Aviation Good Reads?
 

Hi All,

I've just finished and enjoyed Matt Hall's new book, "The Sky is Not the Limit".


What good aviation books have you read lately?


Cheers

Aviation Good Reads?
 

QF32. A good page turner.

Fate is the Hunter.

The Right Stuff


Centaurus' book - Tall Tails of the South Pacific (?) - search this forum.

I'll second that one.

A few others -

"There shall be wings: RAF from 1918 to present" Oral history of the RAF. Couldn't put it down.

"Piece of cake"

"A good clean fight"

Both by Derek Robinson.

Full Throttle by John Deakin

UTR......you could get an autographed copy in May. :ok: I am sure he will do that for you. Anyone else attending could too. Good fun stories of a life well lead.

Been reading one on Hinkler too.

Sigh for a Merlin- Alex Henshaw

The Book Depository website is a good place to find classic flying books.

The flying doctor
Clyde Fenton

Fate is the hunter
Ernest Gann

In fact all Ernest Ganns books are gold :)

I can't bring myself to read QF32.

Chickenhawk by Robert Mason

Probably a useless post but i'll put it up in case anyone else here knows the name of the book, I don't have a copy of it and I cannot remember the name of it.....

Autobiography written by an RAF test pilot, from his time starting in late WW2 through to the early 80's I think it was.

Fascinating reading, especially regarding being sent into Germany just after the war ended and test flying all the Luftwaffe jets and secret developmental aircraft.

KingRB, are you referring to Capt Eric "Winkle" Brown? He has written a number of very interesting books, incl Wings Weird and Wonderful 1 & 2. I can't remember the name of his autobiography either but a great read. Edit, "Wings on my Sleeve" according to google. PS he may object to being referred to as RAF, he was actually Navy, Fleet Air Arm.

I'll add Garry Cooper's "Sock it to em Baby" and Sharky Ward's "A Maverick at War" for a more modern perspective. Our man Farley also wrote a good'un "A view from the Hover" or some such.

Also "Thud Ridge" by pilot Jack Broughton, the story of F-105 operations into downtown Hanoi. They had a horrific loss rate.

+1 Chickenhawk

Thats the one!
Yes, sorry, it was the Fleet Air Arm, its been a couple years since I read it :ok:

Wings On My Sleeve: The World'S Greatest Test Pilot Tells His Story - Captain Eric Brown - Google Books

Bit of a larf,

Fighter Pilot; Misadventures Beyond the Sound Barrier
Mac

By Mac "Serge" Tucker. (Aussie F/A-18 driver.):ok:

Not a military read but Fate Is The Hunter is well worth a read.

"Flying the Oceans" by Horace Brock is about Pan Am's early flying boat operations across the Pacific and other areas in the Americas.

Fate is the Hunter by Ernest Gann for sure, and "Flight Plan PNG" by Eileen Steenson.

Cross eyed spitting cobra. Noel Von-hoff.

Would second chickenhawk and fate is the hunter..
You could also try trust me I'm the pilot...but have a little self interest.
Reviews on amazon.co.uk

Vulcan 607 - Rowland White.

Alexander Frater traced the route of the Imperial Airways flying boats out to Oz, sector by sector, on current commercial carriers, I'd guess about 20 years ago.

I think the book was called Chasing the Blue Horizon (Google will tell you but my connection is painfully s......l.....o.........w)

'Beyond the Blue Horizon' - truly a brilliant book, retracing the route of the old Imperial Airways/QEA (Qantas Empire Airways)) from England to Australia. Full of captivating personal contact with people met en route, on the ground and in the air.

Chesley Sullenberger's 'Highest Duty' is an outstanding telling of the life of a man who should be a role model for any young person aspiring to a career as a pilot; in any capacity.

Another 'must read' is ALOFT by William Langewieshe

More than a decade after the publication of 'Inside the Sky', 'Aloft' is a completely revised, expanded, and updated edition of this classic text, which is widely regarded as an outstandingly lyrical and incisive book on flying.

In these essays, William Langewiesche considers how flying has altered not only how we move about the earth, but also how we view our world and our place in it. With vivid descriptions of the aesthetics and excitement of flight, he also writes of the risks that go with this beauty: the perils of air traffic control, and the dangers of nervous passengers and bad weather. Full of spare and elegant prose, 'Aloft' is a fascinating journey into the sky.

The final chapter is a finely researched examination of the 2006 mid-air over Brazil of the Legacy 600 en route from the factory to New York and the brand new 737-800 of Gol with 154 POB going the other way at FL370. How the TCAS warning that might have spared a mid- air failed to be functional is covered in appalling detail. Also how the accuracy of the high tech gear maintaining each aircraft on tracks and altitudes with a precision that ensured well before it happened that the aircraft were fated to collide or pass only metres apart. The author's analysis of the CVRs and his insights into the failings of all who had a role in the disaster is in the tradition of the very best reporting.

At the other end of the spectrum, a book by the brilliant, idiosyncratic, sometimes crazy, medical doctor and pilot, Clyde Fenton, is one of the abidingly good reads about saving lives in the Outback in the 1930s. When the CASA (or CAA) of the day sent him a telegram saying his licence was forthwith suspended and his DH60 grounded, he cabled them one back in Melbourne saying 'THEY ARE ROUND AND THEY BOUNCE SIGNED FENTON'. As the saying goes . .. they threw away the mould after he was born. His name lives on in Katherine in 'Clyde Fenton School'.

