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.

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!

red sled wrote:

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.

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!

I contacted Jean nine days ago by the email you provided, but have not received a reply. Do you have any other contact information for her ? I'd like to buy a copy of her book.

contactflying wrote:I will have to finish it on your recommendation, Mike. I started it but got bummed out when their senior sergeant medic went into the medical facility with a patient (yes doing CPR) and the two pilots and crew chief had to fly a mass casualty without their medic. As Aircraft Commander of a Huey medevac I had an identical situation, except snake bite rather than breathing problem. I was able to call "Second up" out and recover my medic. Like I told my medic, they've got doctors in there. We are a helicopter ambulance.

Army medics are well trained in emergency medicine and do outstanding work keeping soldiers alive until the Combat Support Hospital or surgical team, as I'm sure this sergeant did before and after this incident (AWOL.)

contactflying wrote:Thanks Mike. I will as soon as I finish "Flyboys" by James Bradley, author of Flags of Our Fathers. "

He covers Japanese culture after a hundred years of indoctrination in military rule and cruelty. The account centers around the aviators shot down and beheaded at Chichi Jima near Iwo Jima.

It is a tough read due to the cruelty of humans. We all have individual and cultural history. Mr.Bradley points out how our genocide of the native cultures in our sphere of influence and cruel treatment of Mexican, Spanish, and Philippines Spanish and natives during "Manifest Destiny" played into the propaganda fed the Japanese people about our lack of humanity.

red sled wrote:
I contacted Jean nine days ago by the email you provided, but have not received a reply. Do you have any other contact information for her ? I'd like to buy a copy of her book.

contactflying wrote:I wonder if the UH-60 has the accumulator bottle to move the collective with both hydraulics out?

On The Fly wrote:I was surprised nobody mentioned the book "The Dog Stars" by Peter Heller. There was enough 182 flying and shooting in that book to keep me interested for a few evenings. Great story!

red sled wrote:

contactflying wrote:red sled,

The aviation community is a very small one. Without a strong military/historical connection, profits will be marginal. Most aviation authors are not into it for the money or fame. "Stick and Rudder" is probably the most popular aviation book. Wolfgang's son William, who writes for Atlantic Monthly and wrote "Inside the Sky," told me, when I asked for permission to quote his Dad, Wolfgang made little on the book. Teachers teach. It is what they do. They cannot not do it.

Contact

Thank you for your response and I'm sorry if I offended anyone, it seems I was misunderstood. What I meant was used book sellers on ebay... they may have 99% positive feedback but when you dig deeper they might have 60 or more negatives in a month. Including cancelling orders for no reason, items not as described, never shipping the book, you name it. I do not understand why ebay lets these people keep going.

Anyway, thank you for the recommendation of Stick and Rudder. And I'll keep looking. Thanks.