The book has been updated five times and includes the latest advances in flight weather services, including radar. This is a good read for both aspiring and professional flyers, with simple explanations on how to judge and negotiate weather conditions. Weather Flying won the Safety Foundation’s Publication Award and is recommended by the FAA. Subtitled ‘the amazing story of the people who made possible Richard Noble’s extreme projects…’ Take Risk is actually a sparse (in terms of personal life story) autobiography that focusses on projects and pays tribute to, in particular, the engineers who turned the products of Noble’s restless drive and energy into not just working hardware, but brilliant technology.

caption id="attachment_7490" align="alignnone" width="163" caption="Evocative passages in First Light could have been written yesterday."] [/caption] Only published in 2002 this gripping account from an RAF Spitfire pilot of fighting in the Battle of Britain reads as fresh as if was written yesterday. Wellum, who joined 92 Squadron in 1940, was one of the youngest pilots in the Battle and eloquently describes how, to him, one year he was at school, the next he was engaged in a desperate fight with the Luftwaffe above Kent. West with the Night – Beryl Markham Night Flight is a novel based on the real-life experiences of author Antoine de Saint-Exupery. In the 1930s, the French pilot flew perilous mail routes across Africa and the South Atlantic. The book tells the story of aeroplane pilot Fabien, who makes mail flights between Chile, Patagonia and Paraguay to Argentina. Set in the early days of aviation when aircrafts didn’t come with jet engines, GPS or radar, the journeys were fraught with danger. In the novel, Fabien attempts a particularly terrifying trip during a heavy night-time thunderstorm in Argentina. Not every project came off – far from it, as the book reveals. We all know of the successes – Thrust 2, Thrust SSC and the Bloodhound, now out of Richard’s hands but still showing potential to hit 1,000mph – but along the way were failures like the ARV Super 2 light aircraft, the Atlantic Sprinter – a long range powerboat and the Farnborough F1 turboprop. The latter was aimed at delivering an ‘air taxi service’ (Noble likens it to Uber) that, operating from small airfields, would beat the airlines in time taken to deliver passengers to their destinations. Other great aviation books include The First of the Few: Fighter Pilots of the First World War by Denis Winter and naval aviation classic, Feet Wet: Reflections of a Carrier Pilot by Paul Gillcrist. If you’re looking for additional books for professional flyers, try 50 Real-World Pilot Tips by Mark Robidoux, which comes with illustrations, diagrams and photographs. What’s your favourite aviation story? What We Like: This manual offers additional insight into the practice of flying that goes beyond the basic maneuvers. Durden fills in the gaps, so this is the book one read after you have your pilot certificate or anytime you have aviation questions.

The British Bomber Since 1914

In the 1990s Russia went through great turmoil, and when visiting Moscow Richard and his party – which included, I note, photographer and ‘Old Timers’ editor Peter R March – were caught up in the bloody 1993 coupe that for a time displaced Boris Yeltsin. In time, new management took over at Sukhoi and prices were raised to an unsustainable level, and when the factory Richard had commissioned to build a Japanese Zero (really!) was raided by armed men, it became apparent quite how badly one’s fingers could be burned in Russia.

Joys, sorrows and everything that we hope for in life can get so confusing, mixed up or lost. We have to hold on and keep working and searching for our path and purpose in life. Keep looking for peace and inspiration. I found inspiration here. Whatever type of aviation book you have been looking to read, we have collected ideas from FLYING’s readers on what they feel are the best ones. We’ve compiled a list of the top-ten best aviation book options that are both excellent reads as well as informative in all the right ways. West with the Night is the riveting autobiography of aviator adventurer Beryl Markham. The beautifully-written memoir is largely set in 1920s and ’30s Kenya, where British-born Markham grew up. She discovered her love of flying while scouting elephants from a tiny jet and became one of the country’s first bush pilots. Markham was also the first woman to receive a commercial Kenyan pilot’s licence, as well as make a solo trans-Atlantic crossing in 1936. Read the gripping tale of this 3,600-mile journey, which she navigated against strong headwinds in an aeroplane that flew only 163 miles per hour. West with the Night is a true non-fiction aviation classic. Tom Crouch, a curator emeritus of the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum, helps you follow some of the greatest pilots and other people in aviation history. Aviation wouldn’t be where it is without their contributions. He tells the story of both amateurs and experts beautifully and leaves you with a great understanding of just how far we’ve truly come. Among the stories are those of Florence Klingensmith, Ruth Elder, Amelia Earhart, Ruth Nichols, and Louise Thaden, who excelled at racing airplanes–and then translated this skill to other aviation pursuits.On the other hand, this was made into a very watchable Academy Award-winning short film that provides more visual interest and adds even more charming notes. You haven’t seen animated books until you saw the little egg-book above play a piano at 6:05. The above ‘surgery’ scene, which follows soon after, is a charming spoof of historical medical theater. It's only 17 minutes long and free on youtube when I wrote this review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ad3CM... Aimless Morris Lessmore wanders through a grey world when he sees a beautiful young woman flying through the air being pulled by a bunch of flying books. Her favorite flies down and leads Morris to an ancient and magical library where he becomes the caretaker and friend to all its hundreds of inhabitants. He spends his days lost in their stories and sharing them with others. Every night he writes in his own book, filling it with his hopes and dreams and everything he wishes for. caption id="attachment_7492" align="alignnone" width="165" caption="Biggles Pioneer Air Fighter draws heavily on the authors WW1 experience."] [/caption] Biggles might be regarded in some quarters now as hopelessly outdated - a children’s square-jawed flying ace from a different age. However, Biggles Pioneer Air Fighter contains a collection of vignettes that draw heavily on Johns’ own first-hand flying experiences as a pilot flying DH4s with 55 Sqn in WW1, including being shot down and taken prisoner. One wonders of the tales in this book, (including a carrier messenger pigeon going through the propeller) how many of these had happened to the author himself. Propellerhead – Anthony Woodward This is a lovely book, just as the animated film made from it is lovely. It is the kind of premise I resist, maybe because it sounds too generalized or precious about The Things That Matter, but its execution is really beautiful, and I love it. Books are important. They contain the magic of other worlds and lives and the magic of our experiences living in other worlds and other lives. Learn everything about flight instruments, weather theory, aerodynamics, aircraft systems, airports, and navigation—you name it, this book has it.

