Sign of spring

A long winter does really funny things to people.  Seseganaga Joe who rarely likes to venture to a population center larger than Ignace had enough of winter this year and drove 4000 km to visit to other end of our province.  I think the whole trip was an excuse to see new faces – some of the faces around here have gotten a little old.   Joe somehow managed to arrive at the only Bass Pro in Ontario (near Toronto) and managed to do a little pre season preparation. 

I think Joe threw this fish back in anticipation of fresh walleye on Seseganaga Lake in just a few weeks.  I understand he bought the fishing rod however to add to his arsenal. 

Experience counts

Over the years many of our guests have got to know Randy.  And I can not count the number of times guests have commented on his skill and ability as a pilot.  I think some come here just to fly with him. 

Recently, Randy was awarded a DeHavilland achievement certificate and pin for surpassing 10,000 hours of flying time on one type of DeHavilland Aircraft. The DeHavilland Otter is a Canadian made aircraft designed for bush flying. It is the flagship of Ignace Airways. Randy actually surpassed 10,000 hours several years ago.  Randy has been flying Otters for over 30 years (accident free) and is well known in bush flying circles as one of the most experienced and talented Otter drivers in Canada. Randy began his career in 1976 in Manitoba and besides Northwest Ontario, has flown in Northern Manitoba and the low arctic. Randy never pursued an IFR rating and has flown these special aircraft his whole career. Randy has been our chief pilot training and mentoring our other pilots since 1988.  Of course Randy has several thousand hours on our other aircraft too. 

On behalf of Karen and the rest of the Ignace Airways Team, Congratulations Randy!  We are pleased that you are part of the team.

And tomorrow (I gave him today off) he will be back in his office (the front left of the Otter) transporting our guests to and from our Ignace Outposts camps. 

.. and they’re off!

Seseganaga Joe and Metionga Joey headed off to their respective summer abodes yesterday. 

Joe has been at Seseganaga Lake as a camp attendant for several years now.  He looks forward to returning to the lake some time around Sept when he is pulled out for the winter.  We know it is spring in Ignace when Joe starts rounding up his summer supplies.

For 20 summers our camp attendant at Metionga Lake has been John.  This summer we have a change of personnel  with Joey filling John’s big shoes.  Joey has worked for us for several years here in Ignace and we have no doubt he will fit well into the role as Master of Metionga Lake.

Joe’s office

Even at Seseganaga Lake our camp manager Joe has a little office.  We call it the phone booth and I know for a fact he spends very little time there.  Everyday about 7 AM, I get a “Everything’s OK” check in call and unless Joe has a list if things needed at camp, the conversation is over quickly.  Joe is a man of few words and lots to do.  I think he’d rather talk fishing with our guests than weather with me. 

It is handy having phone communication from two of our camps (Seseganaga Lake and Metionga Lake) for emergency, camp servicing, guest requests and piece of mind.

Spick and span

Not only do we take pride in our facilities, we do our best to keep equipment in tip top shape.

The Legend

Randy our chief pilot has been with us for 23 years.  Anyone who flies with him remarks as to his skill and composure.  Randy has been piloting Otters for over 3 decades.  Not many “bush pilots” stick around bush flying that long and even fewer fly the same aircraft that long.

The other day while passing time on the computer we found this interesting story from a fellow in Mongolia.  Here is the link.

A "Floatplane" Story, all the way from...."The Gobi Desert"!???!!!

This fellow’s recollection just verifies what many of us know.

I had actually heard about  someone tying a Cessna 206 to the side of an Otter and flying it out of the bush many years ago.  As is his character, Randy never told me about it until I asked one day. 

We have been calling Randy “the Legend” for sometime.  This story just adds to the adventure. 

It has begun

The weather here is unpredictable except when it comes to our opening.  While our weather forecasters try to tell us that temperatures will be 1 degree warmer in 50 years, they have a dismal record of predicting 24 hours in advance. 

I can forecast however with remarkable accuracy that our first day of the season will be lousy weather.  Our first groups arrived today to fly out.  And here we sit waiting for weather.  Yesterday the forecast was for good weather by morning.  Ha ha. 

As we wait for weather to clear so we can fly, I have time to post a picture of our first group weighing their load before loading the aircraft.

Now the aircraft are loaded, we wait…

So begins our 25th season doing the best job in the world.  Check out Ignace Outposts for more info on our packages.

Joe is ready

Joe, our camp attendant at Seseganaga, gets to fish now and then himself.  Fresh walleye for supper is a nice perk of the job.  Once he gets his work done for the day nothing beats a little R&R on the lake.

He is not lonely in the bush but he would still like to have you visit. 

Seseganaga Lake with Ignace Outposts.  A vacation to remember.

 

Two trophies on one trip

Joey our dock hand (fishing fanatic) knows how to get the big ones.

It is nice to know there are still some great fish in the lakes.  Give Ignace Outposts a try.  Not everyone will catch a trophy like this but you will catch fish and have a great time doing it. Rest assured, the fish are HERE! 

Even tho’ Joey may disagree, much of this kind of success is just plain luck.  Being on a great lake and putting time on the water really changes the luck into your favor however.  Talk to him while waiting for the plane, maybe Joey will share some of his “local” knowledge.  A couple of hours after work can produce wonders for him and I am sure a few days away from work can do the same for you.

Joey and Rob

Our pilot Rob and dock hand Joey seem to excel in research and development of our product.  They try to fish as much as  they can and I can’t blame them. 

