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The Flying Doctor
From the author of Healthy Bastards, the man known as the ‘Flying Doctor’ is back, this time with his misadventures, escapades and high jinks from a life of medicine, aviation and hunting. For the first time, Dave Baldwin, known throughout the backcountry as the Flying Doctor, shares his tales from life lived at full-throttle. From his early years struggling with dyslexia to graduating from med school, from learning to fly and joining the New Zealand Air Force to becoming a cardiologist at Palmerston North Hospital and setting up a general practice in Bulls, Dave’s early life was certainly a life less ordinary. Later on he started the ‘Not So Royal Flying Doctor Service’, a service for the rural aviation community based at remote airstrips and farms in the backcountry, which has paved the way for a life combining his two high-country flying and hunting. Well-known for his eccentric personality, playful antics and colourful turn of phrase, Dave’s story is highly entertaining and truly unique. Yet it’s not without tragedy, having lost his best mate and son Marc in a terrible incident in the same place they’d shared so many cherished father-son moments. Dave is also the founder of the Healthy Bastards Bush Pilot Champs, a precision landing, short take-off and landing competition held annually at Omaka Airfield in Blenheim.
338 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 1, 2016
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11 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 29, 2017
Surprisingly moving. I was expecting Barry Crump with wings and I got something much deeper that will stay with me for some time.
A cracking read, but with depth.
A cracking read, but with depth.
April 11, 2023
Born around 1960, Dave grows up in Paremata, north of Wellington. He takes up tramping then hunting at an early age. His love of the remote great outdoors stays with him all of his life. It's a big distraction from school, but he's with the good blokes, not the brainy bastards. Except it turns out that the latter are his crowd, and they raise his expectations and opportunities. Perhaps he has dyslexia or maybe adhd but Dave finally puts his head in a book and trains as a doctor.
Dave meets his future wife, who supports him to graduate, but instead of heading to a job in Te Anau, they move to Palmerston North to raise their 3 children. Yes it's a traditional relationship, he's the earning bloke and she's the stay home Sheila, but that's their choice.
The wild still beckons, so Dave trains to be a pilot with the NZ Air Force as a medic. He gives everything a go, from supply drops on the Antipodes islands in the sub Antarctic to small plane commercial piloting. Finally he buys his own plane for those hunting trips.
Unless you know NZ places, rural culture and idioms, you will not understand this book. If you can interpret "My oath, throw a can or two next to the ammo and bins and let's get this geezer airborne over Palmy", don't care about profanities and enjoy lad humour, you'll be fine.
The book is a tribute to the unsung heroes who maintain the small airfields south of Palmerston North, but mostly to his son Marc. It's about how his business evolved, and a few epic hunting yarns. Dave says he's a lone wolf, but nah, he relies on too many people for that and vice versa.
It's an understatement to say that Dave takes his work, but not himself, seriously. He's a kiwi bloke, with a no.8 wire, rip, shit and bust, just get the job done mentality. He tandem sky dives, has a couple of close scrapes with death and experiences heart rending tragedy.
There should be more books like this celebrating NZ life. It reads like a series of yarns over a beer in the pub and describes our slice of heaven to a t.
A few of the jokes, such as horsepital (yes, our family used it and horse piddle too) is overused, but that's a minor niggle. There are coloured photos in the middle, which are of family album quality. A time line or a few more dates in the text and a map of NZ airfields would be useful.
It's not really about being a flying Doctor, although a few memorable incidents are described, it's about making your own life, following your own dreams, getting on with people, adapting and keeping mentality and physically fit here in Godzone.
Good on ya mate!
Dave meets his future wife, who supports him to graduate, but instead of heading to a job in Te Anau, they move to Palmerston North to raise their 3 children. Yes it's a traditional relationship, he's the earning bloke and she's the stay home Sheila, but that's their choice.
The wild still beckons, so Dave trains to be a pilot with the NZ Air Force as a medic. He gives everything a go, from supply drops on the Antipodes islands in the sub Antarctic to small plane commercial piloting. Finally he buys his own plane for those hunting trips.
Unless you know NZ places, rural culture and idioms, you will not understand this book. If you can interpret "My oath, throw a can or two next to the ammo and bins and let's get this geezer airborne over Palmy", don't care about profanities and enjoy lad humour, you'll be fine.
The book is a tribute to the unsung heroes who maintain the small airfields south of Palmerston North, but mostly to his son Marc. It's about how his business evolved, and a few epic hunting yarns. Dave says he's a lone wolf, but nah, he relies on too many people for that and vice versa.
It's an understatement to say that Dave takes his work, but not himself, seriously. He's a kiwi bloke, with a no.8 wire, rip, shit and bust, just get the job done mentality. He tandem sky dives, has a couple of close scrapes with death and experiences heart rending tragedy.
There should be more books like this celebrating NZ life. It reads like a series of yarns over a beer in the pub and describes our slice of heaven to a t.
A few of the jokes, such as horsepital (yes, our family used it and horse piddle too) is overused, but that's a minor niggle. There are coloured photos in the middle, which are of family album quality. A time line or a few more dates in the text and a map of NZ airfields would be useful.
It's not really about being a flying Doctor, although a few memorable incidents are described, it's about making your own life, following your own dreams, getting on with people, adapting and keeping mentality and physically fit here in Godzone.
Good on ya mate!
October 4, 2025
A mind boggling stories of a bit of NZ joker craziness with an obvious 'good bastard'.
Intteresting accounts of the technicalities of flying in different terraines, especially the NZ Southern Alps and their ruggedness. Also the account of the evolution of an amazing career with chosen lifestyle included. Tragedies also pop in there. Very Good.
Intteresting accounts of the technicalities of flying in different terraines, especially the NZ Southern Alps and their ruggedness. Also the account of the evolution of an amazing career with chosen lifestyle included. Tragedies also pop in there. Very Good.
September 21, 2023
A good read. This is very NZ in so many ways, and an interesting read about the author's journey through work and life. Apart from his constant shooting of innocent animals, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend.
May 6, 2022
Slightly disappointed as I was expecting this to be a book telling stories about medical experiences from a flying doctor, instead it was a life story and stories about hunting trips. But still easy to read and moving in places.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews