Ice Pilots has flown on to Australian TV as the ‘must watch’ show for men. The series takes you to the Northwest Territories of Canada where Buffalo Airways flies historic planes for freight and passenger flights.
If you’re thinking Ice Road Truckers but in the air, you’re pretty much right. And it’s hard to argue with a quality show such as Ice Road Truckers. Ice Pilots follows a group of pilots and ground staff working in the below freezing conditions of Canada’s Arctic Circle region. Not only are they battling the icy conditions that include fog, blizzards and serious snow, but they are also flying some of the coolest historical planes you can think of. The amazing Douglas DC-3 and DC-47, the large Lockheed L-188 Electra and the Curtis C-46 Commando are just a small range of the aircraft the team flies.
Keeping these monsters in the air is another issue. Parts are hard to find and the planes need to be flown manually – but when it comes to braving the serious winter conditions, few planes do it as well as these old machines.
Buffalo Airways is a very grassroots organisation and you’ll come to love both the planes involved and the people around the company. It’s not only a good way to blow off some steam after work, but like Ice Road Truckers, you will learn a thing or two about aeroplanes, Canada and WWII as well. Sadly though, we are way behind. Season three has already been filmed but 7Mate is only just starting up with season one.
You can catch the next episode of Ice Pilots on Sunday, April 8th on 7Mate. As with the first episode on 7Mate, it’s a special double showing from 6:30 to 8:30 and worth every minute of your time.
Web: 7Mate
