Hammer wrote:"The Dog Stars" by Peter Heller is a good read...perfect for you flying gun nuts.

Zzz wrote:

Hammer wrote:"The Dog Stars" by Peter Heller is a good read...perfect for you flying gun nuts.

I really enjoyed it. Once you get past his weird writing style and accept it as internal dialog, it flows much better.

c180bill wrote:BCP interpilot loan, ready for next reader:

Coleen Mondor: MAP OF MY DEAD PILOTS
~About working life in the bush charter business.
(Copy is all readable but a corner was chewed off and cover ripped by a new puppy.)

Still have:
Jack Jefford: WINGING IT
Interesting first-person history of an Alaskan FAA pilot.

Either/both are free to next reader, including postage

Pass it on
--Bill

It's hard to tell, because there were so many fun things! I loved the airplane rescue with Tuffy Edgington, it was the most exciting and rewarding. He was a gold miner, he didn't check his plane well when he took off, and so he crashed shortly after. He and his 5-month pregnant wife, and an older Native Alaskan lady (she was 50... but I was 28 so she seemed old!) crashed off the Yukon.

So the wife and the Native lady dragged him up a steep hill to a cabin, which was good because it was -50 degrees out, they got a fire started so it was warm. He had so many fractures and lacerations! The next morning the old lady walked 8 miles to the Swenson cabin who got on his dog sled and got up to Tanana to the hospital I was working at.

Basco, the hospital boy, gathered supplies and a dog sled team and we went up the Yukon (which doesn't freeze smoothly!). Halfway there Basco fell into a crevice and we were worried he broke his leg but luckily it was just a sprain.

After 6 hours on dogsled, with me holding the IV fluids between my knees to keep it from freezing, we got to the cabin. By this time there were 30 more people in the cabin because this was a big exciting event. I cleaned Tuffy's wounds and bandaged him best I could, then we cut down branches from the trees to make splints for his legs and wrists. We used a blanket and make a stretcher. We got on a rescue plane with Tuffy, me holding the IV bag and morphine drip, and made the trip to the hospital in Anchorage where he fully recovered.

What a fun experience for me!

Zzz wrote:I was surfing Reddit last night as I often do; what an interesting exposure to a quite varied cross section of pilots.

In their "AMA" or "ask me anything" section was a self-conducted interview with a 92 year old woman doctor who had served the Alaskan bush for many years. She'd spent a lot of time flying in small aircraft and treating residents of the villages. Some of her stories were absolutely great!

Turns out she was promoting her book, called "From Dog Sleds to Float Planes." I guess until it returns to Amazon, the only way to get a copy is to email her: [email protected] If you reach out, tell her you saw it on BCP.