Fate is the Hunter

[NSandell]

I've read Fate is the Hunter many time over the years, each time loving the familiar stories, each time finding something new in the writing and ideas. The thing is, I'm not a pilot. I’m just an ordinary Canadian guy who loves the book. I spent a career as a journalist at the CBC. Now, as an independent producer, I’m making a radio documentary about Fate is the Hunter and its author.

If you are a Gann fan, I’d love to hear from you. I’m trying to understand what it is about Fate that grabs readers and keeps them coming back.

[Jhieminga]

It has been a while since I read it... so I'm going to cheat and provide you with this link: https://inspire.eaa.org/2018/02/14/five-aviation-lessons-from-fate-is-the-hunter/

By the way, I was geeky enough to go and visit this particular DC-3 in Dallas' American Airlines C.R. Smith museum:
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50729660997_453c3a8e6d_c.jpg
Gann flew this particular airframe, so standing behind the flight deck you are standing where Gann once stood.

[TCU]

It is a book I pick up, every now and then, just to read a chapter during an idle hour. Indeed, it would be my Desert Island book for the reason you note....always something new to find despite the well thumbed pages

Save his unsurpassed command of the English language, I think its the books brutal humility, honesty and deadly dry/gallows humour that shine through.

I visited friends on San Juan a few years ago and only then discovered that this idyllic spot is where he spent his last days, surrounded by the North Pacific waters and sailing boats, that were his true passion

[meleagertoo]

If you think his flying books are good try the sailing ones!

[NSandell]

Thanks for the cool picture and the link to your article.

[Bergerie1]

I like its authenticity, what he writes comes from bitter experience - he has been there, done it, survived and he tells it without bull****ting. He knows that hubris has no part in safe flying, he is humble and knows how to describe what goes on inside a pilot's mind. Even though modern aircraft and engines are much safer and more reliable, the basic lessons for flying which he describes so eloquently have not changed. They are the same now as they were then - plan your every move, check and verify every thing you do and, despite better weather forcasting, the weather is still the same as it was then. The elements have not changed, they are as fickle as ever and must always be respected.

The five rules in Jhieminga's link above say it all.

[longer ron]

It is a shame that the Films of EKG's books were never done very well - there is usually enough aviation content for us aviation enthusiasts (if only for a laugh sometimes).
The Film called Fate Is the Hunter is actually more akin to the EKG novel Band Of Brothers.
His book The High and The Mighty is a very impressive read but the film is nowhere near as good - John Wayne plays the older co pilot very well but the cabin scenes are straight out of Airplane :)

Island in the sky is an interesting film for us but probably a bit slow for the average punter.

Fate is the Hunter is definitely at the top of my reading list and I must dig it out again sometime - it has been a while LOL

[squidie]

Got this in my bookshelf alright, also got it as a Christmas present for my sister who is doing her ATPL.

[Pugilistic Animus]

My favorite chapter is the first chapter when describing Lester...on the whole I love, love, love FITH!

[NSandell]

I've given the book as a gift too...in my case to a good friend whose father flew a Lancaster during the war and later became a commercial pilot.

His character sketches are brilliant - so vivid, often in just a few sentences.

Is there one Gann book in particular you would recommend?

[longer ron]

Is there one Gann book in particular you would recommend?

The High and the Mighty is a really good read and the novel Twilight for the Gods or perhaps Song of the Sirens if you like sailing or boats.

[albatross]

I flew a lot in Northern Qc / Labrador.
I think I know where Lake O’Conner is located. N 54 20 / W 74 30
I wonder if the tractor is still there.
A magazine called Air Classics did a story in the 80’s called “Rescue at Lake O’Connor” about the bush pilots who got the stranded crew out and salvaged the aircraft. I have never found a copy of the article. Direct queries to the publishers were never answered.
Are you on Facebook?

[stevef]

Whatever you do, don't lend it out! I've lost three copies over the years, despite promises to return them. :{ Gann was a great non-aviation fiction writer too; check his back catalogue.
Re classics, I've only lost one Chickenhawk (Robert Mason) so far. :)

[Jhieminga]

Thanks for the cool picture and the link to your article.
It’s not my article… but you’re welcome. Personally I love any account of aviation from those days, but Gann’s version is one of the most vivid. You can almost see the characters he describes and the situations he was in. And, as has been mentioned already, he not only manages to describe the scene but also provides the lessons that he learned. Lessons that any pilot can appreciate and apply.

