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Kelly Owlijoot, of Arviat, hit a career milestone earlier this month when he logged his 1,000th hour as a helicopter pilot.

Owlijoot, 49, took his first flight as a helicopter pilot in October of 2020. He was in training for the next two years before earning his chopper licence and embarking on his flying career.

He said he really started flying a lot in 2023 and he's been flying more and more each year since.

"I'm still learning a lot about the parts of the helicopter, the weather and all the different types of people, such as the contractors and the customers," he said. "It's, pretty much, never the same thing every day, except for the actual flying.

"Moving forward, I'm looking at maybe starting a little earlier in the year. The more experienced pilots fly a little bit earlier, like in February and March.

"I only did the one month of firefighting so far, but I hear they're (pilots) racking up a lot of hours and making a lot of money. But, it's not really about the money for me. It's about the flying up here."

Owlijoot recently moved from Winnipeg back to his hometown in Arviat. 

He said he'd rather stay with family members and at the staff houses for work than pay high rent for an apartment in the city that he's away from a lot.

"I knew I was going to start flying up here. I just wasn't sure what type of flying I'd be doing. I was working with geologists this past week, who were looking for gold and stuff.

"Before that, I did some flying for the hydro line and the high-speed fibre optic internet line that they're going to try and get up here."

Owlijoot said a few of the veteran helicopter pilots told him once you get up to 1,000 hours, some pilots start thinking that they're invincible, but you have to be just as careful as ever.

He said that's one of the things he always tries to remember as he keeps racking up a lot of hours.

"I make sure I'm consistent with checking on everything and I'm always trying to be as careful as possible because it's your life on the line up there, as well as the lives of others flying with you. You have to be cautious and meticulous and do what you have to do to stay safe. 

"A helicopter can be just like any other machine SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½” boats or snowmobiles SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½” in that anything can happen. But, you're more prepared to do what's possible to land safely if anything happens up there. If you're on a snowmobile and it breaks down, you're just going to stop. It can be much different if something happens up there and you're not prepared to handle it. That's why we do so much training as pilots.

"I used three different helicopters during the past two weeks. They're all different in the way they start and the way they handle. They all have their own characteristics. They may be the same type, but the gauges are in different areas and some of them have more, or less, power that you have to get used to.

"You have to learn pretty quick on your first day what the helicopter is capable of."