Robert Masons' Chickenhawk is probably the best I've come across. I'm just a fixed-wing driver but the writing is so vivid that I'm right there in the Huey with Mason as I read (and re-read!) the book. How about the bit where he goes down into the clearing to get the wounded out, actually chopping down small saplings with his blades as he descends the last few feet in! :eek:

Nächte im Bomberstrom by Paul Zorner is a very close second. Again written by a very humble man, no false embellishments, no cloying romanticism, just straight-out brutal this-is-how-it-was. Written in Kraut, though, don't know if there is a translation out yet.

Not quite flying- but aviation-related and IMHO a good and interesting read that gives some insight into the developments leading to the downward spiral in T&C, P2F etc.

Hard Landing: The Epic Contest for Power and Profits That Plunged the Airlines into Chaos by Thomas Petzinger - Reviews, Discussion, Bookclubs, Lists

Strange how quickly things slip beneath the radar these days, as a kid Paul Brickhill's "Reach for the Sky" and "The Dambusters" were staples for anyone interested in flying, esp WW11 stuff. I recently introduced an aircraft mad kid to the former and found that despite the slightly dated language and concepts it went down as well as it ever had. Slightly more recent and a fictionalised version of events in South East Asia are Stephen Coonts' "Flight of the Intruder" and "The Intruders"
+ 1 Chickenhawk
and just to prove that there are very few new ways to kill yourself or break an aircraft, Flying Magazines various "I learned about flying from that" compilations.

Biggles. Very hard to find now though

Three good reads on Apaches in Afghanistan:

Apache Dawn by Damien Lewis (was on the chuck out table at Big W). Great read although a touch corny in places.

Hellfire by Ed Macy. Excellent book!

Dressed to Kill by Charlotte Madison. Wow what a book and has to be the best book by or about a female aviator!!! And wow what a woman!

And while on the topic of helicopters, To The Limit by Tom Johnson, is a must read personal story by a young Vietnam Huey pilot.

And great US space related books:

The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe
Yeager by Chuck Yeager
Failure Is Not An Option by Gene Kranz

Carrying The Fire by Michael Collins - a fantastic book!
Forever Flying by Bob Hoover

And I just read Magnificent Desolation by Buzz Aldrin... a great personal insight into his life and battles with depression.

For anyone that might be interested in the WW2 era, The Big Show by Pierre Clostermann (the latest unabridged edition) is worth tracking down.

And three of my favourite stories about our own pioneers:

Frigate Bird by PG Taylor. An absolute must read!

The Last Explorer by Simon Nasht. This is an absolutely brilliant biography of Sir Hubert Wilkins, what this guy did was just amazing!

Qantas By George by George Roberts. A great story by a great man.

highwaytohell you saved me some google bashing, I couldn't remember Charlotte Madison's name, but read the book when it was first released. Definite thumbs up and I'll look out for the others.

Biggles, yup he has a lot to answer for, I spent a good proportion of my pocket money on those (and Airfix models) and fortunately managed to hang onto most of the books.

Further to my earlier post re Reach for the Sky, have been reading an Aussie book by Ted Sly, "Luck of the Draw" and he has just mentioned Paul Brickhill being his wingman when he was shot down. He also mentions Neville Duke who wrote "Test Pilot" and others.

Although he isn't backward about coming forward with opinions, Roland Beaumont (Bee) is another pilot who made the most of his opportunities, "Flying to the Limit" and a couple of others are a fascinating look at the technical (and political) side of aircraft development.

Sled Driver - Brian Shul

Plenty of good reads out there, depending upon your area of interest and their availability in the modern era.

I'm doing a WW1 retro at the moment, thanks to having just read "Fire in the Sky" by Michael Molkentin. The story of the Australian Flying Corps.

So back to Quentin Reynolds "They Fought For The Sky",
James McCudden "Flying Fury", Ernst Udet "Ace of the Iron Cross", lots on Richtofen, V M Yeates "Winged Victory", Cecil Lewis "Sagittarius Rising" , Harry Cobby "High Adventure" through to Donald Jack "The Bandy Papers". :E

blind pew; "You could also try trust me I'm the pilot...but have a little self interest."

I'm hopeless with book titles, but recognised the description when I went looking for it on Amazon - definitely worth a read.:ok:

Another title I had to look up, "The Sky, my Kingdom" - Hanna Reitsch. Unpalatable politics aside, she had a large dose of the Right Stuff.

and a big +1 for Sled Driver.

Flight 901 to Erebus by Ken Hickson...If you can find a copy! I think it is the sworn duty of every Kiwi to destroy copies of this book about their national carrier on sight......

Another brilliant read is Sugarbird Lady by Harold Dicks. Robin Miller was the daughter of Horrie Miller (MMA founder). An inspirational read.

Second that Fantome.
There's quite a few good books coming out about the air war in the Top End and the South Pacific in WWII.

Then there's "I Flew For MMA" by Reg Adkins. DC3 to F28.

Another vote too for Mac Tucker's Fighter Pilot and Chickenhawk and Ed Macy's Apache books.

Fighter Pilot by Robin Olds. I have just read the first chapter- this is going to be good.

Haha! Not long after reading this thread earlier, I had a book advertisement pop up in my Twitter feed. The book was called Grounded, by R.K. Lilley. That sounds like it has an aviation theme, so I had a look at it and it turned out to be the third of a series called, Up in the Air.
I won't be reading it though, it's erotica with the main character a flight attendant. :ooh::O

Not my PPRuNe feed, the one with the little birdie icon.

And two very good management books:
From Worst To First by Gordon Bethune. This guy is an absolute legend.
Nuts by Kevin Freiberg.