Good flying books?

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RhinoDrvr

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RhinoDrvr
What good flying books can everyone here recommend? For reference, probably my favorite aviation related piece of literature is The Intruders by Stephen Coonts. Great book that captures the essence of Naval Aviation.

Any others out there? I have found it tough to find another writer who really captures the feeling of flight like Coonts did in his early novels.
 
http://www.pilotsofamerica.com/forum/showthread.php?t=61478&highlight=books

http://www.pilotsofamerica.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1545&highlight=aviation+novels

Along with these, my recommendations:

Operation Overflight - Francis Powers
Yeager - his autobiography
Fighter Pilot - memoirs of Robin Olds
Masters of the Air - Donald Miller
Flight of Passage - Rinker Buck
The Spirit of St. Louis - Charles Lindbergh(reading this now)

Being a military guy I figured you'd like the first four. Yeah mostly Air Force but still good reads.
 
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One of my favorites from WWII
1) Battle of Midway

I don't remember the names of the books, but also from WWII:
2) A book about the Thunderbolts over Europe. Fascinating stories
3) A book about flying Mosquitoes... also fascinating

A book from a test pilot, and I could be wrong here, but I think it was by Scott Crossfield.
4) Always Another Dawn

And I remember reading a book about the development of passenger air travel. It included the accidents, and the humor. One story related how a pilot would empty a bucket of nuts and bolts down the passenger aisle, giving them the impression the plane was coming apart. I have no idea what the book was called, but it was a great read also.
 
garyb said:
It was a good read (mostly), but now that I know what he's like, it no longer has any appeal.
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I can kinda see where you're coming from. While reading it he kinda rubbed me the wrong way.
 
I generally read military non fiction. Some of the better ones:

Flying Low- BK Bryans
Red Ruppert Two- Jack Broughton
Viper Pilot- Dan Hampton
Centaur Flights- Richard Spalding
Apache Sunrise- Jerome Boyle
Chickenhawk- Robert Mason
American Patriot- Bud Day
DUSTOFF- Mike Novosel
 
I enjoyed reading viper pilot. Wouldn't reccomend reading a few chapters then hop in a 172, leaves you a little disappointed.
 
Criitter7 said:
I enjoyed reading viper pilot. Wouldn't reccomend reading a few chapters then hop in a 172, leaves you a little disappointed.
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I liked it but there was definitely a bit of arrogance on the part of the author. Seemed to not like back seaters (WSO), staff aviators, or pretty much anyone who hasn't hung it out on the edge flying a single seat jet in combat. Part of me agrees with him but I also realize that without the support system of non flying personel, no one would get off the ground. I'm also with him on his views of unmanned aircraft being overrated.
 
Moondog's Academy of the Air and Other Aviation Disasters
By Peter Fusco. Great stories that will have you laughing out loud.
 
Find a copy of Song of The Sky by Guy Murchie, published around 1954. Murchie, himself a WW2-era navigator, weaves aviation science, folklore, history, and philosophy into an unforgettable tapestry, with a poet's touch. Amazing book, highly recommended.
 
Thud and Phantom pilot Ed Rasimus's autobiographies about his tours in Vietnam, When Thunder Rolled and Palace Cobra are good books. He also co-wrote Robin Old's autobiography.

Rasimus flew over 250 missions during the Vietnam war.
 
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Gucci Pilot said:
I can kinda see where you're coming from. While reading it he kinda rubbed me the wrong way.
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One of the worst (I don't think I ever finished it) was God is My Co-Pilot. Unlike most of the WWII auto-biographies, Scott just came across as a guy who was in it entirely for his own self-image.
 
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If you like Naval Aviation, see if you can find a copy of The Flying Guns: Cockpit Record of a Naval Pilot from Pearl Harbor Through Midway, by Dickinson. It is out of print, but you can usually find a copy here and there on the web.

He tells a very good first-hand account of the air war in the pacific from being caught in the air by the Japanese during the Pearl Harbor attack to the battle of Midway.
 
I really liked "Chasing the Glory" by Michael Parfit and
"No Parachute" by Arthur Gould - both available on Amazon

The first is a travelogue of a flight across the US. The author flew 25,000 miles zig-zagging over America as he retraced Lindbergh's lap around the US to promote aviation. It is a wonderful peek at this fine land from above.

The second is an account of what it was like to fly in WWI. Fighter pilots were not allowed to use parachutes because senior brass thought having the ability to bail out would reduce the willingness to fight aggressively. It is a sobering tale of a period in military aviation when pilots were inexperienced and when more were killed by the planes than by combat.
 
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Stewartb said:
Wager With the Wind. The best.
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Excellent book. Also, check out "My year as an Alaskan Bush Pilot".

If you like WWII pilot non-fiction, check out:

1) Aphrodite: desparate Mission
2) The Wild Blue: The Men and Boys Who Flew the B-24s Over Germany
 
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Another vote for "A Higher Call". A lot of the book is about the war from the Luftwaffe perspective. Very interesting.

Having said that, "Flight of Passage" is my favorite aviation book and one of my favorites of any genre. It's actually much more than a flying book. Many non-flying friends have enjoyed it.

Of course, "Fate is the Hunter" is the classic aviation read.
 
I love both history and aviation, so one I would recommend, in addition to anything from Ernest K Gann, would be , West with the Night It's a great autobiographical story told by a woman who was raised in colonial Africa and who pursued bush flying of all things in the 1920's and 30's. Definitely a woman ahead of her time and an impressively written book. I have listened to the green jacketed audio book at least three or four times and highly recommend it.
 
Jacky Cochran flew quite well, including the F104. As for a book try " spitfire, a test pilots story" by jeffery quill. Fantastic pilot.
 
I just finished "The Wrong Stuff", by Truman Smith. It is a memoir by a WWII B-17 pilot, who flew 35 combat missions with the 385th bomb group.

This is a very interesting book, with a lot of humor and some really neat stories.

I highly recommend it!
 
Winging it! A compilation of stories about Jack Jefford flying in Alaska when bush pilots were men and pushed every limit possible.
 
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There are several books in my library that are military flying that private pilots can relate to. "Over the Tree Tops," and "My Years in Vietnam," both about FAC pilots, are good reads. "Bury Us Upside Down," is about the Misty Pilots flying FAC missions in F-101's in Vietnam. "Naked in Da Nang," is a book about a FAC pilot who flew O-2's (Military version of the Cessna 337) in Vietnam.
FAC is Forward Air Controller.

"Flying Through Midnight," is a good read about flying C-121's over the Ho Chi Minh Trail.

There's also "Viper 7," and "Eye of the Viper," which are about F-16 pilots.

A book that I'm looking for is "Sled Driver," about flying the SR-71.
 
"I Could Never be so Lucky Again" - Jimmy Doolittle

John Glenn's autobiography

The Right Stuff

Apollo 13

Air Vagabonds (about ferry pilots)
 
The Wright Brothers by David McCullough.

This story is surprisingly compelling even though you know the ending. Well, no you don't know the ending because it follows the brothers to the end of their lives. You are a pilot? Read the book.
 
Thud Ridge

The Lonely Sky, Bill Bridgeman - usually considered the best narrative on rocket plane flying.
 
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