[albatross]

I book I find very good is “Stranger to the Ground” by Richard Bach. I recommend it to all.


https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?sts=t&cm_sp=SearchF-_-home-_-Results&an=Richard+Bach&tn=Stranger+to+the+Ground&kn=

[Chiefttp]

I enjoyed “Fate is the Hunter” will probably read it again since it’s been a decade or so since I read it. Another book worth mentioning is “Biplane” by Richard Bach.

[McDuff]

I've read Fate is the Hunter many time over the years, each time loving the familiar stories, each time finding something new in the writing and ideas. The thing is, I'm not a pilot. I’m just an ordinary Canadian guy who loves the book. I spent a career as a journalist at the CBC. Now, as an independent producer, I’m making a radio documentary about Fate is the Hunter and its author.

If you are a Gann fan, I’d love to hear from you. I’m trying to understand what it is about Fate that grabs readers and keeps them coming back.
I found it very difficult to read. I loved the historical value of the stories, but bridled at the poor captaincy, the expectstion that your co-pilot is expected almost to be a mind-reader, to understand the captain's intentions without words. Its value as a pilot’s story was low for me. It felt dangerous as a message about running a flight deck

[Lookleft]

I’m trying to understand what it is about Fate that grabs readers and keeps them coming back.

I think what makes FITH an enduring classic to pilots is that it is every pilot's story. From the opening pages that lists the names of all the pilots he knew who died being pilots to the end when he writes "when is now.." about his decision to put away his flight bag for good.

I first read it when I was a co-pilot on turbo-props and it resonated with me. The stories of doing crap landings and the Captain just brings it all under control with a deft hand that only experience can develop. I read it twenty years later when I was a Captain on jets and his stories of being the Captain just captured the essence of Command which also struck a chord.

Now that I am in the twilight of my career I am fortunate not to be flying clapped out freighters across the Pacific but I am ruminating on the line: "Ah Howe, you of the iron face...when is when?". The last line of the book is "For me, when was now. And Howe seemed to understand."

The equipment might have changed beyond EKG's recognition but the people and the career are still the same as when he wrote the book 60 years ago. Thats why it is such a classic..

[Bergerie1]

Lookleft, You are absolutely right, that is what I meant in my post when I wrote about him being able to to describe what goes on inside a pilot's mind. But you said it better. Thank you.

[Ex FSO GRIFFO]

Am a BIG FAN of EKG, and managed to find on G/E most of the locations mentioned in his book.....However, am unable to locate the airfield in India where he almost 'took out' the Taj Mahal.....

A thrilling description of the event, including the judicious use of flaps....I can 'feel the moment'.....but where oh where is / was this airport ?

Any takers?

I found 'Bluey West 1' OK....mostly because its still there..!!

Cheers, Griffo.

[Reyne]

Wind Sand and Stars ,by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.
Great memoir of flying during the interwar years. Mail routes across the African Sahara and the South American Andes.

[Brian 48nav]

HI Griffo,
I'm sure the Taj Mahal is at Agra.

Jefford's book 'RAF Squadrons' has maps showing every airfield ever used by the RAF and it shows one at Agra which was apparently used by 20,30 and 114 Squadrons.

My copy of the history of 30 ( Flat Out ) has several photos of the airfield - none show the Taj Mahal unfortunately.

Brian

[Alan Baker]

It is a shame that the Films of EKG's books were never done very well - there is usually enough aviation content for us aviation enthusiasts (if only for a laugh sometimes).
The Film called Fate Is the Hunter is actually more akin to the EKG novel Band Of Brothers.
His book The High and The Mighty is a very impressive read but the film is nowhere near as good - John Wayne plays the older co pilot very well but the cabin scenes are straight out of Airplane :)

Island in the sky is an interesting film for us but probably a bit slow for the average punter.

Fate is the Hunter is definitely at the top of my reading list and I must dig it out again sometime - it has been a while LOL
More accurate to say that the cabin scenes in Airplane are straight out of The High and the Mighty (and Airplane's direct source, Zero Hour, via the Airport films)
The film version of Fate is the Hunter did give us the interesting jet conversion of a DC-6....

