Amphibious airplanes are the only way to reach many northern communities.
Amik Aviation owner Oliver Owen.
working at a store in Little Grand Rapids. Around that time, the Southeast Resource Development Council (SERDC) was formed and took over the programs from Indian Affairs. Oliver approached the SERDC about funding for his com- mercial license and received an immediate positive response. With the resources in hand, he began training, first at St.
Andrew’s and later at Gimli due to its onsite residence. Oli- ver obtained his commercial license, twin engine rating and instrument rating in 1983. Oliver worked for various companies over the next few
years and had aspirations of becoming an airline pilot. How- ever, as fate would have it, a different opportunity presented itself before that dream could be realized. Te SERDC had an airplane and was in need of a pilot.
Oliver was their guy. He started flying people back and forth from Northern communities. “I thought to myself, ‘gee, this would be a good way for me to start my own business,'” said Oliver. Birth of an airline
Amik is the Anishinaabe language word for ‘Beaver.' In 2004, Oliver registered Amik Aviation. But before he could start the business, he needed to have appropriately ac- credited staff, and he needed a plane. “I went to the Communities Economic Development
Fund, a provincial government program based in Tompson for help. Tey must have seen something in me because they gave me an airplane. It was like ‘wow!’” Oliver said. In 2006 Oliver got the plane, a Cessna 185, and finally re-
thehubwinnipeg.com
Amik's hangar at St. Andrew's Airport.
ceived his license to operate Amik Aviation in 2008. In the meantime, he had been working at the store he has in Little Grand Rapids to help pay for the plane. By 2009, Oliver needed a second plane. After leasing one for the summer, he began looking for something a little bigger. His search took him first to Vancouver, then to Minneapolis. Te first plane he looked at turned out to be a lemon, but before he left he managed to secure a Cessna 208 that is still in his fleet today. Over time, Amik Aviation began to grow. “It’s been very good because people know me. I used to fly
for other air services, including what is now my competition, and I’ve been flying like this since 1983,” says Oliver. Amik Today
When Amik Aviation first started, Oliver was the opera-
tions manager and the chief pilot. Slowly he grew his staff, and with more planes came the need for new people, as well as a hangar. Now, between their St. Andrew’s Airport location and their
location at Little Grand Rapids, Amik Aviation boasts a staff of 20 during the peak summer season. Te business has become a family affair with Oliver’s son,
Logan, serving as chief pilot and another son, Terrence, serv- ing as operations manager for Amik. Ultimately, Amik Aviation became so much more than
Oliver even dreamed of when he was young. “All I wanted to do was fly my own airplane. I never thought
I’d own my own business or anything like that,” said Oliver. “I just wanted to fly.”
Winter 2016 • 29
Photo by Derek Gagnon.
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