Review from the Canadian Aircraft Owners and Pilots Assoc.
Some of you have already read George Erickson, the philosopher, author,
retired dentist and pilot, who wrote True North, which described his
solo odyssey through Canada's north in his Tundra Cub. The voyage took
him to places that most Canadians have never heard of, much less seen.
True North was a gripping account of that journey.
Since then, he has completed several more odysseys that serve as the
foundation for the sequel, Back to the Barrens: On the Wing with da
Vinci and friends. Is it more "same old, same old"? No, it is not.
For one thing, the route through Canada is largely different, bringing
new experiences and new memories for inclusion in this book. Even the
aircraft is different.
"Aha, you're thinking, "Old George has finally gone modern, using the latest advances
in technology to help him navigate his way through terrain that is barely removed
from being unexplored. Well, George has done no such a thing.
In his words, "The Tundra Cub II is a primitive but very reliable airplane. It has
no starter, generator or battery, which adds to my useful load. Its Spartan panel
bears a lonely quintet of instruments: an airspeed indicator, a tachometer and an
altimeter - three instruments that experienced non-instrument pilots largely
ignore because their eyes and ears supply approximations of the data those three provide.
"Add to these an oil pressure and temperature gauge that wise pilots monitor because
the earliest signs of engine trouble are often revealed in lower than normal oil
pressure and/or higher than normal engine temperatures.
"The Cub also sports a venturi-powered gyro horizon. Were it up to me, I wouldn't
have one, but it came with the plane, so there it stays, ready to help me get safely
down through an overcast if I ever become so foolish as to fly "on top, without
abundant breaks in the clouds."
This, then, was the aircraft that was to take him from his home in Minnesota through
many of the "quelques arpents de neige" that Canada was reputed to be when early
explorers first started looking for the shortest route to the Orient, and many
would say that it hasn't changed very much in the intervening centuries.
Did this faze Erickson? Not really. He had a route mapped out, but none of it
was particularly time-critical. Thus, he was free to go where the spirit and
his plans - moved him, stop to ponder elements of wildlife that he spotted en route,
pursue archeological treasures, take pictures, and generally amass adventures worth
putting into a book.
And what a book it is. Erickson is a skilled, self-reliant pilot, adept at
overcoming difficulties. He is also a skilled observer, quick to see things,
quick to describe things, and a great photographer who enriches his books with
fifty artistic pictures that bring remote areas of Canada to your very doorstep.
Is the book all aviation? Not by a long shot. Erickson includes a generous dollop
of aviation lore that takes the reader back to an earlier era of simpler aircraft,
primitive navigation and air traffic systems, and the old way of doing things,
which will dazzle younger readers who perhaps never heard of such shenanigans.
Erickson is a man of many interests, many of which are so lucidly explained that
the reader comes away with a better understanding of agriculture, diamond mining,
animal husbandry and other issues that are important in the North - and his 40
summers of visiting Canada's North qualify him to mentor most Canadians.
Back to the Barrens is a fascinating melange of mining lore, contemporary and
long-ago customs of other civilizations, and ours as well; religions, and not
just the big R religions that claim that they alone have all of the answers.
These topics and others are treated with great respect, and the reader comes away
with a renewed appreciation for the beliefs of other cultures, and perhaps some
doubt regarding the certainty of the "mainstream" religions.
Where did he go on this excursion through Canada? Starting in Minnesota, he flew
to Gillam and Churchill, MB, thence to Marble Island, Baker Lake, and Q Lake, all
in Nunavut.
People ask,"Why is it called Q Lake? The answer lies in one of Erickson�s photos
that shows an almost perfectly round lake with a stream running from it that looks
a lot like this Q, only more colorful.
From Q Lake, he explored Warden's Grove on the Thelon River, Fort Enterprise,
Yellowknife and Fort McMurray, a routing that gave him the opportunity to describe
the open-pit tar sands project without pontificating on the morality of such a thing.
"Some would call it a moonscape," says Erickson, "but it's no different from any other
open pit operation - you remove what's in the way to get at what you need." �He then
provides a terse-but-informative description of how oil is extracted from sand, which
ends with a warning that the supply is finite, and that we should be doing more about
alternative fuels.
From Fort McMurray, Erickson flew to Ennaidi Lake, to Chipewyan Lake, to Lake Winnipeg,
then turned for home to cap off a magnificent voyage.
Back to the Barrens should be read from start to finish, but if you prefer to read
books in no particular order, this one will suit you, too. In each section, there
are little snippets within the voyage that are worth pondering.
Erickson, an author with a broad range of interests, has mastered the art of stitching
them together to create an engrossing narrative that carries readers through Canada,
including its history, geography and many other disciplines.
Non-aviators often ask pilots, especially amateur aviators,"Why do you fly?" Back
to the Barrens provides a thousand and one good reasons for "slipping the surly bonds
of Earth." In a sense, Erickson is at one with Columbus, Magellan and others who
expanded our knowledge of the world and mused on what it means.
Fortunately, Back to the Barrens is not an expensive "coffee-table" book. For copies
please check the author's web site.
The author's website is
www.tundracub.com
Bob Merrick is a retired air force fighter-navigator with a lifelong interest in aviation safety.
The author donates all of his book profits to educational charities.
|
|
