Flying stories have held a fascination from time immemorial, and the legend of Icarus intrigued mankind for centuries betore the first uncertain steps into the air only three quarters of a century ago.
This is a book of flying stories, but with a difference. All of these stories are true, covering the experiences of the author as a test pilot, demonstration pilot, airshow pilot. film pilot, jet charter and competition aerobatic pilot.
The stories include aircraft from the early flying machines to modern military and civil jets.
Here you will read of the exultation of a first solo in a Spitfire, the
desolation of being lost over the ocean at night, short of fuel, in a jet bomber, the sickening fear of hurtling earthwards out of control, the humour of receiving a parking ticket after a forced landing, the shattering experience of crashing an aeroplane in front of a crowd of 80,000 people, and the unbelievable story of how the author crashlanded an aeroplane after a wing folded in flight, which gained him the Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air.
The pages abound with famous aircraft: Mosquito, Sopwith Pup, Hunter, Scimitar, Meteor, Yak, Heinkel, Falcon and many others.
The Magic of flight is here to be shared; the tranquility, the excitement, the terror, the humour, the adventure.
Not often does a book cover such a wide range of personal experience; it will attract pilots from the airlines, the services, the flying clubs. It will also admit the non-flyer to a new world, where he can share the thrill of flying aeroplanes which are already legendary.