The Wings of Johnny May

n 1963, a pilot flew his small plane over northern Quebec. He saw dogsleds, tents and igloos, a people whose way of life had changed little over thousands of years. The pilot was Johnny May, an Inuit himself, the first of his people to take the controls of an airplane. Although he didn't know it yet, he would become a legend both at home and abroad. The man would spend 34,000 hours in the air (the equivalent of four full years, day and night) and pull off many feats and rescues that would turn him into a hero. Flying over Nunavik demanded exceptional skill back then (as it still does today). This territory as large as France was barely mapped and had few real landing strips. Pilots came down wherever they could, either on land, lakes or the sea. Johnny is a discreet, good-natured fellow rather than some larger-than-life movie hero like John Wayne. Given the time period and nature of the events, the scenes might be better evoked by stereoscopy rather than by traditional means. Stereoscopy could capture a distinct aesthetic, the dreamlike quality of memory, and a surreal beauty.