Hank Sands

A Wolf's Moon: a Helicopter Pilot's Story Hank Sands

Set in the glorious mountains and plains of the Yukon, Northwest Territories, Alberta and British Columbia, A Wolf's Moon is a gripping account of Hank Sands' adventures during his 18 years piloting helicopters.

In Wood Buffalo National Park, Hank finds himself skinny dipping with a one-ton buffalo. Near Stewart, BC, he flies over an avalanche path with a bundle of dynamite fused to blow at any second, but it is lodged, unreachable, outside on the cargo rack. In an isolated Yukon tent camp, a mad Irishman threatens to chop everyone up with an axe. At another tent camp, a pack of wolves holds everyone in awe. High in the Bugaboos, Hank stares half-blind as explosive fuel drips from a damaged fuel tank onto the red-hot turbo charger of his crashed helicopter. Near Telegraph Creek, BC, a very large and legendary grizzly sends him running for his life. A raging forest fire threatening Fort Resolution, NWT, kindles a love story. In Port Alberni, BC, Hank flies into a 130,000-volt powerline. These are but a few from this collection of incredible yet true tales.

Hank Sands has had a varied life. He joined the RCAF in 1956 and piloted the Canadian-built CF-100 all-weather fighter for 3 years out of Comox, BC, followed by a ground tour as a radar controller in Beaver Bank, Nova Scotia. On leaving the Air Force in 1964, he trained on helicopters and flew them for 18 years. Retiring from flying in 1982, he spent a short time in the restaurant business before working as a teaching assistant for severely fragile children in the Cowichan School District.

In 2001, Hank and his wife, Linda, moved to Victoria, BC, to spend time with children and grandchildren. He's spent the past decade walking, acting, writing and renovating a 1945 house. He has four children, one step-child, nine grandchildren and one great-grandchild who all love Papa Hank's stories.