Freddie Flies Again!

Photos and story by John Chalmers,
CAHS Membership Secretary
posted March 2024
Freddie the Flyer, co-written by Fred Carmichael and CAHS member and former president, Danielle Metcalfe-Chenail, introduces readers to Fred Carmichael, one of Canada’s best-known northern pilots. Born in Aklavik in 1935, Fred flew for 67 years until 2022, starting with his first aircraft, a Stinson Voyager in 1956, which he purchased right after earning his private pilot’s license in Edmonton in 1955.
A legendary figure in aviation, Fred was installed as a member of the Order of Canada in 2010 and as a member of Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame in 2016. Fred’s vast experience as a pilot ranges from bush flying to building two airlines, Reindeer Air Service Ltd. and Western Arctic Air Ltd. Fred now has his story published in a book that is beautifully illustrated with original paintings on canvas by Inuvialuit artist, Audrea Loreen-Wulf, herself a northerner, born in the Tuktoyaktuk area.

Published by Tundra Books (an imprint of Penguin Random House Canada), the book is based on the months of the year, with pages for each month telling a story of Fred’s life from his childhood interest in aviation, of his adventures in aviation, and of his success as an aviator. Danielle met Fred in 2010, when she was writer-in-residence at Berton House in Dawson City, YK, and went to Inuvik to research what became Polar Winds: A Century of Flying the North.
Thirteen years later Fred was the subject of the author’s seventh published book. Although like many children’s books, Freddie the Flyer has only a few hundred words, it is the result of five years of work with Fred, his wife Miki, and artist Loreen-Wulf. That collaboration has produced a fine hard cover book that has enjoyed both success and recognition.

Freddie the Flyer is more than “just a children’s book.” It is a biography, a story, a work of art, a look at Canada’s vast northern areas and a tribute to the Arctic’s first Indigenous commercial pilot. “The perennial challenge with children's books, especially a biography of someone who had already lived an extraordinary life, was selecting moments and distilling the stories to the fewest possible words,” says Danielle. “Children's books are like poetry in that sense –every word counts!”

Freddie the Flyer has been selected by CBC for its “Best Canadian books” list, as has Metcalfe-Chenail’s other children’s book, Alis the Aviator, named for another Indigenous pilot, Dr. Alis B. Kennedy, one of the first Indigenous women to obtain a commercial pilot’s license in Canada.
Fred, Miki and Danielle undertook a highly successful book tour of the Northwest Territories in November 2023, and Danielle continues to introduce the book at author visits across Canada. Although Fred is no longer in the pilot’s seat, he continues to soar in the pages of Freddie the Flyer, a book that introduces children to a famous northern pilot and the rugged beauty of the Canadian North. Shown here is author Danielle at a book talk presented at Audreys Books in Edmonton, following her northern tour.
The book has been selected by Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, based in the U.S., providing free books internationally to children up to age five. It is also part of the TD Summer Reading Club 2024, a bilingual program involving 2200 libraries across Canada. For more info, visit www.daniellemc.com. Copies of Freddie the Flyer can be found at your local library or wherever you like to buy books. You can also purchase a copy of Freddie the Flyer at a discount from the CAHS Store. Fred’s biographical note and a short video about him can be seen at Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame web site when you click here.
Although Fred has retired as a pilot, a Cessna 170 that he once owned continues to be airborne as a wind vane at the entrance to Inuvik! At Fred’s original hometown, the airport has been named as the Aklavik/Freddie Carmichael airport.
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