Flying from Shangri-La
What it was really like in the “Worst Place to be a Pilot”
The true story of a computer geek turned daring bush pilot, flying the most dangerous routes on earth.
“If you have any interest in travel, bush flying and adventure, you will love this straight-talking, page-turning, nail-biting tour of Indonesia. “ – FLYER
“A highly readable, unique insight.” – Pilot Magazine
“Lots of genuinely gripping stories in here, all enjoyably and eloquently told, yet modestly too.” – Aeroplane Magazine
“Adrenaline fuelled aviation adventure at its most visceral. A great read for anyone interested in expeditionary flying” – Scott Bateman MBE, bestselling author of “Hercules”
“Matt Dearden’s journey from computer programmer to bush pilot in Papua is the kind of story that grabs you by the collar and refuses to let go.” – Indonesia Expat
Stuck in a boring office job, Matt wasn’t happy. Suffering with debilitating anxiety issues, he could feel his life wasting away. Something had to change. One flying lesson was all it took to set him on a journey to escape the mundane and embark on an adventure to a land unknown…
Matt’s life went from answering emails to flying the most dangerous routes in one of the world’s last frontiers: Papua. Plane crashes, tropical diseases, tribal villages and jagged, jungle covered mountains were the new normal.
If you enjoyed the hit Channel 4 TV series, Worst Place to be a Pilot, then you need to read Flying from Shangri-La. It’s informative, funny, tragic and proof that real adventure still exists.
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to leave your normal life behind and risk everything to fulfil a dream?
This isn’t an ordinary memoir and features:
- QR codes at the end of each chapter linking the reader through to more photos and videos
- Packed with hand drawn maps of the places Matt flew from
- Two full colour plate sections containing over 50 photos from Matt’s adventures*
*Hardback only.
Buying options
As an indie author, I have had to self publish and so I don’t have a big publishing house behind me. I have tried my best to make my book available worldwide and in as many places as possible. If you are not in the UK and find a local stockist, please get in touch so I can add the link for other readers to use.
The Kindle version is available worldwide:
And I can ship worldwide from my website:
I’ve also found this UK based bookstore that offers very good prices for international shipping and is cheaper than Amazon: Booksplease
| Country | Hardback |
| United Kingdom | Direct from author Amazon UK Waterstones WHSmith Direct from publisher |
| U.S.A. & Canada | Direct from author Amazon.com |
| Australia & New Zealand | Direct from author Amazon AU Booktopia The Nile NZ |
| Belgium | Direct from author Amazon BE |
| France | Direct from author Amazon FR |
| Germany & Switzerland | Direct from author Amazon DE |
| Ireland | Direct from author Amazon UK Easons |
| Italy | Direct from author Amazon IT |
| Netherlands | Direct from author Amazon NL |
| Poland | Direct from author Amazon PL |
| Portugal | Direct from author N/A due to customs issues Amazon ES |
| Scandinavia | Direct from author Amazon SE |
| Spain | Direct from author Amazon ES |
| Rest of world | Direct from author |
Almost exactly three years since leaving the UK, I was about to fulfil a dream of flying one of the world’s best bush planes in the most extreme and challenging environments this planet can offer. Papua was where all the best flying happened and the most crazy stories were told. The last three years had been a warm up, and I was just getting started.
Extract from Flying from Shangri-La by Matt Dearden
Cant wait for this to be released Matt!!
Do i feature in this? 😜
Matt, I’m your big fan from Dubai.
Any giveaways? 😁
I might start putting a few out once it comes back from editing in January 😉
Living vicariously through you! I’m currently doing my PPL and this is a dream! My Auntie Sallie told me to check your website out, can’t wait for the release
Cannot wait Matt, many many congratulations on getting it done. Put me down for a copy as soon as its out.
Congratulations on your survival….I flew the Hawker Avro 748 lease demonstrator out of East Jarva and around Eastern Indonesia airstrips in 1971.
I can appreciate what you went through….
Very much looking forward to read this Matt!! Awesome to see your ever continued aviation-drive. Fondly remember our dreamy talks of them high powered taildraggers, and especially the part where you sparkled with the go-getter-goal of flying the Susi Porter operations!
Congratulations on publishing this book Capt. Dearden.
Absolutely love your posts!
I am a Swiss expatriate living in Indonesia since 1990. I grew up admiring the aviatic capabilities of “The Porter” since its dramatically staged introduction back in 1958.
Dramatically staged you ask?
Imagine Swiss TV, still transmitting in black and white.
A hangar door slowly opens. At Stans, Switzerland, situated on Lake Lucerne. But rather than facing the wide-open space over the lake, the hangar door is facing the steep cliff of the the foot of the “Stanserhorn”, a peak adjacent to the iconic mount Pilatus.
Now imagine the distant roar of a (still avgas, carburetor induced) aircraft engine. Still nothing. When the aircraft finally appeared, it was half way in the air thru the hangar gate, pulling up facing the mountain cliff, then fly up against it in a move that appeared more like a mountain goat racing up the cliff rather than an aircraft flying along it.
To us “blasé” Swiss kids back then this was nothing more than a clever stunt the “Central Swiss” would pull. Little would we know that shortly after this public stunt Pilatus would introduce a “new generation” power unit from the US called “Turbo prop”, dramatically improving the Porters mounting climbing abilities. In that version, the “Porter” would achieve global recognition and admiration.
Pilatus stopped producing this little gem years ago, mostly due to cheaper versions in aviation. Most recently unmanned drones. Yet it lives on as an unmatched “veteran”.
A “veteran” myself, it is on the top of my bucket list to one day fly in it. I wish to thank enormously devoted “Pilatus” enthusiasts, pilots and accomplished entrepreneurs such as Susi Pudjastuti and Matt Dearden for keeping this icon aloft and and alive!
Really looking forward to reading this Matt. Since I saw you on the tv it’s something that I hoped would make it to print and your story has.