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My name is Mal Ratcliff, owner/operator of Ratcliff Aircraft Ltd., now in my 28th year
in business here on Porcupine Lake. I have been around aircraft for over 45 years. I grew up on the family
dairy farm near Stouffville, Ontario and after high school I enrolled in aviation program at LeTourneau College, Longview,
Texas. My first hour of training was on Cessna 140 but most of my flight training at LeTourneau was
on Piper Cherokee 140s, 180s or a 235. To build hours toward my commercial I bought into 1/4
share of a Piper J-5 and sold it when finished. In 1967 I graduated with a Commercial Pilot's license,
instrument rating, A&P mechanics licence and a B.Sc. degree in Aeronautical Technology. A few years later I added
a Canadian Air Transport Pilot's license and a Aircraft Maintenance Engineer's license to the list. My first job was bush
flying with Austin Airways in Nakina and Moosonee, Ontario, flying a Cessna 180 and DHCII Beaver
on floats and skis. In 1972 I moved to Wawa, Ontario, where I flew a DHC III Standard Otter for White
River Air Service in the summers and repaired floats in the winter. In 1974 I moved to Timmins, Ont with my new bride
and got a job flying a DHC6 Twin Otter for norOntair, a northern Ontario commuter air service . Two years
later I joined the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and flew the Turbo Beaver, Otter and
Twin Otter aircraft from their Porcupine Lake Air Base. Then in 1985 I purchased a Cessna 185
and the old McIntyre hangar on the west shore of Porcupine Lake and starting my own air charter service and maintenance facility.
At one point I owned and operated 5 aircraft; a Cessna 185, DHCII Beaver, and an Aeronca Champ, all
on floats, and a Cessna 150 and Cessna 172 on wheels at our flight training facility
at Timmins Airport. I have now down-sized considerably and in 1997 my last aircraft, a beautiful Cessna
185, was sold to Big River Air in northern Sask. For a short time in the summer of 2008 I flew a Turbo Otter
for Nakina Air Service. Today I keep busy servicing privately owned certified aircraft and when time permits thoroughly
enjoy building my own Van's RV-8 which I look forward to flying to Oshkosh some day.
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