March 3, 2025
Early Canadian bush pilots faced challenges at every turn and confronted them head-on, armed only with an indomitable will and a can-do attitude. Thanks to bush flying, trips that once took weeks could now be completed in hours. Those dealing with accidents or emergencies that might have proved fatal due to isolation now had a better chance of survival with faster access to medical help and other resources we take for granted today.
Silas Alward Cheesman was one of these pioneering bush pilots of the Canadian North who became an aviation legend. Born in Saint John, New Brunswick, in 1900, Al Cheesman developed an early fascination with flight. According to historical accounts, at the age of ten, he rigged up a makeshift glider using a sled and a sail, achieving a few brief airborne moments—enough to give him a taste for more.
In 1927, the Canadian government initiated a programme to support civilian pilot training, and Al learned to fly at Camp Borden, Ontario. He earned his pilot’s licence that same year. In addition to his skills as a pilot, he proved to be an exceptional and intuitive mechanic. He later joined Western Canada Airways, founded by James A. Richardson. He worked with and learned under H.A. “Doc” Oakes—a Canadian-born World War I flying ace credited with 11 confirmed aerial victories—who was later inducted into the Canadian Aviation Hall of Fame.
Churchill Airlift
Al Cheesman was still with Western Canada Airways during the Churchill Airlift of March 1927. Using two open-cockpit aircraft, fourteen men and thirty tons of supplies and equipment were transported from Cache Lake, Manitoba, to Fort Churchill through severe winter conditions. Nothing like this had ever been attempted previously, this challenging but ultimately successful operation was Canada’s first major airlift, taking 30 days of flying to complete.
Around this same time Al Cheesman, working with ‘Doc’ Oakes, together designed and built the first portable nose-hangar, allowing mechanics to work on an aircraft’s engine in the field without freezing in sub-zero temperatures. The small frame structure was equipped with a heater and a canvas flap which allowed the aircraft’s nose to be covered and protected from the worst of the extreme temperatures.
Antarctic Expedition
Al’s dual expertise as both a mechanic and a seasoned bush pilot flying in harsh winter conditions later earned him a place on Sir Hubert Wilkins’ Antarctic Expedition in 1929–1930. Originally, Sir Hubert approached Al for a recommendation. Al promptly recommended himself. It was on this expedition that Cheesman became the first Canadian to fly in Antarctica. The extreme Antarctic conditions would test even Cheesman’s extensive experience with flying in adverse weather.
His skill in cold-weather aviation earned him international acclaim, and an island in Antarctica was named after him—an honour few Canadians have achieved.
The Flying Alderman
Settling in Port Arthur (now Thunder Bay) in 1931, Cheesman worked for the Pigeon Timber Company before acquiring its air division in 1933.
His charismatic personality and community involvement led to his election as a Port Arthur alderman from 1936 to 1938, earning him the nickname “the Flying Alderman.”
In addition to transporting workers, equipment, and food to remote areas, Al also undertook critical medical missions, sometimes under extreme conditions. On one emergency flight, he flew a doctor late in the day to retrieve a seriously injured woman from an encampment near a lake north of Sault Ste. Marie. Expecting to spend the night in his tent at the lake where they landed, Al was planning the return flight for the next morning, when the doctor insisted the patient needed immediate transport. Al stressed that it was risk that could kill them all before accepting the doctor’s news, that the woman would not live until morning if they waited. Though it was a dark, moonless night, Al taxied his plane onto the lake, prayed, “Dear God—please be my co-pilot,” and gave the engine full throttle. Despite his skills, the risk of hitting a submerged log or rock was a real threat. Al’s plane ultimately lifted off successfully into the night, but surviving take-off was only the first challenge.
“Dear God, please be my co-pilot. Take the controls and get us out of this lake in one piece.”
Upon reaching Port Arthur, he couldn’t see where to land and circled until someone realized his predicament. Tugboats turned on their powerful lights, allowing him to make out the harbour and eventually land safely. Al, the doctor, and the woman survived. And a new phrase entered our cultural landscape.
In 1940, Al Cheesman volunteered to join the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), serving most of the war at Goose Bay as the commanding officer of No. 1 Rescue and Salvage Unit.
On one flight in 1943, his aircraft became lost and ran out of fuel, forcing him to land on a frozen lake. He and his crew endured two weeks in the harsh wilderness before being found and rescued. The rescuers later reported that when they arrived, despite having subsisted on only meager rations, Cheesman stood up in his tent and said, “Come in and have a cup of coffee—or aren’t you staying for a while?”
Al Cheesman was many things—an experienced mechanic, an R.C.A.F commanding officer, an Arctic explorer, a talented pilot, and popular politician. But above all else, Al Cheesman represents the spirit of rugged perseverance that personifies the lasting legacy of the Canadian bush pilot.
Written By Peter Mitchell & James Mitchell
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