Wings over the Sahtu: The North-Wright Air Story

By Bill Braden

Over 100 years ago, during aviation's dawn in the unforgiving Canadian Arctic, gutsy pilots and ingenious mechanics flew a pair of WWI-vintage airplanes further north than anyone before.They proved that the airplane would transform frontier life and industry forever. Wings over the Sahtu: The Northwright Air Story, chronicles how they did it, and how their exploits spurred the start of an essential part of the way the North operates. In particular, it's the story of an enterprising pilot and mechanic, Warren Wright, and over 50 years how he and his family grew their airline from lean beginnings into a reliable, safe service in a place where roads have yet to be built.

NorthWright today connects five Sahtu communities with Yellowknife, the Northwest Territories capital city, and is a bedrock of the Sahtu's growing tourism industry.The story tells of Warren's bold and visionary move to bringing three enterprising Indigenous communities into majority ownership of NorthWright Air. Each community, along with two in the Mackenzie Delta, are profiled, as are the exciting adventure canoe and sports hunting attractions in the wild Sahtu.

This high-quality hardcover 92 page book is heavily illustrated with iconic archival photos and present-day images of the stunning Sahtu landscape. It brings the reader inside one of Canada's most northern airlines and the people who make it work every day.

It is for everyone who shares a passion for aviation, a love of the North, and the risks and rewards of growing a family business in a small, isolated community on the edge of the Arctic Circle.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1068967307
• ISBN13: 9781068967306
• Release Date: August 2025
• Publisher: FriesenPress
• Length: 96 Pages
• Weight: 1.33 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 11.0" x 8.5"