Flying the Frontiers brings to life tales from the log books and journals of people for whom aviation is a way of life. These intrepid and independent pilots, engineers, aircraft salvagers, and smoke jumpers tell of their adventures and misadventures over the endless bush and forbidding barrens of Canada's North, allowing readers a rare glimpse at a unique way of life that has taken these men and women across Canada and around the world.
Told first-hand by the people who experienced them, these are wondrous tales of near-misses and amazing successes, heroism and foolishness, innovations and renovations, where the element of risk is part of every flight plan.
Flying the Frontiers tells of an era that has all but disappeared, and of people whose careers spanned the pioneer age in aviation. Many continue to fly today. Their stories are enhanced by more than seventy personal photographs that depict the airplanes they flew, the territory they covered, and the predicaments in which they found themselves.
It may come as a surprise to learn that some 1,700 multi-engined military and commercial flying boats and amphibians have been built since 1945. The development of compact, reliable and economical turbo-prop engines in recent years has given the flying boat and amphibian a new lease of life, not only by extending the lives of some types by replacing existing piston engines, but also by encouraging new designs that are able to compete favourably with landplanes in terms of economy while retaining their unique ability to land on water if and when necessary. There are currently more than 350 multi-engined types operating worldwide in the search and rescue (SAR) and inshore maritime reconnaissance (MR) roles with the military, the commercial transport of people and supplies in remote areas, and fighting fires. This book describes 12 major multi-engined flying boats and amphibians that have been produced, albeit in small numbers in some cases, in 7 different countries since 1945. All have either served with operational military units or have been sold to commercial operators, with which many of them continue to serve to this day.
Begun as a social experiment in 1937, Air Canada has evolved into one of the worlds greatest airlines.
Air Canada: The History explores a modern miracle that has made commercial air travel in our country an everyday occurrence. The airline was born in 1937 as "Trans Canada Airlines," a ward of the Canadian National Railway. Renamed "Air Canada" in 1964 to reflect its status as a jet-age airline, it survived devastating air crashes, financial deficits, self-serving politicians, strikes, privatization, and the Airbus scandal.
It was reviled in the nineties by the likes of Peter Newman, who joked, "If God had meant Man to fly, he wouldnt have invented Air Canada." Today it is a much loved national icon. Fortunate at times to be run by great CEOs like Gordon McGregor and Claude Taylor, Air Canada has fought off a hostile takeover, merged with its arch-rival Canadian Airlines, and touched countless lives during its 75-year history.
This is its story.
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