Ice Pilots = Cool Old Planes

[Ji in Hawaii]

For all you WWII era aircraft lovers you might enjoy this series. It's a reality series about daily goings-on of the crew of Buffalo Airways located in the North West Territory, Canada. They operate in cold as low as -40 Fahrenheit, and the best part is they fly OLD Douglas DC-3s, (C-47s) DC-4s (C-54s), and Curtis CW20s (C-46 Commando). No drama needed as the reality of living, and working in that tough environment interesting enough. Check it out. I don't have a TV so I download episodes online but I believe it shows on the History Channel.

[Thunder50]

I get cold just watching that show!!! The mechanics working the line, when it is that cold, have my respect. Of course, as do the line mechanics working during all temps, while serving our country!! Hats off to them.

[AJMD429]

No drama needed as the reality of living, and working in that tough environment interesting enough.

Funny when you think about it, how our modern society is so fragmented, that many folks have never really experienced some of the more fundamental aspects of 'living'; by that I mean dealing with deadly heat/cold/dry/wet environments, dangerous animals that can surprise you and kill (and eat) you, or violent humans who may try to hurt or kill you. Most people are fairly sheltered (no pun intended) from all that.

Ironically, outside of a few whose job or location puts them on the edges of our society, or the folks who have enough leisure time and money to go on wilderness hunts, the closest environment very common these days would be an inner-city 'ghetto' environment, particularly for the homeless individual.

[samb]

Love the show, they do a great job filming it.

[Canuck Bob]

Thirty years ago I used to ride in the old Gooney Birds as field service mechanic for the Cat dealer in the western arctic. There are lots of mines and villages that use Diesel Generators for electrical power. The last trip I flew North of the Arctic Circle and Great Bear Lake in mid-January to a silver mine. Landed on the lake at -54C. I rode in the flight engineers seat surrounded by GI green and the serial plate said 1943. It was slow and cold roaring along behind those barking radial engines at a few thousand feet. The Canadian tundra is a very empty place. But as the WW2 US Navy pilots were known to say about radials, "If their round their sound".

[Ji in Hawaii]

Here's their Curtis C-46s a real beauty, reminds me of an Orca.

[3leggedturtle]

I posted on it last year, Wouldnt mind watching it again.

[adirondakjack]

I get cold just watching that show!!! The mechanics working the line, when it is that cold, have my respect. Of course, as do the line mechanics working during all temps, while serving our country!! Hats off to them.

You got that right. I was a B-52 crew chief, and my nightmare was getting orders to Minot, ND or Loring, ME. Even central CA was a bummer when it rained all night in the winter, and going inside the tail section when it was 105 deg. in the summer wasn't much better.