After a year in the 42nd regiment as a student, he enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force on 17 September 1915 and arrived in England on 14 February 1916.

On 6 September 1917, he was admitted to hospital suffering from the effects of a gas attack, returning to duty on the 16th in time to join the Battle of Passchendaele.

[2] On medical advice due to the gassing, he decided to pursue an outdoor career, and entered Forestry at the University of Toronto.

From his first days in Algonquin Park he was provided with his own plane, a Fairchild KR-34 open cockpit biplane, together with a mechanic and maintenance personnel.

Around 1939 he finally acquired a closed cabin airplane, the Stinson Reliant SR-10, and this served for many years until, during a routine maintenance, serious corrosion problems were discovered and the plane had to be retired.

In 1941 MacDougall was promoted to the highest non-elected position in the Civil Service when he became Deputy Minister of Lands and Forests, stationed in Toronto.

It was in that position that he assisted with the writing of a design proposal for a bush plane using his own experiences and that of the Provincial Air Service pilots for the specification.