Good aircraft books- what are you reading?
Bugsmasherdriverandjediknite
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: Bai, mi go long hap na kisim sampla samting.
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Cloud dancers Alaskan chronicles. Volume I and Volume II By Cloud dancer.
Pretty good read both of them.
Pretty good read both of them.
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Enroute from Dagobah to Tatooine...!
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Two Autobiographies:
Forever Flying - Bob Hoover
Yeager - Chuck Yeager
And for a good Aussie tale:
The Diamond Dakota Mystery
That one I got from Newslink at Perth airport a few months ago. Tells the amazing story of a true Australian flying drama. Very well researched and written very entertainingly.
Forever Flying - Bob Hoover
Yeager - Chuck Yeager
And for a good Aussie tale:
The Diamond Dakota Mystery
That one I got from Newslink at Perth airport a few months ago. Tells the amazing story of a true Australian flying drama. Very well researched and written very entertainingly.
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Sydney
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Captain Eric Melrose "Winkle" Brown, CBE, DSC, AFC, FRAeS, RN
"Wings on my sleeve"
flew more types than any other pilot in history(487 types), 2407 carrier deck landings (world record) flew a Sikorsky R-4B helicopter with instruction solely from reading a manual, the world's first landing of a jet aircraft on an aircraft carrier,commanded the Enemy Aircraft Flight, an elite group of pilots who test-flew captured German aircraft. What he hasn't done aint worth doing in the air!!! worth a read
"Wings on my sleeve"
flew more types than any other pilot in history(487 types), 2407 carrier deck landings (world record) flew a Sikorsky R-4B helicopter with instruction solely from reading a manual, the world's first landing of a jet aircraft on an aircraft carrier,commanded the Enemy Aircraft Flight, an elite group of pilots who test-flew captured German aircraft. What he hasn't done aint worth doing in the air!!! worth a read
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Christchurch, New Zealand
Age: 46
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Propellerhead (Antony Woodward)
Amazon.com: Propellerhead: Antony Woodward: Books
Amazon.com: Propellerhead: Antony Woodward: Books
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: nz/oz
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I flew for the Furher.
I cant remember the guy's name who wrote it.
The funniest thing was this guy telling how he got shot down i think by a p-51, but before he hit the deck, he managed to shot down the very same p-51, they both parachuted out and ended up sitting next to eachoter in a ditch having a good old yarn about the war. and aviation no doubt.
I cant remember the guy's name who wrote it.
The funniest thing was this guy telling how he got shot down i think by a p-51, but before he hit the deck, he managed to shot down the very same p-51, they both parachuted out and ended up sitting next to eachoter in a ditch having a good old yarn about the war. and aviation no doubt.
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And with a bit of history......W.A. style.....
"I Flew For MMA" - An Airline Pilot's Life - Capt. R. Adkins
ISBN 0 646 29966 2
And with a bit of history......W.A. style.....
"I Flew For MMA" - An Airline Pilot's Life - Capt. R. Adkins
ISBN 0 646 29966 2
Far better to read Test Pilot by Neville Duke DSO, OBE, DFC & Two Bars, AFC.
He flew Spitfires, Tomahawks and Kittyhawks against the Germans in WW2. In a previous Pprune post it was mentioned that his books included Sound Barrier, Test Pilot and The Crowded Sky and that he brought home to his readers the realities of test flying at a time when flight approaching the speed of sound was an unknown quantity and literally a Sound Barrier.
It was first published in 1953 and reprinted in paperback in 1997. A wonderful book to read and keep.
A few of my favourites:
1. Spitfire A test Pilots story
2. Sigh For A Merlin
3. The Big Show
4. We Landed By Moonlight
5. The Flight of the Mew Gull
6. I Flew for MMA
7. Gatty Prince of Navigators
8. Forever Flying
9. The Long Way Home
10. The Dam Busters
I Flew For MMA, I found to be a very good read and also why we pilots need to be members of the AFAP. The conditions that the crews had to put up with in the early days of MMA were pretty basic particularly on overnights and not to mention the meatworks run out of Derby. At least the MMA pilots and AFAP got things heading in the right direction. In all honesty the MMA pilots did a fantastic job operating in that part of the country during the wet season, considering that most destinations only had a NDB, and in a lot of cases only basic aerodromes with no approach lighting etc. Keep flying Capt Reg!
