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Adventures with Cariboo bush pilot

In 1937, at six years of age, Clarence Moore saw his first aircraft.
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Clarence Moore with his Cessna 195 preparing for a flight in 1968.

In 1937, at six years of age, Clarence Moore saw his first aircraft.

After that first sighting of a barnstormer, Moore knew that he would grow up to be a pilot and did just that 22 years later.

Now in his 80s Moore continues to accumulate as many stories about his adventures as a bush pilot as he does hours in the air.

In his second book, Bush Pilot: 62 Years of Learning from Close Calls produced by Friesen Press, Moore again delights readers with his personal stories of commercial flying over the raw splendour of the Cariboo and Chilcotin areas, the mountain ranges, and along the coast of British Columbia.

“Today, airplanes have the stigma as targets of terrorism and victims of faulty parts, leading to a horrific final plunge or mid-air disaster,” Moore says.

“However, flying is still the safest mode of travel and has a storied past that lives in the oral storytelling of pilots.”

Moore will officially launch his latest collection of stories with a book signing at the Open Book on Thursday, Dec. 17 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

In Bush Pilot, Moore seats the reader in the cockpits of the many machines he has piloted moving supplies and people to remote areas where few have been, nature reigns, but the grizzly bear is king.

From his first solo flight in 1953, Moore welcomes you aboard, sitting you in the pilot’s seat to share his adventures as a bush pilot, nightmares and victories alike.

His passion for flying has taken him over the many fiords, lakes, and mountain ranges that make up British Columbia, especially the Chilcotin, Cariboo, Coast areas he calls home.

His advice: “keep your butt attached and the aircraft in one piece, no need looking for trouble, it will find you. Be ready!”

His first book, Chilcotin Cowboys in Airplanes was released in 2014.