Flying Canucks: Famous Canadian Aviators
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As early as 1908, having read the Wright brothers’ invention, Alberta farm boys and mechanics in Quebec villages were constructing large kites, attempting to fly them. Within a decade, Canadian air aces, like Bishop and Barker, swept the wartime skies over Frances, piloting deadly machines in mortal combat. Through the 20s, that very Canadian breed of adventurer, the bush pilot, ventured over the desolate tundra, delivering medicine and missionaries, mail and Mounties to remote communities as far as Ellesmere Island and Ungava Bay.
Members of the Royal Canadian Air Force fought with distinction during the Second world War. Titles such as The Saviour of London and The Angel of Ceylon seem like wartime hype, but the skill and courage that those pilots displayed half a century ago set them apart still. For the six Canadian airmen who won the Victoria Cross, there were thousands who flew into the meat grinder that was the Allies’ strategic air offensive over Europe.
This book chronicles the exploits of only a few men and women – but it truly celebrates the spirit and resolve of countless brave Canadians who are proud part of aviation in this country.
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As the son of an airline employee, Peter Pigott grew up at the edge of airports around the world. He is currently a research officer for the Bureau of Assistance for Central and Eastern Europe with the Department of Foreign Affairs in Ottawa. He has been posted to New York, Hong Kong, Vienna and The Hague. While in Hong Kong, he was asked to write the official history of aviation in that territory; the result was a book that has become especially relevant with the building of the new airport at Chek Lap Kok. On most weekends, peter can be found at the National Aviation Museum in Rockcliffe with his two daughters, who cheerfully put up with their father's madness.
