“Breaking out of a storm, a Beaver holds a long shoreline on the pilot’s side, keeping to the safest route through the mountains.”

He goes on to tell us about this trusty workhorse of the North. First produced in 1949 by DeHavilland Aircraft of Canada, the Beaver is one of the few airplanes in the North that was actually designed and built to be used for heavy-duty bush flying. The sucess of the design in terms of flying performance is unquestioned and has helped make it a favorite all-around bush plane, but there is more to it than that . . .

This airplane also embodies the muscular good looks that we associate with other classics of the 1950s, when names like “Corvette” and “Harley” also wore two-tone paint and polished chrome.

The hard-working pilot, like his maple leaf cap, is a bit oil stained and frayed at the edges, but he knows the country. He also is confident in his old airplane and its big “round engine” built by Pratt & Whitney with it’s no-brag motto, “Thrust you can Trust.”

Whether it’s a Cessna, Piper or Beaver, fish or fowl, Sand Jamieson paints them all and gives us a unique insight into life in Alaska.