"Ice Pilots" on History Television tonight/Update: "The Frozen Chosen"

First, a post two years ago:

Aging birds in the north

Don't let anyone say Canada has no Commandos up there...

Now today (not exactly a military story, but some of the planes were, via Spotlight on Military News and International Affairs):

Ice Pilots NWT wildly exhilarating

Keep your nose down, never pull on it.

And, by the way, if you're thinking of planning your wedding destination, or you're thinking of flying off on a second honeymoon, have you ever considered the high Arctic?

Those are just some of the suggestions made in tonight's premiere of the wildly exhilarating new docu-reality series Ice Pilots NWT, about a crew of hardy, hard-ass pilots who fly 1940s-vintage DC-3s and DC-4s across 1.2 million square kilometres of frozen lakes and unforgiving tundra hugging the North Pole [they fly for Buffalo Airways].

These are manly men and manly women, and if there's one thing you don't want to hear -- if you're a rookie passenger huddled among crates of supplies being ferried to mining camps and small communities up north -- it's, "We are having engine issues."

Despite the peppy music and fast editing, Ice Pilots NWT isn't a contrived competition show, like Ice Road Truckers or Survivor: North Pole. It's more of a chronological look at a season of white-knuckle flying in some of the world's most challenging flying conditions, but without the dry, authoritative tone of most workplace documentaries.

As produced by Vancouver filmmaker David Gullason, Ice Pilots NWT has a lively snap and a brisk tone and feel to it. You don't have to be wedged into a tiny cockpit and feel the roar of the engines to appreciate the drama and adventure of Arctic flying.

Ice Pilots NWT truly is a show everyone in the family can watch and enjoy together. (10 p.m., History Television) [emphasis added, program webpage here]...

One video, lots more here.

Update thought: Keep in mind the Air Forces' 440 "Vampire" Transport Squadron based at Yellowknife with its Twotters--also doing some tough flying. "The Frozen Chosen":

Part 2 here.