Flying a Gooney Bird in Canada’s North: A Bush Pilot’s Adventures
$20.95 (including GST)
Description
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For over 40 years, Dorrin Wallace flew unfamiliar airplanes on wheels, skis, or floats, carrying loads of fish or passengers in Canada’s North. Flying during an era when pilot training was rare and regulations were lax or nonexistent, Dorrin learned by doing or by talking with veteran pilots about how they operated their aircraft in the North. He rarely got lost and was never fined, but that might be because he wasn’t caught! Most of Dorrin’s pilot hours were on a Douglas DC-3, known as the “Gooney Bird.” This twin-engine giant could carry 24 passengers or 5,500 pounds of cargo. At times, Dorrin stretched the airplane past its limits to get a job done. His tales include adventures with fishermen, trappers, troublemakers, bootleggers, jokers, gifted or lucky pilots, and talented aircraft maintenance engineers in Saskatchewan, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Yukon.
Retired journalist Deana J. Driver co-authored the book, adding to Dorrin’s engaging first-person anecdotes.
Curriculum: Grades 5 to 12: English Language Arts: Finding the Courage, Issues and Choices, The Challenges of Life: Social Studies: Dynamic Relationships; Science: Principles of Flight; History 10 & 20.
978-1927570-88-3; 6”x9”; 224 pages; 42 photos. © 2025; Ages 13 to Adult. Nonfiction; Biography; Transportation; Aviation; Short stories; Anecdotes; Aviation history; Canadian history; Saskatchewan; Canadian author.
About the Authors:
Dorrin Wallace grew up on the family farm near North Battleford, Saskatchewan, and began a career in aviation because of a Royal Canadian Air Cadet Flight Training scholarship. He worked as an aircraft maintenance engineer (AME) and a pilot for numerous companies, transporting freight and passengers into the bush and tundra of Canada’s North during a 40-year career in the aviation industry. He served as chief pilot at Norcanair and Points North and was the president of the board of directors of the Saskatchewan Aviation Museum when it opened. He resides in Saskatoon.
Author/editor/book publisher and retired journalist Deana J. Driver met Dorrin Wallace in 2019 while conducting interviews for what would become the first volume of her Flight: Stories of Canadian Aviation anthology series. In 2024, Dorrin and Deana began collaborating on his memoir as co-authors, with Deana adding to Dorrin’s captivating tales. Deana works from her home office in Emerald Park, Saskatchewan.
Responses from Readers:
- “This book was a terrific read.”
- “The stories are so interesting. What a time in our history! I learned a lot about aviation reading this book.”
