Office of the Prince Albert 
Grand Council
Executive Director
AL DUCHARME
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(306) 953-7200
(306) 980-5182
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FLOAT PLANES
Twin Otter,” he said. Over time, he progressed through a 
range of aircraft, operating on wheels, skis and floats. The 
progression from dock to cockpit, from observation to re-
sponsibility, is a familiar one in bush flying. It’s a path built 
on patience, repetition and learning the operation from 
the ground – or rather water – up. 
For Captain François Bouchard, it began in much the 
same way. 
Bouchard, also from Québec, grew up in Saguenay and 
was drawn early to the intersection of aviation and the 
outdoors. “I’ve always had an interest in the outdoors, 
and I joined the air cadets when I was 12 years old, a 
program where outdoors and aviation intersect.” His am-
bitions shifted over time, from search and rescue to bush 
flying, but the through-line remained the same: working 
in environments where flying is closely tied to terrain, 
weather and people. 
Like Charbonneau, his first job was not in the cockpit. 
“I was accepted into a fully subsidized three-year bush 
flying college program in Québec, and my first employ-
ment opportunity after college was as a dockhand for 
Transwest Air in Stony Rapids in May 2013.” He eventually 
became the captain of a Twin Otter. 
That shared foundation continues to shape how both pi-
lots approach their work. Float flying, they explain, is not 
Twin Otters getting closer 
to a fire in the trees.
Aerial view of lakes from a Twin Otter.
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26   
  Issue 1 – Summer 2026

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