Saga of an Aviation Survivor

The story of a dynamic, "can do" man. From the cornfields of Iowa, to an air military career that took him around the world, to testifying before a United States Senate Select Committee on Small Business, to salvaging a DC-4 off the ice in Hudson Bay, Canada, to homesteading in Alaska. This is the autobiography of a man with determination, intention, and perseverance who lived his life to the fullest.

Howard "Mike" Hunt was born during the great depression. He understood that in order to get ahead in life, he would have to get an education. His passion had always been to fly. He saved enough money to take flying lessons and soloed at age seventeen. World War II was breaking out. He wanted to enlist as a pilot, but needed college credits to qualify. He entered Iowa State College and after two years joined the Army Air Corp and started his military career as a pilot.

After his military career ended in 1947, Hunt, along with a small group of World War II veterans, obtained surplus military airplanes and started a non-scheduled airline in Alaska and Washington state named Air Transport Associates, Inc. (ATA). Nationwide, non-scheduled airlines were feuding with the Civil Aeronautics Board and the scheduled airlines because the non-scheduled airlines provided low-cost air service. The scheduled airlines were receiving government subsidies and charging higher rates to customers. The federal government eventually revoked ATA's carrier operating authority and the airline went "belly up."

Military pilot, bush pilot, gold miner, and homesteader, Hunt was the "Jack of all Trades." He never quit in the face of great adversity. He went on to live out his life doing what he loved most - flying his warbirds, prospecting, hunting and fishing. He has been honored with many awards including the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Alaska Aviation Museum Hall of Fame. His legacy lives on in the hearts and minds of those who knew and loved him, as a man who lived with passion and purpose.