The Amazing Froebe Brothers

The Amazing Froebe Brothers is the unbelievable true story of three farm kids from Manitoba with little more than grade-school educations who built and flew Canada’s first helicopter with salvaged parts, sheer stubbornness, and an unshakeable dream.

On a Manitoba farm in the 1930s, three brothers—Nicholas, Douglas, and Theodore Froebe—did what few believed was possible: build and fly Canada’s first helicopter. With no formal education beyond grade school and very little money, they constructed it largely from salvaged farm parts and an unshakeable belief in their own ideas.

Set against the hardship of the Great Depression, The Amazing Froebe Brothers is the remarkable true story of three boys from Homewood, Manitoba who made Canadian aviation history—and refused to be told what was impossible. Award-winning author Larry Verstraete tells the story of the Froebe brothers and shares what curiosity, teamwork, and determination can achieve when nobody thinks you can.