Inuvik (May 05/03) - The late Northern aviation pioneer Mike Zubko will soon be inducted into the Canadian Aviation Hall of Fame for his contributions to the development of air travel North of the Arctic Circle.

Zubko, who died in the fall of 1990, began his Northern aviation career with Canadian Pacific in 1942 flying between the isolated hamlets of the Beaufort Delta.

Five years later Zubko, an aircraft mechanic as well as a pilot, ended up in Aklavik. Quite taken with the community, he decided to buy a tiny single-engine two-seater Aronca Champion and start up his own business. He called it Aklavik Flying Service and his plan was to transport local hunters and trappers back and forth to their camps in the region.

Before the company was born, Aklavik had only one scheduled Canadian Pacific flight per year. Zubko changed all that.

"He offered the very first service North of the Arctic Circle, anywhere," said his eldest son Tom.

"There were no support mechanisms, no navigation radios, no communication facilities to speak of. The maps were blank white pieces of paper to a great extent. They hadn't even mapped this area by air then," he added.

Soon after, Zubko began offering medevac services in the region for the first time. He was instrumental in saving the lives of hundreds of people when a massive measles epidemic broke out in the late 1940s.

"It was a brand new disease and a lot of people died, but a lot of people, because they were able to get into the hospital in Aklavik, survived. It was a major benchmark in the whole concept of aviation in this area," said Tom.

In 1950 Zubko met and fell in love with Dawn Smith, the first nurse ever posted in Fort McPherson. They soon wed, bore six children and later moved to Inuvik, which was in the beginning stages of development as a residential community.

Zubko's passion for flying, his contribution to regional development and kind-hearted nature soon earned him an enormous amount of respect from residents all over the region.

"He was very, very well-known, a very well-liked person and pretty much a role model for anyone that knew him. He was extremely well respected," said Tom.

The Inuvik airport was christened the Mike Zubko Inuvik Airport in 1959. In fact, the pilot played a key role in literally putting Inuvik on the map.

"My father was very active in surveying for a location for Inuvik, looking at potential locations for a new town site. Inuvik was built out of basically nowhere," said Tom.

Growing up with such an admirable and passionate role model, Tom eventually followed in his father's footsteps.

He obtained a pilot's licence and side by side the father and son duo flew that ever-familiar Northern route for 15 years until his retirement in 1985.

"My dad was over 60 at the time and we just decided for a variety of reasons to get out of the aviation business," said Tom.

But it wasn't over yet. Zubko maintained his involvement in the aviation industry. He sat on the federal Civil Aviation Tribunal and was also a member of the NWT Workers' Compensation Board.

Tom said his family is honoured that Zubko will soon be inducted into the Canadian Aviation Hall of Fame. Although he adds it's unfortunate the honour was not bestowed before his death.

"He was a very modest person ... but I don't think anybody would argue that he doesn't deserve it," he said.

The ceremony for those being inducted into the Aviation Hall of Fame this year is scheduled for June 7 in Halifax, N.S. Most of Zubko's family will be there, including his widow Dawn.