4 after he found success in the city's real estate. Mayor Joe Clarke and city council accepted the gift, prompting May to ask to rent the plane. City council and May agreed to a price of CA$25. May and his brother Court May completed the necessary paperwork and raised the required capital to form May Airplanes Ltd. George Gorman, a pilot, and Peter Derbyshire, a mechanic, joined the first commercial bush operations in Canada.
May then asked the publisher of the Edmonton Journal to fly copies of the paper to Wetaskiwin, 70 kilometres (43 mi) south of Edmonton. He accepted and the next day, Gorman and Derbyshire flew the newspapers along with 2 sacks of advertising circulars, following the rail line to the city, announcing the service to communities along the way.
Hub AI
Bush flying AI simulator
(@Bush flying_simulator)
Bush flying
Bush flying refers to aircraft operations carried out in the bush. Bush flying involves operations in rough terrain where there are often no prepared landing strips or runways, frequently necessitating that bush planes be equipped with abnormally large tires, skis, skids or any other equipment necessary for unpaved runway operation. It is the only viable way of delivering people and supplies into more difficult to reach, remote locations.
This term bush has been used since the 19th century to describe remote wilderness area beyond clearings and settlements hence bush flying denotes flight operations carried out in such remote regions. In Australia, in particular, bush refers to areas that might be called forest or wilderness in other countries.
Bush flying is the primary and sometimes the only method of access across Northern Canada, Western Canada, Alaska, the Australian Outback and many other parts of the world.
In Canada, the first real use of bush flying was for exploration and development, while in Alaska, transportation was the main purpose. Later, bush flying became important during rescue operations. Bush pilots are needed in rescue operations and are important for many different reasons.
After the 1918 Armistice with Germany, Ellwood Wilson, a Canadian forester employed by the Laurentide Company in Quebec, realized that airplanes could be used to spot forest fires and to map forested areas. In early 1919, after Wilson discovered that the U.S. Navy was giving Canada several war-surplus Curtiss HS-2L flying boats, he asked to borrow two. He then hired Captain Stuart Graham to fly the planes. Graham and his engineer, Walter Kahre, then flew the first HS-2L to Lac-à-la-Tortue on 4 June 1919, arriving on 8 June 1919. The flight had covered 645 miles, the longest cross-country flight executed in Canada at the time. He then delivered the other HS-2L to Lac-à-la-Tortue.
Equipped with the aircraft, the first bush flights occurred when fire patrol and aerial photography began in the summer of 1919 in the St. Maurice River valley. Graham and Kahre continued this service for two more seasons, but it became so expensive that the Laurentide Company underwrote the operation. In response, it was split into a separate company called Laurentide Air Services Ltd. with Wilson as president[citation needed] and former Royal Naval Air Service instructor and barnstormer William Roy Maxwell as vice president. These were the first bush flights in Eastern Canada.[citation needed]
In Western Canada, after Wilfrid May was discharged from the Royal Naval Air Service and moved to Edmonton, a Montreal businessman offered the city of Edmonton a Curtiss JN-4 after he found success in the city's real estate. Mayor Joe Clarke and city council accepted the gift, prompting May to ask to rent the plane. City council and May agreed to a price of CA$25. May and his brother Court May completed the necessary paperwork and raised the required capital to form May Airplanes Ltd. George Gorman, a pilot, and Peter Derbyshire, a mechanic, joined the first commercial bush operations in Canada.
May then asked the publisher of the Edmonton Journal to fly copies of the paper to Wetaskiwin, 70 kilometres (43 mi) south of Edmonton. He accepted and the next day, Gorman and Derbyshire flew the newspapers along with 2 sacks of advertising circulars, following the rail line to the city, announcing the service to communities along the way.