Popular in the 1980s and 90s, the profession of bush pilot has been losing momentum in recent years, and yet it could well be one of the most beautiful professions in the world, according to the aviators in the documentary series. Bush pilots.
Directed by Thierry Sirois, this series, broadcast on Télé-Québec starting in January, offers complete immersion in the multiple facets of bush aviation and allows us to become aware of the beauty, diversity and immensity of the Quebec territory, some places of which still remain unexplored.
Through the different seasons, weather conditions (sometimes extreme), landscapes and reliefs, we follow the Air Tunilik pilots throughout their missions. They are called upon, in particular, to transport hunters, fishermen, geologists and members of the First Nations to the most remote territories, inaccessible otherwise than by air, or to supply remote communities, among others.
Photo provided by TÉLÉ-QUÉBEC
Their playground is as vast as the territory they serve, stretching from the North Shore to Hudson Bay.
“Bush piloting was much better known in the 1980s and 90s with caribou hunting… This generation really liked hunting and used bush aviation a lot,” underlined the director of the documentary series in an interview with the QMI Agency.
“The idea of this project was to see, in 2023, where the state of the art of the bush was in Quebec. I didn’t have the impression that this piloting was that abundant, and while making the series, I realized that it still existed, that it was still used for a host of reasons,” he said. -he continued.
Photo provided by TÉLÉ-QUÉBEC
“I knew the territory was vast, but I didn’t expect this immensity. I also didn’t expect the change in territory, whether further north or east. It’s not the same reliefs, the same climate, the same vegetation,” added the director.
The resilience of the territory
The filming of Bush pilots took place from February to October 2024, allowing you to visit Quebec through its different weather conditions, going from extreme cold to extreme heat and forest fires.
“It’s been a complex season for wildfires. Simon’s teams [Contant, président et gestionnaire des opérations d’Air Tunilik] were mobilized during this period. There are camps that we passed through earlier, which were engulfed in flames. It was a little sad to see all this nature going up in smoke,” said the director of the series.
Photo provided by TÉLÉ-QUÉBEC
For Simon Contant, the overall state of the Quebec territory is “still good”.
“The territory is in good condition. The land served as a dumping ground for many years in several places. I have witnessed this as we have been called upon to decontaminate waste sites left mainly from the Cold War, or at least since the 1950s, where there were thousands of tons of material left behind. behind by the army,” he confided, adding that a lot of efforts had been made to beautify the territory.
“There have been forest fires all the time and there always will be. It’s a natural cycle that is good for the forest. I am not too worried about the health of Quebec,” he then reassured.
Directed and idealized by Thierry Sirois with David Francke-Robitaille, also content producer, the observational documentary Bush pilots will be broadcast on Télé-Québec starting Thursday, January 9, at 8 p.m.
