Growing up in rural British Columbia, Canada, I always liked taking the path less traveled. Early “career” experiments included being a professional snowboarder back when the sport was still in its infancy, a tree planter in the mountains of BC and Oregon, and even a brief stint as a bicycle messenger on the mean streets of San Francisco.
Always enjoying such physical pursuits, I then discovered the world of circus while in my early 20’s. After attending Circus School in Bristol, England in 1991, I became a globe-trotting, international street performer for the better part of ten years. I would follow the seasons and the sun from North American and European tours in the summer, to Australia and New Zealand when it got cold in the northern hemisphere. My specialties were juggling and unicycle: I worked my way up to riding a 12-foot-high unicycle and eventually set a world record for juggling three running chain saws longer than any other lunatic on the planet at the aptly named Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland.
Through this experience in live performance, I soon discovered that the visuals of fire fascinated people — so I decided to learn the art and science of pyrotechnics. I apprenticed as a special effects technician in Vancouver, triggering explosives for everything from live events to film and TV shoots all the way up to working full-scale international fireworks competitions. On the side I added a LOT of fire and pyro to my live performances and started calling myself a stunt performer. A documentary film was made about a trip I took to the Burning Man Festival in 1997 and, for a short while, strangers would recognize me on the street and want to meet. I think that’s called infamy.
On a tour across Canada I fell in love with an actress, dancer and choreographer (yes, one person). We started performing together and took our skillsets east to Toronto, where we spent ten years creating large-scale pyro shows with actors, dancers, stunt performers, aerialists and loads of fire, pyrotechnics and effects. We called this creation Circus Orange. We traveled the world with these shows, performing everywhere from Japan to Turkey, the Middle East, Mexico, Australia and all over the US. It was a lot of work but a huge adventure and a whole lot of fun. I have lots of high resolution images and memories — and a few scars — from that amazing time in my life.
Everyone says I look a lot like my grandfather, who was a pilot in WW2. Grandpa Harry flew everything from the Tiger Moth to the Harvard, Oxfords, the Finch, the Avro Anson and both the B24 and B25s bombers. He was a legend and I have all of his logbooks to prove it.
I always had a keen interest in aviation but, for the early portions of my life, was content to fly commercial. When drones came onto the scene around 2010 they really caught my eye and ultimately became my gateway into aviation. I bought one drone and then another and soon had six, then twelve. Needing to rationalize investing in all these machines, I worked hard to learn as much as I could about this emerging technology. I found teachers, took courses and got my UAV ground school certification early on when the technology was still in its infancy.
As an entrepreneur I had always found ways to build businesses around my unique, diverse and ever-evolving interests. In that regard, drones were no different than my previous career paths. Already having experience in the film and TV world through special effects, I soon built a business flying drones professionally as camera platforms for TV, film and commercials. My team and I at DroneBoy have worked with some of Hollywood’s biggest names in locations all over North America and as far away as Nepal. Working with drones is my main gig to this day.
That said, I always seem to take things to the next level. So it was a logical jump for me to expand from piloting drones to piloting real aircraft. Earning a private pilot’s license in 2015, I’ve since gone on to night, multi-engine and IFR ratings.
In 2017 I bought a 1977 Cessna F337G Skymaster which I now use for both personal adventures and to transport our DroneBoy teams and equipment to film locations throughout Canada and beyond. Owning an aircraft gives me the “big picture” in aviation as opposed to just flying drones down below 400’ AGL This view from above is absolutely addicting and I love sharing it with as many people as possible.
In 2021 I flew the Skymaster across Canada, camping under the wing and having an adventure that only the freedom of private aviation can offer. I have since had the opportunity to copilot on a ferry flight of a 1946 Noorduyn Norseman from Ignace, Ontario, up to Norman Wells in the Northwest Territories. I’ve flown a Grumman Widgeon, a few Lake Buccaneers and even got to right-seat for a unique Cessna 208 Caravan test program. Recently I experienced a remarkable and painless engine-out forced landing in the Northern Ontario wilderness during the middle of winter (TomAir Episode #1 & #2).
All forms of flying are a privilege, and I’m fortunate to do what I do. Which is why I started the TomAir YouTube channel to share with others my experiences while flying to interesting places and learning more about the wide world of aviation. I’m just getting started with this new endeavour and it’s already been a truly amazing experience.
To be continued…