Smoke in the Cockpit: The Flying Adventures of Don 'Smokey' Pa

ISBN 13: 978-1-897126-07-3
128 pages, paperback
Fall 2006

Non-Fiction

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about this book

The true story of Canadian bush pilot Don “Smokey” Patry is a succession of brave take-offs, daring landings, and high intensity turbulence every minute in-between.

Whether performing an emergency landing in darkness in Canada’s northern wilderness, rebuilding his plane’s engine with a rusty file, or zigzagging a bomber plane across the Atlantic Ocean during World War II, there was never a dull moment in Patry’s career.

Smoke in the Cockpit is Canadian aviation history at its best. Patry, raised in Western Canada, began flying professionally in 1937 over the uncharted mountainous territory of Alberta, BC, and the North West Territories. Destiny uncannily placed him in the thick of the action, and he went from one adventure to the next without fanfare, pause, or concern. Introduced to Patry by his flying partner Jack Sullivan, author H. J. Smith offers this riveting collection of Patry’s high-flying heroics for readers of all ages.

reviews

“Bi-planes pieced together with spruce branches and baling twine, flying blind in the Arctic winter, delivering heavy bombers to WWII Europe and flying commercial airliners at the dawn of jet propulsion, Don Patry did it all—a true icon in the pioneering days of the Canadian bush pilot.”
—Brendan Coyle, War on our Doorstep: The Unknown Campaign on North America’s West Coast

“Spanning the decades from Jennies to jets, Smoke in the Cockpit tells the story of Don ‘Smokey’ Patry, a bush pilot whose combination of luck and skill carried him safely from southern Alberta into the Territories, Alaska and even Europe during World War II.  Smoke in the Cockpit will captivate all who love the North.”
—George Erickson, True North: Exploring the Great Canadian Wilderness by Bush Plane