Walter Gilbert (pilot)

Walter Edwin Gilbert (March 8, 1899 – June 18, 1986) was a Canadian bush pilot and one of the founders of Pacific Western Airlines.

Gilbert was born in Cornwall, Ontario. His father worked dredging the Saint Lawrence River. Father and son travelled to Lakeside near Montreal in 1910 to observe an airshow. In World War I, Gilbert joined the Royal Flying Corps, Toronto. He saw little air combat and returned to Canada to work in the Saint Lawrence. In 1921 he was a civilian flyer for the Canadian Air Force in British Columbia. In 1927 he flew forest patrols for the Forest Service. Gilbert landed a regular position with Western Canada Airways in 1928. He was posted to Cranberry Portage, Manitoba as service was in demand for a nearby Sherritt Gordon mine. Settlements along the MacKenzie River were delivered their mail by air. Punch Dickins introduced Gilbert to the run from Fort McMurray to Aklavik. In 1939 Gilbert’s experiences on this route were recorded in Arctic Pilot.

In 1930 Gilbert took Major L. T. Burwash on a search for Franklin's lost expedition. Their aerial photographs of the Beaufort Sea were much appreciated by navigators and geographers. Gilbert became a member of The Explorers Club, a fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society and of the Royal Geographical Society. For his service to Canadian aviation he was awarded the McKee Trophy in 1933.

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