Rob

Joey

It is almost so much fun to work here that maybe I don’t really have to pay them…  just kidding guys.

If you have a chance while loading the plane for your trip to talk to Joey about fishing, I know he can talk you ear off – and most of it is true!

Pitching in

When the work needs to be done, everybody pitches in.  Our job descriptions seem to have a lot of addendums.  

Karen may spend most of her time in the office, but getting out to the camps is always a nice perk…  even if it requires a little work. 

No white gloves around here.

John is in Metionga

Finally, after several days of bad weather, we managed to get John in to Metionga Lake.  As our camp attendant there, he will have his hands full since our first groups arrive in the morning. 

Boats need to be readied, cabins cleaned, water systems turned on, etc,etc. I am sending him some help tomorrow for a couple of days. 

It has been snowing off and on all day and flying conditions are more like late October than mid May.

Next we start working on getting Seseganaga, Hilltop and Flindt ready.  Not that I am pleased with the economic downturn, but it has given us a little more time to get cabins ready. 

Let the walleye season begin!

Out of Hibernation

Spring is the time of year that bears start moving around after a winter of hibernation.  We tend to do the same thing.  During the winter our office is in our home.  We can answer the phone, email and keep things afloat in our underwear at 3 am if we choose.  (no visuals please) 

Now we are getting back to our summer routine.  The office is being prepared and we are coming out of hibernation. 

 

We actually commute the 100 feet across the yard now for work.

Shows are done – now we wait for summer

Last weekend was our last show. I retuned from Wisconsin Dells after a good visit with some regular guests and the potential of new guests.

Our show circuit was rather aggressive this year as we added new markets in hopes of counteracting the economic downturn.

In March I traveled with Joe (Seseganaga Joe to be exact) to Green Bay. Joe proved as effective in a show booth as he is at Seseganaga Lake. I know however after 12 hour drive each way that he would rather be at Seseganaga. The summer is coming quickly in spite of the weather. Joe will be on the lake soon to great old and new guests alike.

Fall Maintenance

Do you wonder what we do around Ignace Outposts when fishing ends?

In the fall we go through all our outboard motors - all 88 of them. Every motor is tuned and checked and repairs are made or motors are tagged for trade.

John from Metionga doesn't just come out of the bush in the fall and put his feet up for the winter. He has so far gone through about 40 motors with more coming once our hunt is over. Randy, Joe and I help out too. The job is big but it has to be done.




There is nothing worse for a fisherman than a motor that doesn't work. We do our best to assure all our motors are in top shape and ready for another year of fishing.

Tying one on

Another segment of our how it's done series.

This boat is being flown from our Gamble Lake camp to Seseganaga Lake.

All our boats are flown into the lakes with the Otter. This is how it is done. The boat is tied onto the side of the Otter. We use Herc straps however ropes are sometimes used. Making sure the boat is secure is very important.
There are also certain conditions of flight we must abide by when carrying external loads such as boats. Of particular concern are winds and wind gusts. We certainly will not carry boats outside the aircraft when thunder storms are forecast for the intended flight route.

The big day has arrived

Today Marcel and Wendi left Ignace for a new life in Manitoba. Marcel will be missed around here. He promises to stay in touch and stop by now and then.

We wish him all the best, and success in this venture.

A pro at Work

There are not many Otter pilots in the country with the experience of our chief pilot Randy Winters. He has over 30 years flying float planes. Almost 20 of those years with us.

Here is a sped up video ( it actually took 4 minutes) of Randy sailing the Otter to the dock last weekend. When the winds are high it is often not possible to turn the aircraft on the water because it wants to act as a wind vane and point into the wind. Randy is one of the best. Here he brings in into the dock backwards and sideways. This skill is only developed with experience. Books just can't teach it. Those of our guests that have flown with Randy can attest to the fact that he can handle the Otter.

A New Chapter

Over the years our guests have become familiar with a smiling face in the aircraft, in the hangar or just around the yard. Marcel, our chief maintenance engineer for the aircraft, camp fixer-upper and pilot has been with our company since he was in high school. After many years with us Marcel is turning the page to a new chapter and moving his family to Manitoba next week. On Monday evening we had a little staff gathering to say our good byes. It was hard to be happy for Marcel and his family at the same time being sad he is leaving.




There certainly isn't much Marcel couldn't fix. We even made his name a verb by coining the phrase, "He Marced it".

On behalf of the entire Ignace Outposts and Airways organization we would like to thank Marcel for his many contributions to our business as a pilot and maintenance manager over nearly 20 years. Since his days on the dock and continuing through his time spent in our aircraft and hangar, Marcel was a committed member of our team and community.

This is an opportunity that Marcel could not pass up and we are in full support of his decision to advance his career. We wish him, his wife Wendi and their family the best of luck in the future."

All the BEST Marcel on your new venture!

... til the paper work is done

With a 5:15 AM push off for all three aircraft, at 14:30 in the afternoon we were done the day moving guests. 26 flight legs moved 61 people. This was a fairly busy Saturday for July. No job is finished until the paper work is done.


The 3 pilots gather around the table to complete their log books and discuss the days events.

Today is Derek's final day flying our 206 for the 2008 season. He has a job flying in Northern Manitoba (Gillam MB). This little town is at the end of the road in Northern Manitoba.
We were pleased to have Derek with us this summer and to start him off on his flying career. We wish him luck and hope to see him here in Ignace again.


The tradition around here is that on your last day of work, you get tossed into the lake. Maybe that is why so few guys leave us.