The Book: " Stick and Rudder" Have you read it?

MikeS said:
Back in the day I think I've read just about everything Gann and Bach have written. Guy Murchie's book Song of the Sky, is another old classic that gets overlooked sometimes. There is a more recent arrival however that should be on everyones' list - Robert Buck's - North Star Over my Shoulder. Anyone who has been flying for any length of time has read Buck's classic Weather Flying. Since it was first published in 1970 it's become required reading for anyone interested in understanding the environment within which we fly. His most recent (and final) book, North Star Over my Shoulder . . . is just an incredible read. He passed away not long ago at 93 and I'm so glad he gifted the world with this account of his amazing life which started off with a bang. 17 years old, 1930, breaking the transcontinental speed record from New Jersey to Los Angeles in a Pitcairn Mailwing. Think of it . . . 1930 . . . very few airports, no navigation aids, nothing but needle, ball and airspeed to stay right side up in weather or at night with no horizon. All he and others had back then was instinct and luck. To top things off, on his way back to New Jersey he beat the existing record flying west to east. His writing style is a joy to read, as anyone who has read his other books can attest to. This last book of his is not to be missed.

Another extremely well written memoir by another amazing pilot is Beryl Markham's West With the Night. She was the first person to fly solo from east to west across the Atlantic, 1936.

What a life these folks had.
Click to expand...
I have North Star Over my Shoulder and agree that it's a great read. I think my favorite part was when he was doing weather research flights for the military during WW II and flew from Alaska to Midway in a B-17. He had taught himself celestial navigation and used that to find that little spec out in the Pacific. :eek2:
 
Palmpilot said:
I have North Star Over my Shoulder and agree that it's a great read. I think my favorite part was when he was doing weather research flights for the military during WW II and flew from Alaska to Midway in a B-17. He had taught himself celestial navigation and used that to find that little spec out in the Pacific. :eek2:
Click to expand...

My copy of Fate Is the Hunter arrived and I'm about halfway through it. I'm enjoying it so far. Gann has a great way of turning a phrase, and he describes scenes in such a way that I can close my eyes and see them. Excellent book.
 
> . . . "flew from Alaska to Midway in a B-17. He had taught himself celestial navigation and used that to find that little spec out in the Pacific."

That was the kind of thing he did simply as a matter of course :p.

His exploits with the B-17 were breathtaking - finding his way to small strips through blizzards in Alaska, zero visibility. His missions during this period were to find the worst weather on the planet and penetrate it, survive in it, and to teach others what he and his crew learned. He clearly enjoyed matching his skills against what most would consider really poor odds and come out the other side, iced up and weary but finding his way as if he had GPS, radar, modern communications and CAT III equipment. Of course he had none of those things . . . none of the early pilots, or even the later pilots, did. After the war he and his airline cohorts flew their schedules dodging cells, going around and under (but seldom over). The fanciest improvement they had eventually was an Adcock range. When things went wrong (and in those days they constantly did) he had the knack of thinking quickly and making the best of often some poor choices. Like the fellow did in the article below - Jack Knight.

http://www.flyingmag.com/technique/proficiency/importance-being-lost

Robert Buck enjoyed challenging himself with sailplanes until the very last and if I'm not mistaken, never messed up an airplane.
 
> "I think the difference between people who had the makings of pilots and those who didn't must have been more marked then than it is today."

Yes. That understated sentence speaks volumes. Garrison is a treasure.
 
I know this is not on this thread but my buddy that owns the A36 told me to read : Those incomparable Bonanzas by Larry Ball so I'm going to go and check it out. My goal is to check out the differences between Bonanzas from the 1970's up
 
FloridaPilot said:
I know this is not on this thread but my buddy that owns the A36 told me to read : Those incomparable Bonanzas by Larry Ball so I'm going to go and check it out. My goal is to check out the differences between Bonanzas from the 1970's up
Click to expand...
Those Incomparable Bonanzas was published in 1971, so it has nothing beyond the 1972 model year. For information on models built in the twenty years after that, get Larry Ball's follow-up book, They Called Me Mr. Bonanza (1990).

More importantly, I would recommend anyone contemplating owning or flying any Bonanza to read Flying The Beech Bonanza by John C. Eckalbar. It's a comprehensive look at the performance and handling characteristics of the entire Bonanza line, including much valuable information not found in the factory manuals.
 
Pilawt said:
Those Incomparable Bonanzas was published in 1971, so it has nothing beyond the 1972 model year. For information on models built in the twenty years after that, get Larry Ball's follow-up book, They Called Me Mr. Bonanza (1990).

More importantly, I would recommend anyone contemplating owning or flying any Bonanza to read Flying The Beech Bonanza by John C. Eckalbar. It's a comprehensive look at the performance and handling characteristics of the entire Bonanza line, including much valuable information not found in the factory manuals.
Click to expand...

I will look into those as well...Thank you, that was good stuff!!
 
FloridaPilot said:
I know this is not on this thread but my buddy that owns the A36 told me to read : Those incomparable Bonanzas by Larry Ball so I'm going to go and check it out. My goal is to check out the differences between Bonanzas from the 1970's up
Click to expand...

I have to admit I picked up this book from Ebay and I devoured it in one day. It's a great book about Bonanza's I can now look at used ones with a better eye than I did before. I'm going to order: They call me Mr Bonanza next.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top