FLOAT PLANES
Twin Otter 
captains on the 
“float” transition 
and their passion 
for this unique 
type of flying
BY ANDREW ST. GERMAIN
From Asphalt 
to Awesome
F
or float pilots, no two land-
ings are ever the same. 
“When your runway is liter-
ally the water, it’s going to 
change every single day,” said Captain 
Lucas Charbonneau. 
Wind direction, wave conditions, 
floating debris and shoreline hazards 
all shape how a flight unfolds, often 
in ways that can’t be fully known until 
a pilot arrives overhead. In northern 
Saskatchewan, where many destina-
tions exist beyond traditional run-
ways, float flying requires a level of 
observation, planning and judgment 
that begins well before descent and 
continues long after touchdown. 
At Rise Air, that kind of flying is part of 
daily operations, connecting remote 
communities, moving essential goods 
and supporting work that depends on 
access beyond the reach of roads. 
Charbonneau’s path into aviation be-
gan in Québec, where the profession 
was already part of his life. “I started 
in aviation because my dad’s a bush 
pilot also, and I always wanted to do 
that.” After completing his training, he 
moved west and entered the industry 
the way many bush pilots have for 
decades: on the ground. 
“I started on the ramp as a dockhand 
and then ended up getting hired in 
the fall to fly as a first officer on the 
  Issue 1 – Summer 2026   25 

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