Flying a Gooney Bird in Canada's North: A Bush Pilot's Adventures by Dorrin Wallace with Deana J Driver

With little or no training but considerable confidence, Dorrin Wallace flew unfamiliar airplanes on wheels, skis, or floats, carrying loads of freight or passengers in Canada’s North. As a bush pilot for most of his 40 years in aviation, Dorrin rarely got lost and was never fined, but that might be because he wasn’t caught! His favourite plane was the Douglas DC-3, known as the “Gooney Bird,” which could carry 24 passengers or 5,500 pounds of cargo. At times, Dorrin stretched the DC-3 past its limits, making takeoff and flight tenuous. Dorrin’s adventures involve fishermen, trappers, troublemakers, bootleggers, jokers, gifted or lucky pilots, and talented aircraft maintenance engineers in the Canadian Prairies, Ontario, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Yukon. Retired journalist Deana J. Driver co-authored the book, adding to Dorrin’s engaging first-person anecdotes.