Author: Kimberly Fraser
ISBN: 978-0-88839-805-5 [Paperback]
ISBN: 978-0-88839-807-9 [eBook]
Binding: Trade Paperback
Size: 5.5" X 8.5"
Pages: 336
Illustrations/Photos: 130
Publication Date: Fall 2026

In 1926, when a Vickers Viking floatplane touched down on Cooking Lake after a failed search for a legendary lost gold mine, Canada's oldest operating airport was born. A century later, Wind Beneath Their Wings tells the story of that remarkable airfield and the rich aviation history of the Edmonton region that surrounds it.

Drawing on extensive archival research, museum collections, newspapers, and intimate personal interviews, author Kimberly Fraser traces the evolution of flight in this region from the stories of pioneering bush pilots and visionaries, through the turbulence of two world wars, to the golden age of commercial air travel, and into the complex challenges of the modern era. The author highlights the glory days of bush pilots like Wop May, Leigh Brintnell, Grant McConachie and later visionaries like Max Ward, Along the way, she explores the stories of others who made aviation history, including the often overlooked contributions of women in aviation. She recounts stories of incidents, near-misses, and moments of triumph that defined flight in the Canadian North.

Structured around the metaphors of aviation itself, the book mirrors the challenges and momentum of both flight and history. Fraser brings a uniquely informed perspective to her subject as a former northern nurse who flew countless medevacs and wife and mother of bush pilots with whom she flew over 3,000 hours in the right seat as the family co-pilot.

Wind Beneath Their Wings is a love letter to Canada's aviation heritage and to the community airport that, against all odds, is still flying.

Dr. Kimberly Fraser – Speaker, Author, Advocate

Dr. Kimberly Fraser, RN, PhD, MFA, is a gifted author, sought-after speaker, and recognized expert in her field. After retiring from her tenured faculty position, Kim launched a second act as a creative nonfiction writer. She is the author of The Accidental Caregiver and The Care Book (Sutherland House Publishers).

With a flair for lived history, Kim speaks passionately about flight, community, and the unsung stories of Canadian aviation. As the author of Wind Beneath Their Wings (Hancock House Publishers, 2026), she uncovers 100 years of aviation history in and around Canada’s oldest operating airport. Her forthcoming memoir, Pilots, Polar Bears and Patients, captures her early career as a nurse in remote northern communities—where bush planes were lifelines.

Not a pilot herself, Kim developed a love for aviation first as a young med-evac nurse, then over countless hours in the right seat as the family co-pilot. Kim spends countless hours volunteering at Canada’s oldest operating airport at Cooking Lake, Alberta where she is a board member and Chair of the 100th Anniversary Steering Committee. She lives in rural Alberta with her husband and a rotating cast of well-loved pets. She has one grown son who is a commercial pilot.

“This book is more than a straight history of Cooking Lake, from float base to paved IFR runway. It provides a good overview of its major role as a main Canadian gateway for bush pilots to resupply Northern Canada and the Mackenzie valley since the 1930s, and its gradual evolution towards flying schools and general aviation. A nice bonus are the chapters on Search and Rescue, Medivacs, Women Pilots, Weather and General Aviation. Thoroughly researched and easy to read. Recommended.”

— Dominique Prinet, Author of Flying to Extremes