[albatross]

EKG was appalled at the movie version of Fate is the Hunter.
I have given away many copies of Fate over the years.
I was amazed when I was recently gifted a first edition of Fate is the Hunter, complete including dust cover, in excellent condition. Lucky me!
When it comes to good reads I highly recommend “My Secret War” Richard S. Drury’s story of flying Skyraiders over the Ho Chi Minh trail.
Also “Ravens” about FAC pilots in Laos. “Thud Ridge” on the subject of flying F-105 bombers over North Vietnam is well worth the read.
In any case we must not forget the many works of Nevil Shute of which “Slide Rule”, “The Rainbow and the Rose”, “Pastoral” and “Trustee from the Tool Room” are my favourites.

[Good Business Sense]

Fate is the Hunter ..... the Bible!

I've got a First Edition, First Print and I'll never admit to anyone what I paid for it :-)

[appruser]

Griffo, VIAG is about 5 miles SW from the Taj Mahal, and has been around since WW2. The US Army Air Forces 3rd Air Depot Group operated out of there from 1942 - 1946. Haven't read the book, but will look for a copy.

[Liffy 1M]

Griffo, VIAG is about 5 miles SW from the Taj Mahal, and has been around since WW2. The US Army Air Forces 3rd Air Depot Group operated out of there from 1942 - 1946. Haven't read the book, but will look for a copy.
Link here to an archived discussion about Gann and the Taj Mahal amongst other things. Quite an amount of debate about whether the runway at Agra was actually directly in line with the fabled building. https://www.pprune.org/archive/index.php/t-328857.html

[NSandell]

That passage about Howe, the beat up flight bag, and wondering when to call it a day was memorable for me too. I could relate to in my career.

[tdracer]

EKG was appalled at the movie version of Fate is the Hunter.


I saw the movie version many, many years ago but have never read the book. I still remember the basic plot fairly clearly.
What did the movie get wrong?

[Pugilistic Animus]

I saw the movie version many, many years ago but have never read the book. I still remember the basic plot fairly clearly.
What did the movie get wrong?
Tdracer, every thing...the movie wasn't anything like the book very disappointing

[Crosswhinge]

One of the classics of aviation. By the end of the book you know nothing about him personally. Unusual for an author.
Don't see the film. I came in after the opening credits. Only on leaving did I see a poster naming the film. I hadn't recognised it. Complete hogwash.
Another classic of that era is Song of the Sky by Guy Murchie.
I gave my used copy as a wedding present to a new A320 pilot with only 300+ hours. Both he and his wife fly 320s. My comment was while flying has radically changed human nature and the laws of aerodynamics haven't changed.
My favourite part is where the Captain lit matches in front of his face. On landing said, "It won't always be easy."

[India Four Two]

I highly recommend “My Secret War” Richard S. Drury’s story of flying Skyraiders over the Ho Chi Minh trail.
Also “Ravens” about FAC pilots in Laos. “Thud Ridge” on the subject of flying F-105 bombers over North Vietnam

Two other excellent books in the same genre are:

"Flying Through Midnight: A Pilot's Dramatic Story of His Secret Missions Over Laos During the Vietnam War" - flying C-123s at night, including an absolutely hair-raising description of a night emergency landing at the "nonexistent" CIA base at Long Tieng.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/1500x994/image_69eff0cfb6f4318f54c63f88a927e1e8c573ea49.jpg



"Low Level Hell"- an account of Loach operations in Vietnam.

[Ex FSO GRIFFO]

Thankyou to all who responded about Agra & the 'Taj'.....

I guess I will have to 'keep wondering', however, the book is still in my bookcase.

Cheers and Thanks again.

[BSD]

It resonates across the whole spectrum of aviation enthusiasts, from the hardened professional to people who would call themselves "SLF"

I've sourced and proudly gifted 3 copies to pilots upon receiving their first professional licence at the start of their careers - its their heritage in a way.

Fate is the hunter is magnificent and beautifully written.

Island in the sky is superb. The chapter where O'Connor is beginning to realise his plight is so vividly described that I rate it as probably one of the finest pieces of aviation prose you will ever find.

Twilight of the God's - what a lovely book. Always worth a read and always emotionally draining.

