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. 

Please join us in welcoming Dorrin Wallace and Deana Driver on October 5^th at the Saskatchewan Aviation Museum for the book launch of Flying a Gooney Bird in Canada’s North: A Bush Pilot’s Adventures