Alaska Bush Pilot Doctor

He was more comfortable on a tractor than in a tiny airplane, yet he found himself in the Last Frontier with fly-in housecalls, hunting mishaps, and emergency landings. Dr. Elmer Gaede expected to follow in the footsteps of his Mennonite farming family. He never imagined that during the 1950s and 60s he'd fly with other legendary bush pilots, such as Babe Alsworth, Andy Anderson, Fred and John Chambers, Don Sheldon, Don Stickman, and Sig and Noel Wien. Or that he'd be counted among the early Alaska physicians in Interior Alaska.

Fasten your seatbelt for Bush flying crack-ups, fly-in house calls in 50-below temperatures, hunting adventures, and a psychotic woman climbing out of his small Piper aircraft 2,000 feet above the Yukon River. Pack your sense of humor for a monkey in Doc's clinic waiting room, misjudged bush landings, delivering a baby during the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake, and more. Hang on for the thrills and the rigors of life in the Last Frontier.

"Take it from one who has experienced the silence of an engine out-of-fuel at 2,500 feet, Doc really had courage! Flying a tube and fabric two-seat Piper J-3 without radio in the ever-changing weather of Alaska brings up the hair on the back of any pilot's neck. The stories were real and accurate down to the details. Being a daddy, doctor, dentist, and vet, not to mention a fierce big game hunter, added to the drama." --Steve Kriss, Colonel, USAF (Ret), Aircraft Owner - Instrument Pilot - A&P Mechanic in Plano, TX