The aircraft used for bushflying had to be capable of transporting people, supplies and equipment over large distances to areas which were otherwise inaccessible. It especially had to be very rugged, easy to maintain and capable of taking off and landing very short distances - dependability, not speed, was the most important feature. Since Canada's many lakes proided natural "airstrips" most of the aircraft were equipped with floats or hulls to land on water. The use of ski's in winter allowed year-round use.

The Bushplane was used for transportation, exploration, timber surveys, forest fire spotting, aerial photography and mapping. The bushplane transported everthing from sick babies and miners to fresh eggs and dynamite to remote sites easily, quickly and cheaply. By the 1930's, Bushplanes flew beyond the Arctic Circle and fuel caches were established at remote points for refuelling.

Today the float-equipped bushplane is still used for flying into remote tourist locations, however, most northern communities now have paved airstrips for wheeled aircraft.