I finally found a first edition. Has pride of place on my bookshelf.

[T54A]

Gann, especially F.I.T.H. is essential reading for every young pilot. In fact I don't trust a newbie that hasn't read it, or is not interested in reading it. It shows up a lack of pedigree.

[wub]

Tdracer, every thing...the movie wasn't anything like the book very disappointing

My Dad, an avid EKG fan took me to see FITH in the cinema, he was so disappointed and angry he ranted about it for days. It certainly was a travesty and only the title bore any relation to the book.

[missioncontrol]

I was given “Fate is the Hunter” thirty years ago just now,at the dawn of my airline career, by a senior captain I flew with many times.
He didn’t say anything about the book but just put it in my crew mail with a brief message as to who had sent it.
I found it strange to read to begin with but as each chapter progressed, there was a lesson to be learned and a wow moment when I re-read what had happened.

Just over a year ago I recommended it to an airline colleague whilst in the US. He had never heard of Fate is the Hunter before
.
A day or so later and he was talking about it.

I love the reaction of guys when you see them a while later when they have read Fate is the Hunter and they say…’hey-remember that book you told me about last time we flew?’

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/187x269/3373ad61_6873_4a09_9e2b_290d488a15c5_20c55fb15371bb5fd7fcf43 a304bce0379f24d35.jpeg
E K Gann on roof of house



As Gann said….”Rule books are paper, they will not cushion a sudden meeting of stone and metal.”

[NSandell]

I love this story of receiving and giving FITH. It says so much about how cherished this memoir is.

I have given it as a gift too...in my case to a buddy whose dad flew in the RCAF during WW2.

[Bueno Hombre]

I was given “Fate is the Hunter” thirty years ago just now,at the dawn of my airline career, by a senior captain I flew with many times.
He didn’t say anything about the book but just put it in my crew mail with a brief message as to who had sent it.
I found it strange to read to begin with but as each chapter progressed, there was a lesson to be learned and a wow moment when I re-read what had happened.

Just over a year ago I recommended it to an airline colleague whilst in the US. He had never heard of Fate is the Hunter before
.
A day or so later and he was talking about it.

I love the reaction of guys when you see them a while later when they have read Fate is the Hunter and they say…’hey-remember that book you told me about last time we flew?’

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/187x269/3373ad61_6873_4a09_9e2b_290d488a15c5_20c55fb15371bb5fd7fcf43 a304bce0379f24d35.jpeg
E K Gann on roof of house



As Gann said….”Rule books are paper, they will not cushion a sudden meeting of stone and metal.”
iority System

[Bueno Hombre]

Seniority System:.
Gann describes at length his pre-occupation with ‘the numbers’ – the airline seniority system in which one man’s fate may be determined over another’s. It’s a system which has nothing to do with either mens’ skills as pilots, or virtues as people. One number might be lucky, another might not. To Gann, the numbers being bad to you meant probable death, but they also represented less permanent changes in fortune. The numbers dictate your likelihood of promotion, or demotion, or of being fired. Today, nothing has changed. as people. One number might be lucky, another might not. To Gann, the numbers being bad to you meant probable death, but they also represented less permanent changes in fortune. The numbers dictate your likelihood of promotion, or demotion, or of being fired. Today, nothing has changed.

[Discorde]

Two more inspirational books: 'Spirit of St Louis' by Charles Lindbergh (won the Pulitzer Prize, set me off on a career in aviation) and 'The Sky Beyond' by Gordon Taylor (pioneering trans-ocean flights).

[WIDN62]

In the late 60s at the start of my multi-engine flying training in the RAF my instructor lent me a copy, and said "Read that before the end of the course!". I did and have had a copy ever since and read it every few years. I still find the description about the encounter with heavy icing totally gripping.
FITH was re-issued in paperback a few years ago, so there is no need to pay a fortune - although I would love an original hardback.

[longer ron]

As I posted previously - the movie Fate is the Hunter is more akin to the EKG book Band of Brothers in that it is based around an accident investigation,the major difference in the book of Band of Brothers was that the investigator was flying an old decrepit Ju52 to investigate his friends crash.

[visibility3miles]

I inherited a copy of the ninth printing, November 1953, of “The High and the Mighty.”

