Fifty years of aviation. Nineteen countries. Specialty: connecting remote regions.
Every successful seaplane airline begins with someone who has stood on the dock before. Over the past five decades, I have launched, certified, or managed amphibious seaplane operations in Nigeria, Venezuela, South Africa, Madagascar, the Maldives, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Canada — from the first feasibility study to the first revenue flight. Goulet Aviation Services exists to do the same for your operation.
I hold a Transport Canada Airline Transport Pilot Licence and have flown more than 18,000 hours, over 16,000 of them on seaplanes, including nearly 7,500 hours on the amphibious Cessna Caravans that anchor most modern seaplane fleets. In fifty years of commercial aviation across nineteen countries, I have served as line pilot, flight instructor, chief pilot, operations manager, accountable manager, managing director, and chief executive officer, supporting tourism, mining, oil and gas, forestry, fishing, and remote community services while remaining both accident and injury free throughout.
Start-ups are my specialty. I established the first amphibious Cessna Caravan operations in Nigeria and in Manitoba, added seaplane types to existing AOCs in the Maldives and the Philippines, and took Sky Atoll in the Maldives from incorporation through leasing negotiations, proving flights, and a business plan presented directly to the civil aviation authority. I have written feasibility studies and business plans for seaplane ventures in Saudi Arabia, Italy, Malaysia, Egypt, Costa Rica, Panama, the Dominican Republic, and India, and I served on the ICAO working group that drafted water aerodrome regulations for Southeast Asia and the Pacific. My current projects include an Egyptian seaplane operation working toward its AOC and a project to manufacture a new amphibious aircraft design in Canada.
Investors and boards need more than a pilot. As managing director and accountable manager, I have turned around loss-making operators, won long-term offshore contracts with Total and Shell within nine months of taking over Caverton Helicopters, and managed the aviation support for Chevron’s deepwater Agbami field. I have negotiated aircraft leases, purchases, and service contracts with principals including Chevron, Shell, Setouchi Holdings, Newmont, Bristow, CHC, VistaJet, and NetJets Europe, and I build every business plan on financial modelling that lenders, lessors, and civil aviation authorities can interrogate line by line.
I hold the IATA Aviation Safety Management Diploma and IATA accreditation as a safety and quality auditor, with more than twenty airline audits completed. I have completed Project Management Professional (PMP) training, served as an ICAO English-language proficiency assessor, and co-wrote Helicopter Safety, published by the University of Texas and still used as a textbook for offshore workers.
“For most of my career, I have worked as an independent aviation advisor under many different types of contracts that often bring me in as an operations manager, managing consultant, accountable manager or managing director so that critical tasks can be accomplished in minimal time. I am driven by new challenges and excel as a start-up specialist.”
If you are visualizing a seaplane venture, adding a single amphibious to an existing fleet or starting a new island airline — start with the Services Page to see how a project unfolds from feasibility study to first revenue flight. Review my full resume for the complete record, or contact me directly to discuss your project.