1. Spitfire A test Pilots story
2. Sigh For A Merlin
3. The Big Show
4. We Landed By Moonlight
5. The Flight of the Mew Gull
6. I Flew for MMA
7. Gatty Prince of Navigators
8. Forever Flying
9. The Long Way Home
10. The Dam Busters
I Flew For MMA, I found to be a very good read and also why we pilots need to be members of the AFAP. The conditions that the crews had to put up with in the early days of MMA were pretty basic particularly on overnights and not to mention the meatworks run out of Derby. At least the MMA pilots and AFAP got things heading in the right direction. In all honesty the MMA pilots did a fantastic job operating in that part of the country during the wet season, considering that most destinations only had a NDB, and in a lot of cases only basic aerodromes with no approach lighting etc. Keep flying Capt Reg!
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Adelaide, South Australia
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A book about Ben Buckley titled "Buckley's Chance". Ben could be described as a bit of a "larrakin" when it comes to flying. CASA have tried to bust him for years and have most probably have given up by now. I believe They actually filmed him getting into his Cessna and flying it with one leg in a full cast. He is also reputed to have flown a motorised hang glider from AU to NZ.
Lifted directy from:
Benambra - History and People
Characters in the Benambra Shire (Eastern Victoria)
Small communities create more than their fair share of colourful, or at least memorable, characters. Some still live in Benambra and we can expect that more are still being born and raised today.
The first name that springs to many minds, when the topic of living Benambra characters is raised, is that of Ben Buckley. Ben, an agricultural and general pilot for many years, founder of the Benambra-based Alpine Aviation, has spent a lifetime doing the unconventional, and inevitably locking horns with those guardians of convention, the Dept of Civil Aviation and its successors.
Many of Ben's adventurous, dare-devil, courageous, and sometimes heroic exploits have recently been recorded in Bob Steven's biography of Ben, "Buckley's Chance".
Lifted directy from:
Benambra - History and People
Characters in the Benambra Shire (Eastern Victoria)
Small communities create more than their fair share of colourful, or at least memorable, characters. Some still live in Benambra and we can expect that more are still being born and raised today.
The first name that springs to many minds, when the topic of living Benambra characters is raised, is that of Ben Buckley. Ben, an agricultural and general pilot for many years, founder of the Benambra-based Alpine Aviation, has spent a lifetime doing the unconventional, and inevitably locking horns with those guardians of convention, the Dept of Civil Aviation and its successors.
Many of Ben's adventurous, dare-devil, courageous, and sometimes heroic exploits have recently been recorded in Bob Steven's biography of Ben, "Buckley's Chance".
"747" by Joe Sutter (Smithsonian Books 2006)
ISBN 978-0-06-088242-6
The author led the team that designed the 747. Written by an engineer for general readership but not "dumbed down".
Also anything by Sir Gordon Taylor. (Qantas please name an A380 after him)
ISBN 978-0-06-088242-6
The author led the team that designed the 747. Written by an engineer for general readership but not "dumbed down".
Also anything by Sir Gordon Taylor. (Qantas please name an A380 after him)
The Old and the Bold by Macarthur Job.
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Australia
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From the other side of the cockpit door...
"Head In the Clouds" by Muriel Hanning-Lee... one of the first 'real' air hostesses... some fantastic stories when flying was 'glam', era of the flying boat, and real thinking on your feet. No shy girl this one!
Don't particularly like the 'airport thriller' but "The Last Hostage' by John J Nance I found quite riveting... aviation environment but essentially a crime story.
As a teenager I read a book called 'Trail of the Octopus' by some guy alleging to be a CIA 'asset'... detailed a whole theory that the CIA was behind Lockerbie and framed Libya. Found it scary if true but have never heard anything about this guy before or since... Lester (Coleman?) I think the author was...
"Head In the Clouds" by Muriel Hanning-Lee... one of the first 'real' air hostesses... some fantastic stories when flying was 'glam', era of the flying boat, and real thinking on your feet. No shy girl this one!
Don't particularly like the 'airport thriller' but "The Last Hostage' by John J Nance I found quite riveting... aviation environment but essentially a crime story.
As a teenager I read a book called 'Trail of the Octopus' by some guy alleging to be a CIA 'asset'... detailed a whole theory that the CIA was behind Lockerbie and framed Libya. Found it scary if true but have never heard anything about this guy before or since... Lester (Coleman?) I think the author was...
Another vote for Propellorhead - a really great read, even if the piloting skills leave something to be desired! And some biggles are now available on audiobooks which make for good listening on long car trips on the mp3.
Great Read
I have just got a pre release copy of an interesting book called "Dick Richey - the Flying Fisherman." This is a great read, it covers many searches and a couple of incredible rescues by this guy in a Super Cub, and various other aircraft. The flying abilities and techniques of some of these old timers was pretty exceptional, as was the disregard for some of the bureaucracy of the day. Found the website Tasmanian Flying Fisherman index, it has info there.