I’m pretty sure that its my first glimpse at a 747 engine that made me go gaga over airplanes, but adventure stories caught my eye at an early age.

Adventure coupled with extreme caution mind you, to ensure that you can return.

[visibility3miles]

“The fear of death is indeed the pretense
of wisdom, and not real wisdom, being a
pretense of knowing the unknown . . . And no
one knows whether death which men in their
fear apprehend to be the greatest evil,
may not be the greatest good . . .”

Socrates

[Zionstrat2]

First read in high school and have been captivated ever since.. as previously mentioned the icing story is totally captivating... And I've used the "lighting a match in front of a pilot on final" trick when training opportunities of aviation.

[goofer]

EKG's prose is a masterclass in word economy. Every syllable counts. A lesson for our verbose times.

[Thomas Charlton]

Sure looks like a DC-2. The top front of the engine cowl is the tell.

[grusome]

FITH is remarkable in its capacity to evoke memory. As someone who has had the privilege of sitting between 1830s and 2000s for some thousands of hours, I maintain that Gann is the only author who has been able to evoke in literature the sounds, the feelings, the fears and indeed the smells of that experience. For example, although I never operated in the North American icing conditions he described, I have heard with some apprehension the sound of lumps of ice putting dents in the fuselage in line with the props, and watched the wing boots pumping away under a rime ice coating. Nobody has put it better than EKG.

[FLS Beam]

I was most intrigued to see your post regarding Fate is the Hunter and EK Gann. I first read the book when I was a grade seven student in northern Alberta. Exuberantly, I rode along, enwebbed in the bewitching thrall of airplanes, the world of men, and the wide world of places.

Some years later when I was pushing a twin Cessna 402 through the oilpatchareas of northwestern Canada, I thought "Ernie would love this!" Piston powered unpressurized machines, with close attention being paid to obtain altitude level clearances that would tend to keep one between the layers of the latent ice forming stratus. And when that didn't quite happen, the same fuselage hammering of the ice being shed from the props. The de-icer boots - that one waxed down with Lemon Pledge while down and refueling.

Years later, but now as an airline pilot, various airline mergers nullified nearly a decade of my seniority. Ernie knew this too. And in spite of the ego crippling seniority loss, he hung on. Prostrate though we both were. His pages, like the leaves of a tree turned from vibrant expectancy, to now the autumnal colors of solace. Next, when airline bankruptcies humbled me further, I left my fold for an international airline flying out of the Middle East. Flew to the same far-off airfields that are scenes in the book. Accra, Dakar, Casablanca, Khartoum, Karachi, et al.

And lastly, when my cup was quite full, flying as a super jumbo Captain, I too elected to quit. While still running ahead of the: medical corps; the increasing and conflicting regulatory requirements; the mortal combat of airline economics; and the unrelenting study and testing required to fly a developing electronic FBW airplane and all the country variegated ATC systems and rules.

Ernie and Fate is the Hunter spanned and comforted my entire adult professional life. A seminal work. These days, as I struggle to piece together some recollections; photo mapping equitorial Africa with a Learjet, Medivac flights in and out of the Canadian high arctic, widebody jets through the third world, his pages have again been inspiring and taunting. This time with respect to structure and language. Thank you again Ernie.

I have a substantial collection of his many books, and many of his magazine articles. Plus, others that deal with him. Beyond aviation, a particularly good novel is "The Antagonists", which was re-released as "Masada" after the television mini-series starring Peter O'Toole.

I am living in YVR, and as a lifelong follower of EKG, would be very pleased to speak with you about your project.

All the best,
GF

[ericferret]

Two other excellent books in the same genre are:

"Flying Through Midnight: A Pilot's Dramatic Story of His Secret Missions Over Laos During the Vietnam War" - flying C-123s at night, including an absolutely hair-raising description of a night emergency landing at the "nonexistent" CIA base at Long Tieng.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/1500x994/image_69eff0cfb6f4318f54c63f88a927e1e8c573ea49.jpg



"Low Level Hell"- an account of Loach operations in Vietnam.

I read Low Level Hell recently.

I was left with a question.

How on earth did they survive?

[BSD]

I would also recommend reading "Hostage to Fortune" from which you will learn so much more about the man.

