Ice Pilots of Buffalo Airways - Raw Aviation in Northern Canada

It's the wild wild West in Northern Canada. The 1940s made Curtiss C-46 Commando, the world's last flying Lockheed Electra and other classic planes are still flying every day to deliver vital supplies to remote communities. I joined Mikey McBryan at Buffalo Airways to discover their unique operation.
Pilots at Buffalo Airways need to roll up their sleeves, not only flying the plane but also loading cargo, refueling and servicing these classic airplanes. It is a full day of action following what these "ice pilots" do there.
At the end of the video, pilots talk about the harsh and unique winter operation. It is extreme flying!

[@MikeyMcBryan]

Thanks for spending an awesome couple days with us Sam!!!

[@Bren39]

What kind of camera is that in the cockpit.. That pans

[@lordadmiralgoose7074]

C-46 Pilot here Sam! I am part of a Veteran group in Charlotte North Carolina, we have a C-46, her name is Tinker Belle and until you made this video my group and I were convinced that Buffalo Joe were done flying their's. Besides Buffalo, only Warriors and Warbirds (my group) and Everts Air Cargo still flew the mighty C-46. If you are ever in North Carolina we could let you get a chance to check out the last flying C-46 in WWII colors, thanks for a fantastic video!

[@Unknown_Ooh]

I love the perspective pilots start as ground crew and work their way up through the ranks. It's a fair exchange for pilot training and you get to learn lessons most student pilots don't learn.

[@wespeakforthetrees]

Where are the tie downs? Safety first people. Load shift equals dead crew sometimes. Gotta maintain that center of gravity.

[@lanfrancopignoli5553]

I can't believe the C-46 is still in service. What a plane!

[@alimtimm7355]

Wow! I thought all of these were scrapped or in museums. Apparently not. It’s always great to see these old birds flying in the era of guided missiles and cell phones!!!!!!!

[@doltBmB]

What's with the square propellers?

[@9inchpp]

Sam I wonder why if you have plans to visit airports in Kinshasa, Congo someday and review some of the old soviet planes they used to mail stuff just like in this video.

[@philnaegely]

ice pilots was a great show; glad to see buffalo air is still in operation

[@robjnixon]

Old, old school 💛 loved this Sam, the scenery is just breathtaking. Keep living your dream!

[@suzannec4765]

Thrilled you got to go to Yellowknife and Buffalo to show us real pilots and real planes. Have just discovered Ice Pilots, and am absolutely addicted to it.

[@eknowledge7309]

I don't know why i am obsessed with older aircrafts.

[@TraveldenganDon]

These videos, about flying on the older planes are so much better than the First Class / Business Class reviews on the modern airliners

[@cfairfull8030]

Hey! I was up in Red Deer doing my flight training with cadets over the summer. That Electra that landed came from Red Deer! I have photos of XFC sitting in front of the Cessnas we were flying out of there. How cool!

[@miketate3788]

As his first aviation job, my son was a rampie with an airline out of Red Lake in Northern Ontario. At the same time he flew in and out of Indigenous communities which continued for three years. He then went to Porter, which he loved as we did. What a great organization. He worked his way up to captain with them and then was hired recently by Air Canada as a 32 year old. He flies the A319 and A320. If it wasn’t for his start in the far north, I doubt he would be where he is now.

[@sanyfalkenberg4986]

I'm a huge fan of the Ice Pilots so to see these guys again it's amazing. Thank you so much for that incredible video Sam ☺️ I really appreciate it

[@DJAUDIO1]

It's so great to see Mikey and Buffalo still doing their thing in 2022.

[@professorr.5427]

Commendations to those gritty guys who fuel, load and fly Buffalo planes! 🏆 Aviators to the core.

[@walt8089]

My Mom worked at Curtiss Wright in Louisville, KY during WWII before I was born helping build the C-46 Commando. Huge tail dragger cargo bird ! Thanks Sam, Love the Video !