My name is Andrew McNamara and I am a Canadian Bush Pilot. I fly all over Northern Ontario with my co-pilot, Maverick (GoPro photo of the day winner), looking for our next adventure. We fish, we hunt, we hike, we camp. We love spending time in nature and float flying allows us to get into the most wonderful, hidden, and otherwise inaccessible locations.
Float flying in the bush - a whole new world!
My goal is to show the general aviation community that there is a lot more to aviation than flying into airports and the $100 hamburger. Whether it's learning new skills, sharing new experiences, or simply taking in the beauty of the wilderness and nature, flying floats is worth looking into.
Bush flying opens up endless possibilities for adventures such as world class fishing, hunting, hiking, photography and more. Instead of going for that $100 hamburger, why not go on an overnight camping trip on a remote lake with some fishing and a shore lunch? Every single trip is unique and can be whatever you want it to be. Even if you are looking to go for a day trip for a hike in the woods, you can be sure that any spot you find will be just you and nature.
Love the outdoors? Consider a fly-in adventure or a discovery flight
I aim to introduce the allure of aviation to outdoor enthusiasts so that they can embark on new and epic adventures that they didn't think were possible. I also offer fly-in adventures to the Setting North Outpost Camp.
Share my experiences to inspire others
Every person that I can motivate to get up and get outside puts a smile on my face. Whether it's taking your dog for more walks, driving a couple hours for a hike, an overnight camping trip, a remote fishing trip, or an epic fly-in hunting trip, more time spent outdoors in nature leads to relaxation and happiness. I share my stories to thousands of people on Instagram and my blog.
My landscape photography is featured in nationwide magazines such as COPA and Flight Outfitters (where I am a Navigator). I film my adventures when possible and share them on the Setting North YouTube channel.
Continuously learning and improving
Flying different aircrafts, getting new ratings, hiking in more remote locations, camping in new areas; these are all forms of pushing yourself to continuously learn and improve. I believe that flying tailwheel aircraft is a great experience and skill for any pilot. Flying floats also broadens a pilot's perspective which can be taken back to flights on wheels. My next goals for my continuous journey of becoming a better pilot is to obtain my IFR rating. When flying into the far north on floats you go through several weather systems with almost no weather reporting stations and no radar coverage. This adds additional challenges for pilots flying VFR and you can find yourself in some uncomfortable situations pretty quickly. I am soon to embark on a journey to get my IFR rating and upgrade the panel on my Cessna 180 into an IFR certified panel. I am looking forward to sharing this journey with you as I update the panel, get my rating, and then fly IFR on floats in very remote areas.