[walschaert valve]

I have just ordered Fate is the Hunter from a well know second hand book retailer, there were a few copies available around the place. The one I ordered is coming from the US.

[Discorde]

walschaert valve

FITH is also available as a Kindle book.

[cavuman1]

Lindbergh's autobiographical WE, initially published several weeks after his trans-Atlantic solo flight in 1927, is worth a read. Like the inspiration Discorde took from Spirit of St. Louis, WE steered me toward aviation as my major avocation.

- Ed

[dixi188]

I bought a copy of FITH in Detroit in 1990 or 91.
Suprised to find the bookshop had it listed under "Popular Fiction"!

[Jhieminga]

Sure looks like a DC-2. The top front of the engine cowl is the tell.
If you're referring my photo in post #2 (https://www.pprune.org/aviation-history-nostalgia/643200-fate-hunter.html#post11126242)... it is definitively a DC-3. See here: https://www.crsmithmuseum.org/exhibition/flagship-knoxville-dc3/ The photo on that page clearly shows the wider DC-3 fuselage. The DC-2 fuselage had almost flat sides. :) This particular DC-3 is an early model with the door on the RH side.

[ATC Watcher]

@NSandell FITH is one of my all times favorite aviation book . Discovered it in the 70s when I was starting to fly , read it again a few decades back after a few of my own flying experiences to appreciate it even more..

One such experience was after having badly miscalculated a load, disregarded the outside temperature and the wind I found myself staring in disbelief at the VSI needle barely a millimeter above zero and an IAS needle floating barely above Vs with trees approaching .. Like with him it was close but ended well. Lesson learned ( until now that is )

The other was during a flight to Narssassuaq in the late 80s ( Bluie West one in the book) having had to take the Fjord entry/ arrival due low cloud base and looking for the ship wreck to indicate the right fjord to follow...Pre GPS times. The ship wreck was still there are described in the book, and as the ceiling lowered as we flew further inland, I can recall and confirm that, as Ernst wrote, there is not such joy in flying as finally spotting the runway in Narssassuaq...
.
I also read a few of his other aviation books, very nice but not as good as FITH for me.
His writing desk /office where he used to write his books is on display in Oshkosh in the EAA museum . Pity it is all behind a fence, you can't read the photos and frames on the walls and can't sit behind his desk . That would be something!
Would love to read your piece ..

[Herod]

I opened my copy a few days ago, and was surprised to find it in mint, unread, condition. Obviously one I had bought to replace a "borrowed" copy that was never returned. I last read it many years ago, as a young airline pilot. Now, as a long-retired airrline pilot, I can relate much better. Among other things, never mistrust the sixth sense. Even if everything is going fine, instruments etc reading normally, if you have that "feeling something is wrong" you can bet something is.

[Fly-by-Wife]

For me, the title is the theme that runs though the book. No matter how much experience, how good the planning and preflight, no matter how careful, it's sometimes just plain luck that's the difference between living and dying.

The unexpected break in the weather, the sudden gap in the clouds, the few minutes early or late, the engine that just ran long enough, the extra few feet of altitude. It's these moments where he recognises the hand of fate, and is humble enough to admit that it was luck and only luck that kept him from joining so many of his colleagues in disaster.

The fact that he recognised this and accepted it and continued flying shows not just a passion for flying but also a quiet courage that is inspiring.

And that is why I re-read FITH.

[RVF750]

And I'll now re-read it, since it's been a few years. It really shows the technology leap that's been made that you can read it on the EFB at 41,000ft on the way back from a Greek night flight, which the only interruptions are from the CPDLC dinging away once in a while.......

[Arthur Bellcrank]

Paperback copy available from Amazon for £5.00 with free P&P, I started a re read last night.

[ancientaviator62]

Gave my copy to my Grandson when he first started to learn to fly. He is now a SFO with easyjet and who knows one day the wisdom in this book may just be of help even if their respective a/c are light years apart.

[Meikleour]

I don't see easyJet trainers being too happy to light matches under your grandson's nose as he flies his very occassional manual ILS!!!!!!!

