Maine bush pilots are still active

Many of us tend to think that the  age of wilderness bush pilots no longer exists in the lower 48 states. But that is not the case.

There are many pilots among the northern tier of states that offer fishermen and hunters charter air transportation into remote wilderness locations both here in this country as well as Canada.

Some of these pilots may only have one aircraft and others may have several. Sometimes it is a one-person operation and others may have several planes and a large staff.

Photo courtesy of Ted Luebbers
CURRIER’S FLYING SERVICE — Sue and Roger Currier of the Greenville-based Currier’s Flying Service, which provides air service to remote locations.

A large majority of these bush operations are using float planes or amphibians that enable them to fly their passengers into remote lakes where there are no roads and little or no civilization for miles around.

These remote lakes often have hunting and fishing camps that can only be reached by and supplied by these intrepid and self-sufficient pilots.

My wife Joan and I recently visited one of these flying services in Northern Maine called Currier’s Flying Service based on Moosehead Lake in Greenville.

Photo courtesy of Ted Luebbers
PAIR OF PILOTS — Roger Paradise, chief pilot left, and Roger Currier, co-owner, pilot and director of operations and maintenance, of Currier’s Flying Service in Greenville.

For sometime the owner of this business, Roger Currier, has been posting pictures and stories of vintage multi engine amphibians dating back to the 1920s and 1930s on my Facebook page which I have been enjoying. He clearly has a love for vintage seaplanes and flying boats.

I decided that when I returned to Maine this summer, I would look him up.

Roger got his start in aviation with the United States Air Force, as an aircraft mechanic back in the late 1960s. He said, “I noticed pilots seemed to have more fun than mechanics so I started flying lessons.”

Photo courtesy of Ted Luebbers
VINTAGE AIRCRAFT — Two of Currier’s Flying Service older Cessna 195s.

After leaving the service he ended up in New Hampshire working on aircraft engines. It is clear when you talk to him, he really enjoys working on engines. He decided to make better use of his flying skills as well as work on aircraft engines.

By this time, he had an (A & P/IA) Airframe and Powerplant with Inspection license. He was a fully-certified aircraft mechanic.

He had one plane, was living in New Hampshire and he convinced his wife Sue they should move to Greenville. There he ended up flying for a couple of seaplane bush and aerial tour outfits in the Moosehead Lake area. After flying for others for a few years he decided to branch out on his own.  

He and Sue opened Currier’s Flying Service in 1982. Roger has been doing bush piloting and air tours from Moosehead Lake for four decades now and knows the area like the back of his hand.

He manages a fleet of five seaplanes. Because of his love of vintage aircraft, he has some old favorites such as a 1954 de Haviland Beaver with a Pratt and Whitney rotary engine. This plane  can take seven passengers. He has two older Cessna 195s, a Cessna 180 and a Super Cub.

Because he has his A&P/IA mechanics license, he can maintain all his own planes. You will not find many people in this north country with these kinds of skills.

When I asked how many flight time hours he had he said, “just a little over 35,000.” All of that is over the north woods of Maine.

Roger has had some health issues recently which keep him from flying revenue flights, but he can still get up in the air for fun when he has the time. Even though he isn’t flying tours or carrying fishermen to their favorite north woods lake, he is either working on maintaining his fleet of planes or adding some new piece of equipment to his eclectic museum.

Roger has a large hangar that displays a lot of lake memorabilia, aircraft engines, outboard motors, signs, and his latest acquisition, an old snow blower. If it works, I am sure it would come in handy up there in the winter.

Speaking of winter, Roger says he and Sue go south for the winter. They go to the Ossipee area of New Hampshire because he says, “it’s warmer there.”

Since Roger Currier is not flying commercial flights any longer, they have hired a young man, Roger Paradise, as chief pilot. He is a Mainer from Jackman which is even further north up near the Canadian border.

Roger C. is now the director of operations and maintenance. But he is quick to tell you the real boss of the operation is his wife, Sue.