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Good book for those who have time to read

I was given a copy of Bud Johnson's "Flying, A Little Over Stall Speed" a year or so ago. It has some interesting stories about his 40-some years of flying in Northern Minnesota, North Dakota. Canada and Alaska.
Johnson lives in Fosston, Minnesota and my copy of the book is its second printing by Richards Publishing, Gonvick, Minnesota. ISBN 0-9759180-0-1.
There a quite a few Cubs mentioned in his book. I wouldn't be surprised if Johnson might be acquainted with this forum.
The book could have used a bit of editing to clean up the prose, but I enjoyed reading it.


A buddy grew up in Fosston and his dad was a good friend of Buds, he gave me a copy of the book when I told him I was building a CarbonCub. Good book and good stories about ski flying and shooting wolves back in the day.

Jake
 
Carry the Wind

Airplanes were still figments of imagination (though less far off than we are from the first ones!), so not on topic for many of us, but nevertheless a great, riveting read:

Starting with "Carry the Wind," the entire series by Terry C. Johnston about early 19th century trappers in the Rockies. Colorful and compelling period accurate fiction about frontier life and the trappers that worked in the mountains chasing beaver.
 

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I flew a Bell 206 one summer out of Eagle for the Park Service (please don't give me grief for this.. It was the contract I was assigned). Part of what we did was catalog everything that was in the Yukon-Charley National Preserve. There were remains of a B-24 that I believe is the one you're talking about. Spent most of the day there, and listened to the story as told by the Ranger. if I remember, I think this man was from the northeast somewhere, maybe New York? Another example of how strong the will to survive can be.

One of the intriguing mysteries associated with that B-24 incident is that the co-pilot saw other parachutes after he jumped, but none of the other crewmembers were ever found.

MTV
 
Yes, if I remember right it was at least one chute. That country can swallow things up quite effectively.
 
Wings Around the World by Baron von Koenig-Warthausen. The young Baron flies his Klemm Kl25 (with 20hp Mercedes flat twin) to Moscow and decides on a whim to continue around the world. True story.

Weather Flying by Robert N. Buck. As essential as Stick and Rudder

Long Way Home by Ed Dover. A 314 Clipper gets caught behind enemy lines when Japan attacks Pearl Harbor. The crew has to find gas along the way as they herd the worlds most fuel hungry beast west from New Zealand over the Indian Ocean. Then they huck this gigantic pure flying boat right over Africa. They save their avgas for takeoffs and burn local swill when they can throttle back. Still blowing stacks off the engines, changing cylinders, etc. Nice picture taken from the sextant dome shows broken stack blowing flame over the top surface of the wing while over Africa. They arrive in New York under radio silence after weeks of this, written by the radio officer.

Practical Gas Flow by Jack Dalton. Best description of theory and practical methods for evaluating ports and manifolds.

Eddie Rickenbackers' Memoirs. I loaned this out and don't know the title. What a life. Start to finish, wall to wall.
 
I just finished "The Dog who could fly" by Damien Lewis. the WWII story of a Czech pilot who was shot down, rescued a German Sheppard as a pup who ended up flying with him on his missions. Good read.

Also 81 days below zero is a good read as well.
 
Weather Flying by Robert N. Buck. As essential as Stick and Rudder
Rob Buck Jr. flew with me as my F/E and F/O on several occasions.

Long Way Home by Ed Dover. A 314 Clipper gets caught behind enemy lines when Japan attacks Pearl Harbor. The crew has to find gas along the way as they herd the worlds most fuel hungry beast west from New Zealand over the Indian Ocean. Then they huck this gigantic pure flying boat right over Africa. They save their avgas for takeoffs and burn local swill when they can throttle back. Still blowing stacks off the engines, changing cylinders, etc. Nice picture taken from the sextant dome shows broken stack blowing flame over the top surface of the wing while over Africa. They arrive in New York under radio silence after weeks of this, written by the radio officer.
This is another book of the very same flight written by another crew member, the captain William M. Masland. "Through The Back Doors of the World in a Ship That Had Wings"
 
Gordon, one reviewer called it a combat diary, so no. He also wrote 7 Came Through about surviving in a life raft with 6 others after a crash. His memoirs include some good stories about travelling the country as a car manufacturers' rep, learning how to deal with machinery. The only way he got into pilot training without a college degree was his mechanical experience.Later while traveling the world meeting world figures he would find he knew people everywhere from past lives.
 
