mtv wrote:Winging It, by Jack Jefford. Real live, no bullshit Alaska bush flying by a guy who was there and did that, and helped to bring Alaska aviation into the modern world.

A great read.

MTV

+1. Probly my favorite aviation book so far.

Bush Boy wrote:Flying the Feathered Edge on Bob Hoover, not a bush pilot but a great book, I had to read it twice it was so good!

The only book I could find by Bob Hoover was "Forever Flying". I think the 'Feathered Edge' was a video?

FYI, If you need a good source for locating used (or new) books, try BookFinder.com

"Stranger to the Ground" Bach


"The Shepherd" Forsyth


"Wager with the Wind"


Bush and Arctic Pilot: a Pilot's Story" Williams


and of course don't forget about "Only a factory girl" by Rosie M Banks...

Just finished reading "81 Days Below Zero" by Brian Murphy. A new book just out, written about a B-24 crew who lost control of their airplane east of Fairbanks on December 21, 1943. This is the story of Leon Crane, the co-pilot, who parachuted out of the plane, then survived the deep cold of interior Alaska for 81 days.

For anyone who hasn't experienced "real cold", this book will give you a little insight, as well as a lot of history of interior Alaska, the Army Air Corps, Cold Weather Test that was done in Fairbanks during the war, and the Lend Lease program.

For those who've worked in real cold....put on a couple extra layers before you start reading.....it'll chill you to the bone.

MTV

mtv wrote:Just finished reading "81 Days Below Zero" by Brian Murphy. A new book just out, written about a B-24 crew who lost control of their airplane east of Fairbanks on December 21, 1943. This is the story of Leon Crane, the co-pilot, who parachuted out of the plane, then survived the deep cold of interior Alaska for 81 days.

For anyone who hasn't experienced "real cold", this book will give you a little insight, as well as a lot of history of interior Alaska, the Army Air Corps, Cold Weather Test that was done in Fairbanks during the war, and the Lend Lease program.

For those who've worked in real cold....put on a couple extra layers before you start reading.....it'll chill you to the bone.

MTV

Ordered, thanks!

CamTom12 wrote:

mtv wrote:Just finished reading "81 Days Below Zero" by Brian Murphy. A new book just out, written about a B-24 crew who lost control of their airplane east of Fairbanks on December 21, 1943. This is the story of Leon Crane, the co-pilot, who parachuted out of the plane, then survived the deep cold of interior Alaska for 81 days.

For anyone who hasn't experienced "real cold", this book will give you a little insight, as well as a lot of history of interior Alaska, the Army Air Corps, Cold Weather Test that was done in Fairbanks during the war, and the Lend Lease program.

For those who've worked in real cold....put on a couple extra layers before you start reading.....it'll chill you to the bone.

MTV

Ordered, thanks!

Yeah, you've been there and probably seen some of the country he trekked through.

MTV

mtv wrote:Yeah, you've been there and probably seen some of the country he trekked through.

MTV

They told us a very much abridged version of his story at the cold weather school at Black Rapids. I've been wanting to hear the rest of it since, and your recommendation reminded me that I still hadn't looked into it.

BKK wrote:For All the Wrong Reasons by Bill Robinet

Bill is a good guy, I did my BFR in his N3N last time. He has another good read, By The Skin Of My Teeth.

A read that I can't recommend strongly enough is "Understanding the Sky" by Dennis Pagen. This book provides a fantastic and highly readable overview of flying weather, and in particular the micro-weather patterns that are highly influenced by local terrain. Though it is geared towards soaring pilots, I think most all of the content is applicable to backcountry flying. I of course read the book with great interest as I fly a J-3 in Colorado: on hot days I will take any help I can get to find lift and avoid sink!

Unfortunately, it has been difficult to find a physical copy of the book. Amazon has it, but I have had my orders with them cancelled by their UK-based vendor. I did have success ordering a copy for my hang glider-flying brother here: http://www.cumulus-soaring.com/books/Pa ... TheSky.htm. Fortunately, somebody who found sourcing a physical copy equally frustrating has posted a PDF of the entire book on the web available for free to anybody and everybody. Google will take you right to it.

CamTom12 wrote:

mtv wrote:Yeah, you've been there and probably seen some of the country he trekked through.

MTV

They told us a very much abridged version of his story at the cold weather school at Black Rapids. I've been wanting to hear the rest of it since, and your recommendation reminded me that I still hadn't looked into it.

This was certainly an interesting event. I did several missions to the crash site in 2007 or 2008. We took the joint remains recovery team out there so they could verify the fate of the last unaccounted for crew member. A park ranger studying the site found a small piece of metal that he determined was a parachute part. The recovery team went in and confirmed his findings. I'll have to get the book. To be on that site and look around, it is amazing the effort it would have taken to survive. You are truly in the middle of nowhere.

Brett

UH-60andC-180 wrote:This was certainly an interesting event. I did several missions to the crash site in 2007 or 2008. We took the joint remains recovery team out there so they could verify the fate of the last unaccounted for crew member. A park ranger studying the site found a small piece of metal that he determined was a parachute part. The recovery team went in and confirmed his findings. I'll have to get the book. To be on that site and look around, it is amazing the effort it would have taken to survive. You are truly in the middle of nowhere.

Brett

That's pretty incredible man.

10,000 hours: Reminiscences of a Helicopter Bush Pilot by Peter Corley-Smith

+2 for David McCullough's The Wright Brothers

I'm not much of a reader but, Bent Props and Blow pots by Rex Terpening was captivating. Rex was a fly along mechanic in the Northwest Territories starting in the 1930's. Stories of getting lost, rescuing damaged airplanes in the bush at -40, as well as many other challenges man and machine experienced, in the early days of bush flying in the cold and inhospitable North. A lost era of real adventure and exploration.

Bent Props and Blow pots by Rex Terpening

UH-60andC-180 wrote:

CamTom12 wrote:

mtv wrote:Yeah, you've been there and probably seen some of the country he trekked through.

MTV

They told us a very much abridged version of his story at the cold weather school at Black Rapids. I've been wanting to hear the rest of it since, and your recommendation reminded me that I still hadn't looked into it.

This was certainly an interesting event. I did several missions to the crash site in 2007 or 2008. We took the joint remains recovery team out there so they could verify the fate of the last unaccounted for crew member. A park ranger studying the site found a small piece of metal that he determined was a parachute part. The recovery team went in and confirmed his findings. I'll have to get the book. To be on that site and look around, it is amazing the effort it would have taken to survive. You are truly in the middle of nowhere.

Brett

I landed at the wreck once in a helicopter...we were just passing by. Interesting wreck and most stuff still intact, though badly burned. Not picked over by souvenir hunters.

I've flown the Charley River country in winter a fair amount, and his survival story is really amazing to me.....one tough guy.

MTV

I agree 81 Days is a great story. Tough guy for sure. Over Christmas I found a copy of Bax Seat by Gordon Baxter from Flying Magazine. It is milk out your nose, pee your pants funny. I had read his articles in Flying but this gives the backstory behind some of them as well as some of the communication with his editors. He could turn a phrase. It helped that I had a great friend from Beaumont Texas so I could put a 'voice' with the stories. Seriously funny stuff.