Sono Nis Press - Books by Subject: Aviation


		Download our Transportation Catalogue

		10,000 Hours A Helicopter Pilot in the North Peter Corley-Smith This is a first-hand account of a veteran helicopter bush pilot who flew early Bell 47 helicopters all over the Canadian Arctic in the 50s and 60s. The helicopter, able to land where fixed wing aircraft could not, brought an enormous change to surveys, mining and exploration, opening up the North and its resources. Written with insight, candour, and good humour, this is a book to read and enjoy and then read again. Aviation/Memoir 250 pp, 6 × 9, colour and b/w photos ISBN 1-55039-059-7, paper, $21.95

		Helicopters: The British Columbia Story A Compelling History of Helicopters in British Columbia Peter Corley-Smith and David N. Parker Helicopter flying changed aviation in British Columbia forever. The early fragile-looking machines made vast areas of the province readily accessible for the first time. Soon they were being used in surveying, mining, forestry, agriculture, fire-fighting, and search and rescue operations. The developments in technology and technique in B.C.'s rugged terrain furthered helicopter progress around the globe. Aviation/History 226 pp, 8ľ × 7ľ, 29 colour and 165 b/w photos and illustrations ISBN 1-55039-094-5, paper, $24.95

		Helicopters in the High Country 40 Years of Mountain Flying Peter Corley-Smith and David N. Parker Helicopter flying in the high country, pioneering new and dramatic techniques, brought fame and endless challenge to a small group of determined and innovative pilots in British Columbia and led the way towards a world-renowned reputation in commercial helicopter operations. Beginning with Okanagan Helicopters in the late 1940s and Vancouver Island Helicopters in the early 1950s, British Columbia helicopter companies led the world in flying the high country. Aviation History 93 pp, 9 × 8, 20+ colour and 80+ b/w photos and illustrations ISBN 1-55039-061-9, paper, $19.95

		Pilots to Presidents British Columbia Aviation Pioneers and Leaders, 1930-1960 Peter Corley-Smith The long-awaited sequel to Peter Corley-Smith’s highly acclaimed aviation histories, Barnstorming to Bush Flying and Bush Flying to Blind Flying. Before jet aircraft and radar, when the largest airliners carried just 24 people, aviation pioneers challenged the windswept heights of British Columbia to secure aviation’s future. Bush Pilots flew to every corner of British Columbia while pioneers began the first inter-city and transcontinental flights, laying the basis for modern air travel. Legends grew around flights to the Headless Valley, the rescue of bomber crews in the “Million Dollar Valley” and other exploits. Peter Corley-Smith, with meticulous research, reveals the history and the real people as more intriguing and understandable than the improbable myths. Aviation History, 306 pp, 8ľ × 7ľ, b/w photos, illustrations and maps ISBN 1-55039-116-X, paper, $29.95

		Coast Dogs Don't Lie Tales from the North Coast Shed by Jack Schofield They called it the North Coast Sched, but it didn't go to British Columbia's North Coast—only as far north as would allow a Beaver or Otter seaplane to get back to base before grounding time. Calling it a schedule was also something of a stretch, as it was rarely on time. As one wag put it, "We could be on time if there weren't so many babies to deliver along the way." The "babies" were more often truck transmissions, logging equipment and large grocery loads for the camp cookhouses. AVIATION/HISTORY • 140 pp • 8.25 x 8.25 95 b/w photos & illustrations ISBN 13: 978-1-55039-169-5; 1-55039-169-0 hardcover • $29.95

		Flights of a Coast Dog A Pilot's Log by Jack Schofield First published in 2000, Flights of a Coast Dog is Jack Schofield's first book. This third edition of his ever-popular account of flying seaplanes along the British Columbia coast displays the BC Millennium Book Award bestowed on the original edition, and the book is back again in its original hardcover format. Flying seaplanes along the rugged B.C. coast is a demanding job, depending heavily on flying skills and an ingrained knowledge of this challenging country, but more than anything one needs a well-developed sense of humour. Schofield has just that when telling these fascinating anecdotes about the colourful characters who crossed his path and some hair-raising adventures during 20 years of flying Beaver, Otter and Cessna seaplanes. AVIATION/HISTORY • 182 pp • 8.25 x 8.25 60+ b/w photos & drawings ISBN 13: 978-1-55039-172-5; 1-55039-172-0 hardcover • $29.95

		No Numbered Runways Floatplane Pioneers of the West Coast Jack Schofield Their aircraft brought the miners, the loggers, and the fishermen, prospectors, preachers, prostitutes, misfits, and visionaries into the myriad inlets and waterways of Canada's unforgiving West Coast. These were the floatplane pilot entrepreneurs who created a succession of coastal airlines dating from the 1920s to the present day. Jack Schofield's No Numbered Runways recounts the exciting stories of early and latter-day pilots whose floatplanes tracked the British Columbia coast. Often without benefit of charts, weather reports, radio, or navigational aids and, indeed, always without numbered runways, these ingenious aviators shaped the history of commercial flying on Canada's West Coast. This is a companion volume to Flights of a Coast Dog published by Douglas & McIntyre 1999. Aviation History • 148 pp • 8Ľ × 8Ľ ISBN 1-55039-146-1 • hardcover • $29.95