Peter Pigott

Wingwalkers: The Story of Canadian Airlines International Peter Pigott First edition

Wingwalkers traces the exciting history of Canadian Airlines International, from the dangerous days of airlifting men and supplies to remote mining sites, through the war years when airlines helped the Allied cause, and finally to the modern era of world-wide passenger flights.

This compelling book - part aviation history, part business biography - tells the story of Canadian Airlines International from the birth of its bush-flying predecessors through its growth into a major international airline.

Today, Canadian carries some 11 million passengers to over 240 destinations in 23 countries on 5 continents. Wingwalkers traces the exciting history of Canadian's parent companies.

Meet the ambitious men who ran the airlines, like James Richardson, "the father of commercial aviation in Canada" - a grain exporter who was inspired to start an airline after watching a seaplane take off from a lake - and Grant McConachie, who after a career of bush flying and barnstorming became the president of Canadian Pacific Airlines. Read abou the turbulent ups and downs of the commercial aviation industry in Canada and the corporate risk-taking that went on - both on the ground and in the air.

Fully indexed and illustrated with remarkable archival photos, Wingwalkers is must reading for anyone interested in aviation, big-business, Canadian history or jsut a fascinating read.