Gordon, one reviewer called it a combat diary, so no. He also wrote 7 Came Through about surviving in a life raft with 6 others after a crash. His memoirs include some good stories about travelling the country as a car manufacturers' rep, learning how to deal with machinery. The only way he got into pilot training without a college degree was his mechanical experience.Later while traveling the world meeting world figures he would find he knew people everywhere from past lives.

"Rickenbacker: An Autobiography" or just "Rickenbacker". I seem to recall that my copy was "Rickenbacker" but that may have just been the cover and not the formal title.

Devoured that book when I was a youngster...the old man met Mr. Rickenbacker somewhere along the line and gave me the book to read.

Ranges from his early days of an apprentice mechanic, to race driver to WWI pilot to Eastern Airlines.

Some vignettes:
- After some early job, had some $$ in his pocket, bought his girl a diamond ring not knowing what that meant;
- His recollections of taking better care of his aircraft engine and machine guns during WWI so that they were more dependable;
- He credited his mental toughness for surviving both his offshore ditching (and the long period awaiting rescue) and his severe injuries after a landside EA crash;
- Stories of the early days of EA and competing with (among others) Braniff and offering to carry mail for "$0.000"
- Taking a customer demonstration / test ride in a DC-??? aircraft with his entire management team and suggesting a slow and gentle return to the field when the fuselage walls were rhythmically flexing in flight.

Amazon has copies in hardback.
 
Reread this excellent book detailing Fred Weick's life as an aeronautical engineer: https://www.amazon.com/GROUND-UP-Fred-Weick/dp/0874749506

Follows the history of aircraft development and gives some background on propellers, engine cowling, tricycle landing gear, various safety improvements, the Ercoupe, and many years at Piper designing some of their fleet.

Those were different times and thinking outside the box was encouraged.

Gary
 
Along those lines, More Than My Share by Kelly Johnson, director of the Lockheed Skunk Works. I haven't read it, but I did read one by his successor which takes you thru stealth and how devilishly hard it is to achieve stealth.
 
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Not cub or small airplane related, but quite a story.
 

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Nice to see this thread still going. Don't miss Richard Holm's Bound For The Backcountry. He now has two volumes out. The first focuses on central Idaho and has become the definitive reference book for Idaho backcountry aviation history. The second focuses on the Hell's Canyon country and history. They are both great books, but it is probably better to read the first volume first. It gives a great base and background.
 
Runway Dust
by Charles R Furden
About Utah central in the 1950's, j3's, spray planes, people. Interesting book.
 
I received a great gift the other day. One of my customers is the son of a farmer named Charlie and his wife Rose. I first meet Charlie back in 1974 when I was up here visting. He had a cow with a twisted stomach and needed help flipping the cow over with the old rope trick ( consult Rick Papp for info ) Charlie was a sly humerous old codger and I liked him right away. We would bump into each other a few times a year and iritate each other. We became good friends. Charlie and Rose grew up on a farm on Long Island NY and then moved North in the late 60s. I knew that Rose and Charlie had both raced motorbikes in enduros in the 60s. Charlie died about 15 years ago in his late 70s and Rose passed a few years ago in her 80s. Both loved life and were missed by many after they were gone. So...back to their son Bill. Bill comes in my shop the other day and says " I have some things of mom and dad's that you might want " he brings in a box of books that they both had read, it was a box of how to fly airplane books. Bill told me his mom and dad had taken flying lessons and that his mom had soloed. That they had gone a couple times to the Rhinebeck Aerodrome years back. Some of you know that I volunteered at the Aerodrome from 98 to 03. The only time that I meet Cole Palen was in 92 when I took my son and a few friends to watch the show. Cole died in 93 and I have regretting not hanging around the Aerodrome when Cole was still alive. I get digging in the box of books and find a cope of Gordon Bainbridge's book The Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome. Something that I had just never gotten around to aquiring. Felt like Christmas



And then I opened the cover



Priceless!

