In this establishing episode of the series Karl's pilot's licence is suspended because of a delay in undergoing a medical test. Reluctantly, he hires a 28-year-old Kate Ashcroft (Susan Hogan) to substitute for him temporarily. When she proves her skills by avoiding a mid-air accident, what looks like a fiery relationship becomes a long-standing one. Doctor Crawford suspends Karl Ritter's flying licence for health reasons. Ritter runs a domestic airline service in a small district. When Kate is appointed to be Ritter's pilot, he is reluctant although she proves to be competent in her job.

While Karl is taking the required medical tests, Kate becomes better acquainted with some of the people at Ritter’s Cove. Kate takes Robert with her on her first working flight to a mining camp, and both Robert and the plane become endangered by fire.

Karl stands to lose his air transport business if he does not settle his debts. In this episode, his competitor Sandby gives him 48 hours to pay up after which he will buy over Karl's business.

Aldo McKay, an American meteorologist attempts tofly his hot-air balloon In stages from Alaska to Washington state. He runs into trouble during a storm and is forced down near Ritter’s Cove. Robert and Arnie find him on a beach and enlist Tom Oliver's help to repair the blasted valve.

Karl gets his pilots licence back but it stipulates that he can only fly at certain hours. Karl's brother Franz and his family arrive from Germany. The brothers have only seen each other once since Karl left Germany in the 1930's. Franz, who is also a pilot, thinks he would like to stay in Canada and buy into his brother's business and build it up for the future.

Karl flies the family to Vancouver then he and Franz go to visit the lawyer. Christina and the boys go shopping in Gastown. They separate and the boys go see the ships in the harbour. Arnie wants to see the old grainery so he leaves the others on the pier and goes off on his own. He get trapped in the elevator of the grainery which is being demolished. The family joins forces to find and rescue him.

Franz, Karl's brother, decides to stay in Canada and become partners with Karl. However, Franz goes to see Sandby about a syndication without telling Karl. They go to look at a new plane and Karl finds out that Sandby agreed to go thirds. The brothers argue, and on the way home the plane breaks down and they are forced to land. During this time awaiting the fog lift, they resolve all their differences. Franz and his family go back to Germany.

Kate inherits some money and her dad wants her to buy her own plane and move home. Karl pushes Kate too far, so she quits and leaves with her father. Arnie and Robert take the ferry to Vancouver to get Kate back. Karl take the plane to Vancouver to get Kate back. Kate invests her inheritance in the Ritter's Cove.

Angel, Tom Oliver's small daughter, accidentally releases a baby puma from an animal sanctuary. While trying to recover the animal she follows it into the wilderness and the whole community turns out to help search for the girl.

Kate and Eric are asked to be rescue pilots in case of a forest fire. Eric is afraid of fire because of an accident in Germany, where his jet crashed into a farmhouse and killed a family. A fire breaks out in Ritter's Cove and Eric's helicopter is the only way to rescue a trapped family. Eric overcomes his aversion to fire and saves the old couple.

Sandra Ritter Northfield returns after three years to take her sons to live with their grandfather or cause him to go to court on their account. Angel comes down with a virus that is affecting all the young children in the area. Everyone is worried about Arnie so they begin a search for the boys. Arnie does have it. Kate and Karl find then and return them to their home. Sandra nurses Arnie and he tells her that they don't want to leave their grandfather. Visits are arranged and the boys remain in Ritter's Cove.

Hooter finds a float from Tim's Plane that starts another search for the missing Ritter. By using a radar and deepsea diving, they find the plane but there is no sign of Tim or his body. There is no way of knowing whether he is dead or alive.

Kate receives an SOS from Mad Man Mulligan, an old miner who cries wolf when he gets lonely. Kate, Karl and Robert go to check it out. Mulligan thinks they are after his gold, so he locks them up in a mine. Kate convinces him that he has a real find and that they are on his side. They take him to the assayer's office only to find it isn't gold but a valuable mineral used in steel production.

