Vertical Reference: The Life of Legendary Mountain Helicopter Rescue Pilot Jim Davies

Excellent

Canada was the birthplace of utility helicopter work back in the late 1940's. This story demonstrates how that resourcefulness had continued right into the late 1960's by a group of wardens and a very skilled local pilot, finding yet another role the helicopter could provide in a burgeoning sport of alpine recreation. The author does a very good job laying out the introduction and eventual implementation of alpine/mountain rescue to it's present state in Canada today. The book is full of many good stories, some funny and some sad; at times making me feel like I was in the middle of the action. It is basically a tale of two entities: parks rescue and helicopters becoming one.I give the book 4-5 stars with regards to the complete and detailed accounts of all aspects of the parks, warden's service and the methods used in mountain rescue. However, from an aviation aspect I give 3 stars as there are numerous inaccuracies, incorrect use of aviation vernacular and some errors involving basic facts with regards to the helicopter portion of the book which could have used some additional editing. As an example, many references to the helicopter industry at the time are not aligned correctly with dates, aircraft types and the rotor industry economic-legacy. Considering that the author's field of expertise is in mountaineering and not aviation, she still does a very good job of getting the helicopter story told.Additionally, the pictures in the book I wish were larger and/or higher resolution, as they are fantastic images and I wish I could have seen them in better detail. Understandably the cost of doing such printing would be high and that would have raised the price of the book to purchase which is probably why they are small and grainy. Even so I enjoyed looking at the photos as they really helped tell the stories or explain methods used.I got to fly with Jim Davies as a young boy in the early 70's and it is still vivid in my memory; I told him I was going to become a helicopter pilot then, and I did. I often wondered what became of the legend, so thank-you for telling his story!

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. The author goes into great detail about both the life of Jim Davies and the history of search and rescue within Canada. I found at times that the pacing was a little slow, but regardless the text was generally interesting or connected to a larger point.I removed a star because of some typo’s and spelling mistakes I found throughout the book. It is a first edition however, so hopefully further editions will polish that up.I would say this book is definitely geared towards anyone with an interest in the following: mountaineering, emergency services (specifically search and rescue, helicopters and helicopter pilots, the emergence of heli-skiing, Parks Canada and the warden service, among other similarly related topics.

Both author and Jim are personal friends. Totally enjoyed