About Allan Cram
Born and raised in northern Ontario, Allan calls Chapleau his hometown. At five years old, unable to see over the dash or reach the rudder pedals, his father taught him to fly—the quintessential performing child act. Even though he later developed a passion for stories, he flew a floatplane for a living when he was 19.
In 1977, Allan learned to fly helicopters and worked in remote (and mosquito infested) areas across Canada. Five years later he attended the University of Victoria, flew summer contracts to pay tuition and moved on to post-graduate studies at the University of British Columbia in 1988.
Allan eked out a living as a freelance writer for a year then worked as Chief Editor/Education Office with a branch of the provincial government. About five years later he returned to aviation and has worked in six (not five) of the seven continents flying for the United Nations and/or offshore oil exploration.
He has been an editorial contributor to Helicopters in Canada magazine since 1986, and has published stories and articles in Prism international, The Canadian Forum, Agriculture BC, Vertical Magazine, Aviation Safety Australia and Australia Aviation.
He currently lives in Brentwood Bay, British Columbia with his wife and two children, as well as two parakeets, two finches, one canary, one hamster and two guinea pigs.
Afghanistan Calling Part 2: Flying in a Hostile Environment
Allan Cram had his assignment in Afghanistan: “to overfly some of the most perilous terrain in the world, where kidnap victims had little hope of being released alive, where Taliban extremists believed math should be taught to Afghan boys not by the adding or subtracting of apples and oranges, but by counting bullets and AK-47s.”
Stirring Up The Dust — A Memoir for Father’s Day
While cleaning out his garage a son finds his father’s obituary, which takes him back to the tragic circumstances of his dad’s death and stirs up the past.
Afghanistan Calling Part 1: Flying in a Hostile Environment
Helicopter pilot Allan Cram was used to flying in dangerous places, even war zones. But Afghanistan’s Kajaki Dam was considered by even seasoned military people to be, at that time, “the most dangerous place on earth”. Why would a sane pilot willingly fly there?
A Year of Living Dangerously?
Working oversees as a helicopter pilot, Allan Cram has lived in some of the world’s most dangerous places, including Afghanistan and Sudan. But as he discovers, most people are just “working stiffs” like him, trying to put food on the table.
My Bi-polar Blood Stained Existence in A War-Ravaged Society
My life is full of contradictions, or what I call my bi-polar activity. Not that I have some clinically diagnosed chemical imbalance in my aging grey matter; rather, unlike most of my friends whose work and home life are often inter-related, mine is completely disparate.
My Private Sudan: Part II
Does the Western world really get the truth about what is happening in far-flung countries? Do reporters overseas see the real picture – the big picture? These issues are explored in second installment of My Private Sudan from writer and helicopter pilot Allan Cram in which his recollections of Sudan differ dramatically from reports in some Western newspapers.
Petionville Market: The Haiti I Knew
In the wake of the Haiti earthquake, Allan Cram remembers his time in the lively, noisy, fascinating Petionville Market in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
My Private Sudan: Part I
A helicopter pilot working in Sudan argues the scorched earth policy Western media attributed to an oil company should have been called fiction, not fact.
Maverick? Goose? Molson Air? What’s Really in a Military Code Name?
Welcome to Afghanistan! Nothing is easy here, especially for a bunch of civilian pilots and engineers who didn’t — and still don’t at times — understand the military way.
Fireworks, Afghanistan Style
At 21:45 the loudspeakers crackled and announced “Attention on the FOB, Incoming. Take Cover. That is all.” I laugh every time I hear those last words because it reminds me of the absurdity depicted in the TV comedy “M*A*S*H*.”
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