Bush Pilot: Early Alaska Aviator Harold Gillam, Sr. Lucky or Legend?

by Arnold Griese

Overview

Harold Gillam Sr's story is presented with new clarity and balance. Bush Pilot describes a private, introspective man torn between family responsibilities and his unrelenting drive to pursue his goals in aviation. Early Alaska aviation did not rely on the actions of one single pilot but succeeded through the shared strength and will of many. Yet Gillam made significant contributions. The facts and details surrounding Gillam's adventures and some times "edge of the seat" flights keep readers involved from the first page through the controversy overshadowing his final tragic flight. Bush Pilot is an Alaska aviation adventure. Bush Pilot offers thought-provoking insights into Alaska's aviation history, and introduced me to its courageous and colorful pilots and other interesting characters -- many of whom had once been only names in the news during my growing up years here in the Interior. Val Scullion: Alaska grown. Bush Pilot is a well-researched account of an Alaska Pioneer aviator whose natural instincts and high degree of self-confidence help explain his success in off-airport operation and weather and instrument flying. Tom Hetherington: lifelong Alaskan, private pilot, and Alaska aviation history aficionado. In a book appealing to novice and experienced aviation buffs alike, Arnold Griese has brought new light to the life and legend of Harold Gillam. Full of new details about the famed Alaska bush pilot, Bush Pilot serves to demystify the events in Gillam's life while providing an excellent account of the early days in Alaska aviation history. Kenny Williams: a 20,000 hour airline pilot uses his Cessna 172 to reach prime hunting and fishing spots.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781594331350
Publisher:	Publication Consultants
Publication date:	01/01/2005
Series:	Bush Pilot: Early Alaska Aviator Harold Gillam, Sr. Lucky or Legend?
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	352
File size:	7 MB

About the Author

Arnold Griese was born on a farm in Iowa. His interest in flying came early when he first watched and listened to a DC-2 flying high overhead. Reading books and magazines having to do with flying and getting his first flight in an old Curtis pusher with an OX-5 engine made flying his main purpose in life.Pearl Harbor happened and he passed the written tests and became an aviation cadet. Then, failing his flight physical, he spent his four years in the service watching other people fly. After the war, with a wife and growing family, he earned his college degree, his private pilot’s license, and moved to the small village of Tanana, Alaska. There, with no roads, but a good airstrip, he bought a four-place plane that would hold the whole family. Flying now became the focus of his life.Later, when the University of Alaska hired him as a teacher, he used its library to combine practical knowledge of Alaska aviation with an in-depth study of its early history and the pilots who made that history. The flying exploits of Harold Gillam Sr. caught his immediate attention. Bush Pilot is both a labor of love and the fulfillment of a quest.