Kyle Thomas

The Website of Kyle Thomas (KyleWith)

Day 1 in Inuvik, Northwest Territories

I don’t know how much time I will actually have to post updates about Inuvik while I’m actually here but I thought I would try and make some notes.

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First of all, while still in Yellowknife, our Canadian North flight 444 was delayed due to preparation for the Yellowknife Airshow that will be happening on Saturday. Several other aircrafts were occupying the tarmac and airspace around the airport. 

Something else I also learned was that flight 444 also has a stop over in Norman Wells, NT, another community I haven’t been to but hope to spend more time in. Not this time unfortunately, I don’t even think I’ll be getting off the plane.

 

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Finally though we were able to take off towards Norman Wells, an hour late. The first leg of the flight to Norman Wells was 1 hour and 7 mins. They severed us fresh bannock and jam and played Family Guy on the inflight entertainment…

My day then became an unexpected journey. Upon arriving in Inuvik for the first time I called a number that was provided to me to setup a flight to Tuktoyuktuk the next day. Well it just so happened that flight was going to Tuk in an hour.

I hustled to the hotel, checked in, dumped one of my bags and took off back to the airport. At the airport I met a truly northern pilot, Bob Heath of Aklak Air, who has been flying the Inuvik region for 25 year. He is a really neat guy so I’ll tell you more about it in a post specifically about my Tuk flight adventures, which I will link to here.

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Feeling overly exhausted when I finally got back to Inuvik all I wanted to do was fall asleep but I thought it best I get some food. I tried out the Tonimoes Restaurant, which was actually pretty decent. 

After dinner I took a stroll down main street and picked up some bottled water – there is a water advisory on right now – so I wouldn’t get dehydrated in the ridiculously hot temperatures the arctic has been seeing.

Oh and if you are looking for a hot summer destination, the arctic might just be that place.

Bushpilot Slang

Seems like these Canadian Reality shows really go all out and are really learning how to be interactive. They have taken to twitter and Facebook and are doing a great job at communicating with the audience. What I love is how they’re adding web content, that you never used to be able to find.

What I want to share with you today, is IcePilotsNWT’s  pilot slang webpage.  Although I would call it Bushpilot slang, they want to go along with branding their show. The word Bushpilot has been around for many years, since plane started to fly in Canada. So I would call, this page Bushpilot slang.

The webpage reminds me a lot of urban dictionary. It is organized alphabetically, and has an average of 10 words per letter. Here are some examples:

  • Cabin Fever: Craziness that happens when spring takes too long a coming or if you are cooped up in an aircraft too long.
  • Beaded Up: Worried or excited. Nervous sweat. As in: “The engine started sputtering a bit and he got all beaded up.”
  • My Fun Meter is Pegged: As in: “I am not enjoying this at all.” But also, as in: “Now we’re having fun.” Can be used in any life-threatening situation.
  • Riding Shotgun: Co-pilot or any assistant.

Bush pilot slang

As you might see, a lot of these words archly familiar. We use them in everyday life, they are actually common slang. Heck I know I use them, but maybe that’s because I worked in the aviation industry in Yellowknife before. I do miss those days.

Click on the photo above to check them out, and maybe one day we can have a conversation in Bushpilot slang.