Karl goes to Germany to visit his brother Franz. His son Tim Ritter, is alive. A crazy army medic saved his life after his plane crashed, then held him prisoner so he couldn't tell anyone about the ex-soldier. Robert and Arnie on a hunch follow the strange man and find their father. They telephone Karl in Germany ot tell him his son is home safe.

Karl Ritter has a heart attack in Germany and dies without ever seeing his son Tim again. Karl is flown home for the last time and laid to rest as Karl Ritter, Coastal Pilot, in Ritter Cove.

Kate's friend Janet is going to have her baby at home in the bush with her husband Murray. Unfortunately, Murray injures himself with an ax and must leave to get aid. His boat breaks down and Kate spots him from the air. She flies him to the nurse and goes back to get Janet only to find her in labour. Kate delivers a baby girl.

Sandby receives a towing contract so he hires Hooter's boat to pull the load. While unloading the barge they discover illegal drugs hidden inside the bales of hay and are held prisoner because of this knowledge. Robert and Daryl Sandby, K.R.'s nephew, telephone for help and then they are too captured. The police round up three of the crooks. Kate and Franz detain the ringleader, who is trying to escape in a float plane, with skillful flying.

Kate, Hooter and the boys go to Vancouver to bring Tim home from the hospital. Hooter takes the boys to Stanley Park to see the killer whales. Robert discovers that his wallet is missing and with it all the money they had saved to buy their father a present. He thinks someone has stolen it and they search the park for the thief and the wallet. Meanwhile, Kate goes out and buys a present for the boys to give to Tim. Entering the plane for the ride home, Robert's wallet is found sitting on the floor where it has been the whole time.

Arnie goes to a cookout with the Olivers. The clams are bad and those who have eaten them become ill with paralytic shellfish poisoning. Lily, one of her friends and her father John, who is a shaman, are fine because they haven't eaten the clams. John helps the people by making them get rid of the clams they have eaten, thus lessening the effect of the poison. Kate and Franz fly in with the doctor who brings the extra medical aid that is needed. The seriously ill are transported to the hospital. Thank's to John's quick thinking, everyone will recover.

Feeling inadequate as a pilot since his accident, Tim takes his frustrations out on his son Robert. Robert overhears his father say that Robert is a second rate pilot so Robert takes off in the beaver to prove him wrong. However, Robert has never landed a plane and runs into great difficulties. Kate talks Robert down from her position in the helicopter and Robert completes his first successful solo landing.

Sandby gets a tip on some diamonds so Kate and Arnie fly him to Vancouver. Kate and Arnie accidently discover that Sandby is being sold fake diamonds and call the police. Sandby has the diamonds appraised but is unaware that a switch took place after the appraisal. After verifying Kate and Arnie's story and finding out that he has indeed been swindled, the chase is on.

Robert, Arnie and Paul, their cousin from Germany all go fishing. Their boat has engine trouble and Paul, who is not watching, drives the boat over a log breaking off the rudder and putting a hole in the hull. Unable to control the boat, they drift into the Skookumchuck (rapids). The Coast Guard Hovercraft comes to their rescue.

The topic here is Romance. Hooter asks Kate to marry him and Tim is jealous. Events come to a climax at the dance on Friday night.

An entrepreneur friend of Eric's, pays a visit to Ritter's Cove. He wants to build a factory in the area and puts a downpayment on some land. However, the land he chooses is claimed by the Native people. They try to scare him away by dressing up as evil spirits and tying him to the pylon of an old dock. After being given the false impression that he is going to drown, he decides to see things through the Natives eye's and thus leaves to build his factory somewhere else.

Kate, Arnie and Eric go to return a bear cub to its home. Arnie does a poor mooring job and the boat drifts from shore. Eric, chasing after it, falls down to steep incline and is injured. The three are gone so long that the people at the Cove start to worry and begin a search.

Returning from a camping trip, Tim and Franz set down to get gas at a fuel float. The manager of the float had just fired his three hands that afternoon. For revenge, the three men rob the office and try to escape in the Ritter's plane. They find out the plane is out of gas so they have to return on the float. The men on the float hold off the crooks until they can be apprehended by the law.