Table Of Contentsuperb portrait of flying. inn. author of The Highw&T
Jack Jefford
Pioneer Alaskan Aviator
Edited by
Carmen Jefford Fisher and Mark Fisher
with Cliff Cernick
Alaska Nirttwest Bilks
Anchorage - Seattle
Copyright © 1990 Carmen Jefford Fisher, Mark Fisher, and Cliff Cernick. All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage
and retrieval system, without written permission of Alaska Northwest Books™.
Second printing 1991
Library of Congress CataloginginPublication Data
Jefford, Jack.
Winging It!
Reprint. Originally published: Chicago:
Rand McNally, c. 1981.
1. Jefford, Jack. 2. Air pilotsAlaskaBiography.
I. Fisher, Carmen Jefford. II. Fisher, Mark.
III. Title.
TL540.J43A3 1990 629.13'092 [B] 90414
ISBN 0882403710
Cover design by Kate L. Thompson
PHOTO CREDITS: Jack Jefford's personal photographs: 10,33,34,88,89 (top), 90,92,93 (top),
94,95,191,193 (top), 195 (top), 196 (top), 275 (bot.), 279 (top), 280 (bot.), 281,284. University
of Alaska ArchivesJack Jefford collection: 35,36,89 (bot.), 91. National Park Service:
frontispiece, 87,93 (bot.), 189,277 (bot.). Federal Aviation Administration: 190,192 (top), 193
(bot.), 194 (bot.), 196 (bot.), 276,277 (top), 279 (bot.), 280 (top), 282,283. Courtesy of May
Nock: 278. U.S. Air Force: 194 (top), 195 (bot.). Fish and Wildlife Service: 274275.
Frontispiece: Mount St. Elias
Reprinted from the 1981 edition published by Rand McNally & Company
Halftones provided by Edwards Brothers, 1990
Alaska Northwest Books™
A division of GTE Discovery Publications, Inc.
22026 20th Avenue S.E.
Bothell.WA 98021
Printed in U.S.A.
Jack Jefford
1910-1979
Jack Jefford passed away on Sunday evening, August 12,1979, at
his home in Wasilla. He was 68 years old.
FAA employees will remember Jack as Chief Pilot for the Alas
kern Region from 1940 to 1972, when he retired. He was one of
the true giants of Alaskan aviation history.A "pilot's pilot," Jefford
figured in scores of dramatic rescue flights, when supreme flying
skill meant a lifeordeath difference for victims of accident or
illness in the bush. Jefford helped blaze the aerial trailways that
today are flown by widebodied jets. Jack Jefford could fly any
thing, and did. When the props were still, Jack turned his hand
to the cargo. He labored with the rest of the crew when the
commissary materials had to move. Jack could tell a story with
flair and dramatic skill. When he laughed, everyone laughed with
him. An evening with Jack was an evening to be remembered.
But, most of all, Jack Jefford was a kind and gentle man. He was
true to his friends, always ready with a helpful hand for anyone
who needed it. He was a big man, as modest as his achievements
were great. His parting leaves a vast gap in Alaska's aviation
fraternity. He shall be missed. As long as Alaskans fly, he shall be
remembered.
Warren G. Runnerstrom
from the FAA Alaskan Region Intercom
Contents
Epitaph: Jack Jefford, 19101979 5
Foreword by Carmen Jefford Fisher 11
Part 1 Riding the Grub Line
1 Becoming a Pilot 17
2 The Voice from the Sky 20
3 Riding the Grub Line 22
4 Barnstorming 28
5 Coyote Slayer 32
6 Crossroads 38
7 Broken Bow 40
8 Flying the Weather 45
9 Hastings 50
10 Kelly One and Kelly Two 55
Part 2 FoulWeather Flyer
1 Nome 61
2 Working the Mines 65
3 Henry Gumm Goes South and Brother Hansen
Returns Home 69
4 To Cordova in the Vega 73
5 Foul-Weather Flyer 76
6 The Crackups 80
Part 3 There's More to the Job than Flying
1 The Girls and the Godfather 99
2 Gold Fever 105
3 The Reindeer Study 107
4 Progress in the Cockpit 112
5 Crash on the Darby Mountains 114
6 Groping Up the Yukon 121
7 Guiding the Columbia 126
8 The Evacuation of Jack Devine 130
9 The Stinson-A Trimotor 135
10 The Marshal and Miss Alaska 137
11 Missing Pilots 140
12 The Reindeer Acquisition 144
Part 4 Patrol Pilot
1 Signed on with the CAA 155
2 General Buckner 159
3 The DLAND at West Ruby 162
4 Injured Man Aboard 168
5 War 171
6 The Queen Mary 173
7 Homing's Ordeal 177
8 The Boeing 247 179
9 A Tale of Two Cessnas 183
Part 5 King Chris
1 King Chris 199
2 Wartime Flight to Attu 201
3 A Night at North Shore, Umnak 204
4 The Waipio Inveiglement 208
5 Shungnak Snafu 218
6 Torture Flight to Seattle 220
7 Summer Landing 225
8 CAA Christmas 227
9 They Come and They Go 232
Part 6 Gold Medalist
1 Hinchinbrook Beach Landing 239
2 Tragedy at Port Heiden 242
3 Fuel Oil Blues 249
4 The Rescue of Cliff Uzzell 252
5 Juneau Backfire 258
6 The Black Cat's Path 263
7 Taylor Weather 265
8 Fiddling Around in Nome 268
9 Gold Medalist 272
Part 7 Into the Jet Age
1 N-123 287
2 Trouble in the C-123 288
3 The Flying X-Rays 299
4 Sabreliner Jet School 302
5 McKinley Rescue 306
6 Back to Nome on the Iditarod 309
Index 315
Foreword
My father, Jack Jefford, was an excellent storyteller. Whether he was
addressing a banquet or just shooting the breeze with friends, people
enjoyed his ability to see humor in the things that happened to him.
And quite a few things happened in the course of his career as a pilot.
Once, when we were weathered in with Dad at Teslin Lake on a
flight across Canada, my husband, Mark, and I were treated to a mar
athon storytelling session. For two days Mark and I listened and
laughed, and we were actually disappointed when the storm passed.
We found Dad's tales so fascinating we agreed it would be criminal not
to record them for others to enjoy.
That summer Dad began telling some of his adventures to a tape
recorder. Over a fiveyear period, he made eighteen tapes. Mark and
1 transcribed, organized, and edited the stories, always striving not to
change Dad's conversational style. We had additional help on the ed
iting from Cliff Cernick, Public Information Officer for the FAA's Alaskan
Region. We were just a few stories away from completing the final draft
at the time of Dad's sudden death in August, 1979.
This book is not a wellrounded autobiography; it's simply a col
lection of Dad's flying stories. It was Dad's particular wish not to dwell
at any length on his family life. Nor is this story collection in any way
complete. Dad was a warmhearted, generous man, and his multitude
of friends have their own "Jack Jefford stories" to tell.
We are grateful to the family and friends who offered moral support,
and particularly want to thank Dorothy Revell for her careful review
of each draft and for her unfailing enthusiasm. We would also like to
acknowledge the assistance of the University of Alaska Archives and
early suggestions and support from Charles Kiem.
It is my hope that you will enjoy these stories of Dad's as I have,
perhaps even hear the chuckle in his voice as you read.
Carmen Jefford Fisher
Anchorage, Alaska
June, 1981