Glenn
 
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I received a great gift the other day. One of my customers is the son of a farmer named Charlie and his wife Rose. I first meet Charlie back in 1974 when I was up here visting. He had a cow with a twisted stomach and needed help flipping the cow over with the old rope trick ( consult Rick Papp for info ) Charlie was a sly humerous old codger and I liked him right away. We would bump into each other a few times a year and iritate each other. We became good friends. Charlie and Rose grew up on a farm on Long Island NY and then moved North in the late 60s. I knew that Rose and Charlie had both raced motorbikes in enduros in the 60s. Charley died about 15 years ago in his late 70s and Rose passed a few years ago in her 80s. Both loved life and were missed by many after they were gone. So...back to their son Bill. Bill comes in my shop the other day and says " I have some things of mom and dad's that you might want " he brings in a box of books that they both had read, it was a box of how to fly airplane books. Bill told me his mom and dad had taken flying lessons and that his mom had soled. That they had gone a couple times to the Rhinebeck Aerodrome years back. Some of you know that I volunteered at the Aerodrome from 98 to 03. The only time that I meet Cole Palen was in 92 when I took my son and a few friends to watch the show. Cole died in 93 and I have regretting not hanging around the Aerodrome when Cole was still alive. I get digging in the box of books and find a cope of Gordon Bainbridge's book The Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome. Something that I had just never gotten around to aquiring. Felt like Christmas



And then I opened the cover



Priceless!

Glenn
 
I just started reading Rinker Buck's new book "Life on the Mississippi". Most of us have read Flight of Passage, if you have not read Oregon Trail also by Rinker it is a good one. Life on the Mississippi starts out with some pretty interesting history lessons (as did Oregon trail) about how we got out of the North East.

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P.S. the "for those who have time to read" part of this means it will take me about three months to read this book. It has been crazy here!
 

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There is this version too. :p

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Usually takes me forever to read a book but quite the opposite with Fighter Pilot by Robin Olds. Couldn't put it down. All he wanted to do was fly and sabotaged his own career so he could. True maverick and a great read from WWII ace in P38s and P51 to F4s in Vietnam.
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Usually takes me forever to read a book but quite the opposite with Fighter Pilot by Robin Olds. Couldn't put it down. All he wanted to do was fly and sabotaged his own career so he could. True maverick and a great read from WWII ace in P38s and P51 to F4s in Vietnam.
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Imagine being on the cutting edge of aviation fighter technology, going from mustangs and p-38’s to f-4’s all in combat. It was a great book. I’ve been listening to audible a lot when driving. Seems like that’s my only free time. A lot of good flying books on there


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Haven't seen this one mentioned and don't recall where I heard of it. Easy read.

"My part of the sky" Roland Beamont

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There’s a Typhoon project in the UK, but I think the answer must be «*no*» because there hasn’t been an airworthy Typhoon since about 1947


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I recently began reading “A Thousand Trails Home” by Seth Kantner. It’s a biographical account of life near Ambler, AK and illustrates the important role that caribou play in the lives of subsistence hunters in that part of Alaska. He’s a great writer and the book is full of beautiful photos. He’s written several other books, include “Shopping for Porcupines” and “Ordinary Wolves,” and I can recommend them, too.

“A Thousand Trails Home” led me to the online biography of Oliver Cameron, found at olivercameron.org. It’s a really interesting account of a family of gussuks moving to the Kobuk region. If you read either book you’ll come away with an appreciation for how tough and resourceful you need to be if you’re going to live in the bush. Definitely much, much harder than you might think.
 
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