Buffalo keeping a community supplied
with food and essentials completely by air
while the local ferry was out of service. As
a result, the people of the NWT have a
great respect for Joe and his team. Mikey
explained: “Buffalo provide a service at the
lowest possible cost. If Buffalo disappears,
they will have to rely on more modern
aircraft and costs will rise substantially, so
they will have to pay more. As far as cargo
is concerned, it’s a ‘Cinderella service’ and
rarely will a brand new cost-effective airplane
be available. Buffalo will never have new
aircraft. We are just waiting for the military
to finish with their Hercules.” Some second-
hand C-130s have come on to the market
but their price is still too high, however when
significantly more are retired by the military
the increased number available is likely to
lower their value.HAULING FREIGHT
There is a regular freight flight on the
Yellowknife to Hay River route, which during
the author’s visit was operated by DC-3
freighter C-FLFR, the only aircraft in the fleet
that takes skis. The company had flown a
daily scheduled passenger run on this same
route (but starting from Hay River) which
was known as the ‘Sked’.
Dakota C-GWZS was normally used on
the Sked and is an historic aircraft in its own
right. Like all of the airline’s Dakotas it is an
ex-Royal Canadian Air Force/RAF example
and took part in the D-Day landings, in
addition to Operation Varsity, the airborne
assault over the Rhine in early 1945.
Pilot for the author’s flight on the Sked
was Joe, with Sam Storm as co-pilot. Mikey
explained that since 1982, Joe has flown
about 80% of the scheduled flights and isprobably the most experienced DC-3 pilot of
all time: “Two sectors of 50 minutes per day
for 300 days per year average over 32 years- that is over 16,000 hours.”
As Joe warmed the engines, the
passengers were escorted across the apron
by Mikey, who was joining the flight to pick
up a much-loved car in Hay River. He sat
in the jump seat behind Joe. “I must have
spent almost half my youth in this seat,” he
admitted. At the time of the author’s visit,
locals could buy a book of ten tickets for
C$130, part of Joe’s commitment to help his
local customers. One of the passengers on
board, a lady who flew almost daily, said:
“He is much revered doing a lot for local
underprivileged families, often flying them
at reduced rates, or even for free if it is an
emergency.” As a young pilot in the 1970s,
he had once helped a nurse deliver a baby
during a flight.
The flight cruised at 6,000ft over Great
Slave Lake and half way through Joe came
out to chat to the passengers, part of his
‘personal touch’. Refreshments, in the
form of biscuits and cold drinks or coffee,
were offered by Aaron, a ‘rampie’ acting as
steward. There was a friendly family feel to
the flight, reminiscent of times gone by – the
early days of post-war flying all over again.
Your writer’s first flight was in a BEA ‘Pionair’
Class DC-3 in 1955, so it was just like I
remembered. It was a joy to sample the
sights and sounds of flying on this classic
type during the 45-minute flight.
The following morning the sun was
shining at Hay River. Passengers were
checked onto the return flight by Joe’s
daughter, Kathy, and their bags weighed.
Joe was chatting to the passengers again,
and offering his car to take an elderly
veteran the few miles into Yellowknife at the
other end.
Buffalo has ten Douglas DC-4s, two of
which are operational. These are mainly
used for carrying freight to northern
http://www.aviation-news.co.uk 33Above: Canadair CL-215 C-FAYN is one of several examples Buffalo Airways uses for firefighting work.
Below: The passenger waiting area at Buffalo’s Yellowknife hangar doubles up as a museum.30-34_buffaloDC.mfDC.mfDC.indd 33 08/04/2016 12:26