As a new resident to the area, I am amazed by how quickly the transition from winter to summer occurs here in Northwestern Ontario.
It seems only yesterday Rainy Lake was buried deep under four feet of ice but as you read this, chances are the summer tourist season already will be underway.
Most local outfitters had predicted the ice would be out by today and they are working furiously to be ready for the busy season ahead.
Mike Dick, base manager for Rusty Myers Flying Service Ltd. here, said his crews—like swallows—gradually are returning from their winter haunts.
“All our pilots are coming in now,” said Dick. “We’ve already done a couple of trips to Trout Lake to take in supplies and [Wednesday] we’ll take our first group.
“By next week, everything should be back to normal,” he added.
Just east of the Causeway, the Cessnas, Beavers, and Otters at Northern Wilderness Outfitters already are in the water—waiting for the lake to clear enough for a take-off run .
Meanwhile, the mechanics and maintenance crews of Lakeland Aviation are working long hours to get the pontoons on and the aircraft in the water.
Other Lakeland crews are replacing the radial piston engines of the venerable de Havilland Beavers and Otters with more powerful gas turbine powerplants.
Out at the Fort Frances Airport, Gordy Melville of Melaire Ltd., has taken the wheels off his Turbo Beaver and replaced them with amphibious floats. “We’re starting today (Tuesday),” he remarked.
The sweet smell of jet fuel and aviation gasoline once again is in the air. That makes it official. Winter is gone—bring on summer.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
