Wade came to Fort McMurray in 1981 as a Flight Instructor for the Satellite base Wetaskiwin Air Services opened. After two seasons of working the satellite base, they decided to open a permanent base in Fort McMurray, with Wade operating the school as the CFI. After a year, Westaskiwin Air decided to pull the permanent base for economic reasons and offered to sell the school to Wade. Wade accepted and McMurray Aviation was established. Wade branched out into charters to gain more revenue for the company and has grown McMurray Aviation into what it is today.