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Winging It: Adventures of a Jesuit Priest Pilot in Rural Alaska
Aviation, Community, Faith
As a young child, Jim literally dreamed of taking flight like a bird. When he answered the call to the priesthood as an adult, he didn’t give up that dream. Instead, he found a way to unite his love of aviation with the calling to serve others. For 28 years, he served as a Jesuit priest and bush pilot in Alaska, where some remote villages are accessible only by air and the rugged terrain presents challenges.
Serving in the Alaska Mission from the 1960s to ’90s, Fr. Jim Sebesta, S.J., flew often in extreme weather conditions—sometimes harrowing flights that pushed his aviation skills to the limit. In Winging It, Fr. Jim’s collection of true stories puts you in the copilot seat of his hundreds of memorable flights. Along with a close-knit cast of characters, you’ll discover the ingenuity required to live and survive in the primitive conditions of rural Alaska.
Winging It weaves together Fr. Jim’s vocation in the Society of Jesus with his passion for flying and serving the people of Alaska. Blending native customs with a shared faith, Fr. Jim builds community among his Jesuit brothers, numerous volunteers, and native Alaskans. Their service to one another inspires hope, demonstrating that diverse peoples can work together for the common good. These spiritual stories are filled with love, liturgy, labor, and luck.
Reading these tales, you may wonder how Fr. Jim survived at times and will be amazed to learn how he did. Written at the urging of Fr. Jim’s flight students at St. Louis University Parks College of Aviation, Winging It will entertain and uplift you, just as it did his many students.
As a young child, Jim literally dreamed of taking flight like a bird. When he answered the call to the priesthood as an adult, he didn’t give up that dream. Instead, he found a way to unite his love of aviation with the calling to serve others. For 28 years, he served as a Jesuit priest and bush pilot in Alaska, where some remote villages are accessible only by air and the rugged terrain presents challenges.
Serving in the Alaska Mission from the 1960s to ’90s, Fr. Jim Sebesta, S.J., flew often in extreme weather conditions—sometimes harrowing flights that pushed his aviation skills to the limit. In Winging It, Fr. Jim’s collection of true stories puts you in the copilot seat of his hundreds of memorable flights. Along with a close-knit cast of characters, you’ll discover the ingenuity required to live and survive in the primitive conditions of rural Alaska.
Winging It weaves together Fr. Jim’s vocation in the Society of Jesus with his passion for flying and serving the people of Alaska. Blending native customs with a shared faith, Fr. Jim builds community among his Jesuit brothers, numerous volunteers, and native Alaskans. Their service to one another inspires hope, demonstrating that diverse peoples can work together for the common good. These spiritual stories are filled with love, liturgy, labor, and luck.
Reading these tales, you may wonder how Fr. Jim survived at times and will be amazed to learn how he did. Written at the urging of Fr. Jim’s flight students at St. Louis University Parks College of Aviation, Winging It will entertain and uplift you, just as it did his many students.
415 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 21, 2026
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