William H. “Pat” Magie, III

William “Pat” Magie, III. was born in Duluth, MN. He had his first flight at 4-month-old with his aviation enthusiast father in an open cockpit Waco 10. After high school he joined the U.S. Marine Corps and served as an infantryman. After transitioning out of the Marines in 1952, he used his G.I. Bill to take flying lessons. He soloed in a Piper Cub J4E Coupe Sea Plane. This was his start to a long and successful flying career.

Pat had a love for seaplanes. He opened Wilderness Wings Airways on Shagawa Lake in Ely, MN. There, he would spend 25 years instructing, selling Cessna aircraft, flying fire patrol, flying fishermen to remote camps, and making lifesaving emergency flights, often without compensation. Pat and his staff conducted approximately 700 emergency extractions in the area. He instructed hundreds of young pilots who went on to making a career in aviation. At one time in the 1970s he was the world’s most prolific Cessna dealer. He was also often hired to perform with his Beech 18 as a Hollywood movie flyer.

At this point in time, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area was establishing a no-fly area over it, and the Canadian Government ruled there would be no overflying Quetico National Park closest to the US border. When a tragic fire in 1980, decimated his business, Magie headed to Alaska for a new opportunity, and opened Alaskan Wilderness Outfitters. In this new location, he was a flight instructor, as well as rented out houseboats and cabins. He also flew fishermen out to remote fishing locations.

In 1998, Magie learned that an opportunity to develop a seaplane operation was available in Hawaii, he made that his next home, creating Island Seaplane Service near the Honolulu International Airport. He used his vast experience and knowledge flying seaplanes to serve as a flight instructor, sightseeing pilot, and entrepreneur. One of his enterprises was a floating wedding chapel. In 2000, the National Seaplane Pilots Association named him Seaplane Pilot of the Year. In 2020 he released his autobiography, Whatta Life: The Incredible Life and Times of Pat Magie. Prior to that he wrote the book 101 Ways to Make a Living Flying Seaplanes: How, Where, How Much.

Over the years Magie owned 488 aircraft and when he finally retired, he had logged over 40,000 hours of flight time, most of it in his Beech 18s, Beavers, and Otters. He amassed all those flight hours without a mishap. Magie’s logbook shows he flew in over 700 different types and models of aircraft. He had flown almost every aircraft that had floats.