• The Last Bush Pilots

  • By: Eric Auxier
  • Narrated by: Thomas Block
  • Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (192 ratings)

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The Last Bush Pilots  By  cover art

The Last Bush Pilots

By: Eric Auxier
Narrated by: Thomas Block
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Publisher's summary

"Mayday, mayday! I'm going down, I'm going do- "

Author, airline captain, and popular blogger (capnaux.com) Eric Auxier brings Alaska bush flying to life in his second novel, The Last Bush Pilots. Exhilarating flying, tall tales, and larger-than-life characters abound in a wild land that truly is America's Last Frontier.

Two young pilots, Daniel "D.C." Alva and Allen David Foley, take on the world's most dangerous flying: the Alaska bush. But Mother Nature - and a sexy Native Alaskan - stand in their way.

Southeast Alaska Seaplanes, Juneau: Retired airline captain Chief Pilot Dusty Tucker pilots a renegade band of flying misfits. Meet legendary bush pilot Jake "Crash" Whitakker, equally adept at landing planes and ladies - and "crashin' 'em" as well; prankster pilot Ralph Olaphsen, who once set an extinct volcano ablaze on April Fool's Day; and no-nonsense Check Airman Holly Innes, trying to cut a respectable niche in the notoriously macho bush pilot world - while escaping a dangerous past.

Amid Alaska's soggy skies, D.C. and Allen face escalating challenges in and out of the cockpit. The two cheechackos, or greenhorns, are roped into Crash and Ralph's harebrained scheme, Operation Dirty Harry. Under the suspicious nose of draconian FAA Inspector Frederick Bruner, the pilots hatch a plot to hijack and rescue a planeload of orphaned bear cubs. Moreover, mischievous Tlingit Indian Tonya Hunter, as wild and unpredictable as the land in which she lives, plays the two lovestruck cheechackos against each other.

But the true villain of the story is Mother Nature herself. Alaska's notoriously fickle weather and rugged terrain take on lives of their own. Can the two cheechackos survive her relentless onslaught and launch their fledgling airline careers?

©2012 Eric Auxier (P)2015 Eric Auxier

What listeners say about The Last Bush Pilots

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fun book... if you can stand the narrator

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Thomas Block?

Anyone, but him...

Any additional comments?

The book is great. Nicely written and a great story... but I almost gave up after a few chapters. The narrator is horrid. Why he decided to give some of his characters Bugs Bunny-like voice is beyond me. It would be way more enjoyable of a book if someone else narrated it.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Along for the Adventure!!!!

Having lived and worked up in Alaska for a few summers it was sooo wonderful getting to relive in my imagination the adventures that I had had in the last frontier. And especially with my love for aviation it was just another cherry on top to listen to this book

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Can’t do it

I wouldn’t mind reading this book but the narrator is horrible. Sounds like a drunk New England person. I tried to ignore the narration and focus on the story but I can’t do it

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A Layover In Alaska

Would you listen to The Last Bush Pilots again? Why?

Yes. It was an enjoyable but realistic look into bush flying in Alaska that taught you about the profession while giving you an interesting backdrop of characters, landscapes and interesting, if slow, plot. Listening again would be an enjoyable way to pass the time on a long flight.

Who was your favorite character and why?

It's a toss up. But, I think "Crash" is my favorite. He is complex and demonstrates a man with some experience still learning his craft.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

I thought the performance was so so. The characters voices didn't vary enough which can make it hard to follow at times and you can hear a few edits here and there. But, that is made up for by the narrator's passion and knowledge of aviation.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Due to the slow start I stopped and started a lot. But, the last third of the book or so I listened to in one shot.

Any additional comments?

I really would like to hear a squeal

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Flying on the edge.

The story reminds us that VFR flying in marginal weather conditions is a "flying by the seat of your pants" experience that you don't forget easily. The author made you feel that you were at the controls, and the excellent narration by Mr. Block completed the reality of it all

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

loved it

this book was engaging and realistic which is what I like. i normally don't read fiction, but happy I did.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Not my cup of tea

I chose not to finish this audiobook. I did not enjoy the voice of the author/narrator and maybe that was the reason I kept losing the thread. The subject matter is something that fascinates me, but I just couldn't connect with this one.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Narrator Sounds Like a Drunk Airline Pilot

I had to stop listening. The narration is just awful. Maybe the story gets better, but I can’t stick with it to find out.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Fiction always has a slice of truth

Liked that it was about flying. Portrayal of new low time pilots building hours by flying in Alaska. Dislikes , the storytelling could have been better. Description by multiple adjectives gets very tiring. Mispronunciations by the ready as well as his slurred almost drunk sounding voice got old. The voices he used were inconsistent at best.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Terrible

Book is typical of having been written by someone who visited a place one time and has just a little bit of information and think they know all.
Terrible, predictable storyline. Terrible innuendos. Unable to pronounce the names of locations accurately.
Huge waste of money.

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