[Uplinker]

I found it very difficult to read. I loved the historical value of the stories, but bridled at the poor captaincy, the expectstion that your co-pilot is expected almost to be a mind-reader, to understand the captain's intentions without words. Its value as a pilot’s story was low for me. It felt dangerous as a message about running a flight deck

But that's how it used to be, that's the point. Even much later, when I started flying, there were bad Captains who thought they were gods and we should anticipate their every move without being asked or told.

We are lucky that many of those earlier lessons have been learned and we now have pretty decent SOPs, and CRM.

[Pugilistic Animus]

Gann, especially F.I.T.H. is essential reading for every young pilot. In fact I don't trust a newbie that hasn't read it, or is not interested in reading it. It shows up a lack of pedigree.

Just like I make flight students read Handling The Big Jets. And that's for a PPL :}

[meleagertoo]

I don't see easyJet trainers being too happy to light matches under your grandson's nose as he flies his very occassional manual ILS!!!!!!!
Dear me! That won't go down well, he might inhale a whiff of - er - I'm going to utter an obscenity here - airmanship... sorree!
And in easyjet that would never do!

[Bergerie1]

Pugilistic Animus,

I totally agree about 'Handling the Big Jets'. I had the pleasure of flying with D P Davies on several C of A air tests, it was very educational to ask him for his views and advice - always delivered in his usual trenchent style! I stiil have his book on my bookshelf, together with 'Fate is the Hunter' and many others. Both contain many pearls of wisdom.

[Pugilistic Animus]

Bergerie1 ... those books and many more, such as Stick and Rudder have shaped the way I fly now and in the past too.


Flying with D.P. Davies must have been an amazing experience and literally a once in a lifetime one.

[FITHfan]

I just heard a story about one of the crew members of O'connors crash landing in Canada...
Some time in the late 40's or early 50's this man lived in Newport RI, he was "old" at the time,
Apparently he had trained a parrot that lived with him to do a pre take off check, and rolling take off check list,
including squawking "Airspeed 110" "Flaps" ... and so on...

[dixi188]

Where is today's post from FITHfan?

[DH106]

Where is today's post from FITHfan?

I know - I noticed this earlier this morning, there's something wierd that goes on when some users post, they don't seem visible in the thread immediately for some reason.
That post from FITHfan is visible now though. Is it when new users post - I notice that FITHfan's post count is #1?

[longer ron]

Yes I think new/recent forum members first couple of posts probably go into a moderation queue,I have seen quite often where a new post shows on the home page but not on the actual thread for up to a couple of days.

[cooperplace]

My favorite chapter is the first chapter when describing Lester...on the whole I love, love, love FITH!
In the medical business, FITH mean something else, a common syndrome "f.....d in the head", or if you like, funny in the head.

[Discorde]

Two more inspirational aviation books:

Charles Lindbergh - 'Spirit of St Louis' (description of his 1927 solo NY to Paris Le Bourget flight - launched me on a career in aviation)

Sir Gordon Taylor - 'The Sky Beyond' (pioneering trans-ocean flights in Catalinas)

[AlphaMikeTango]

I read FITH and "Flying Circus" as a kid in high school about 40-odd years ago .... time I read them again!

[NRU74]

Charles Lindbergh - 'Spirit of St Louis' (description of his 1927 solo NY to Paris Le Bourget flight

Met him in the late sixties in the Ambassador Hotel on Waikiki Beach whilst we were waiting for a cab to Hickam. (Yes, the Cold War was hell !) He was also waiting for a cab to the airport and the receptionist took a copy of this very book to him to get it autographed which alerted us (Victor Tanker crew) to who he was.

[condor17]

Another fan from 50 yrs ago . Guided my early airline days , was as current then as the '40s. A USair 'gurlfriend pilot in mid '80s was also a fan and had met Ernie .
A Co has the professional duty to mind read his Capt , say Yes , Go faster , be the skippers apologiser , social organiser , last chance saloon decider , and generally keeping the team out of trouble ..
Whilst the skipper is mulling it over , go slower , No , G/A , divert , and unless it's Engineers year ....chatting up the No 1 hostie / host.
Gifted a new copy to our son when he started aviating . His 6 + yrs in easyJet gave him many manual approaches , Vis , VOR , GPS and numerous ILSs when a/c, weather, fatigue, even at LGW allowed . His skippers being happy to facilitate .
He's now moved on to ANZ where we hope FITH helped again .

rgds condor .