What We Like: David McCullough makes it easy to engage with the inspirational history behind the origin of the first flight. Many have written about the Wright Brothers, but McCullough explores more deeply than those before him. A beautiful picture book, but one written for adults more than children. I didn’t have a child to test it on, so I’m just going from memories of my child tendencies, and past experiences of trying to interest small ones in picture books. Looking to go a little deeper into the world of aviation? The Thinking Pilot’s Flight Manual is one of the best aviation books you can read after you’ve finished your flight training. Keeping your passengers happy is easy when you have this tool in your hands. caption id="attachment_7494" align="alignnone" width="222" caption="Fiction it may be, but Bomber conveys the courage and tragedy of WW2 night air raids in an unforgettable way."] [/caption] A masterpiece of storytelling and research, Len Deighton’s novel Bomber focuses on a single night in RAF Bomber Command’s aerial campaign against Germany in WW2. As well as the Lancaster crews, it also includes the point of view from ground crews, civilians and the Luftwaffe nightfighters. A brutal and harrowing account of total aerial warfare. F-4 Phantom - A Pilot’s Story - Robert PrestI definitely enjoyed the drawings, which remained me of the style of Chris Van Allsburg, one of my favorite picture book artists. The clue is in the title: Ron Lloyd came to fly the Spitfire only after a long operational career that started on the Gloucester Javelin, involved a fascinating stint flying the Convair F-102 Delta Dagger on a USAF exchange programme and by 1969 saw him instructing on the Folland Gnat. The producers of the Battle of Britain movie had acquired their ‘enemy’ aircraft from the Spanish, but it was the RAF that provided the bulk of the home contingent, in the form of gate guardian Spitfires restored to flying – or at least taxying – condition and the pilots to fly them. Among this happy number was Ron, who not only logged lots of hours flying for the director but took a large number of behind the scenes ‘stills’ that add greatly to the appeal and historical interest of Fast Jets to Spitfires. caption id="attachment_7491" align="alignnone" width="166" caption="West with the Night reminds us that flying is not just a man's world."] [/caption] ‘Poetry in flight’ best describes this 1942 memoir from aviatrix Beryl Markham of bush flying in Africa and long-distance flight, which includes her solo flight across the Atlantic. Lyrical and expressive her descriptions of the adventure of flying continue to inspire others, including Boeing test pilot Captain Suzanna Darcy-Hennemann, who said Markham's book was 'closest to her heart' in a RAeS lecture. Biggles Pioneer Air Fighter W.E. Johns

A pilot’s job can often take a toll on them both physically and mentally if you’re not prepared. This book offers solid advice for any commercial pilot. Morris liked to share the books with others. Sometimes it was a favorite that everyone loved, and other times he found a lonely little volume whose tale was seldom told. 'Everyone's story matters,' said Morris. All the books agreed." He also attempts something rather unusual in making this flying book accessible to the non-pilot. There are long sections that explain clearly the basics of flying and aviation systems, and a respectable glossary is included alongside the index. This rather different approach may well appeal to casual readers – I am not quite sure how many of them would be in the aviation autobiography market – but it does mean there are a few chunks of the book that flyers will inevitably skip. That said, there is so much of interest here that that Fast Jets to Spitfires really would be a welcome Christmas present for pilots and enthusiasts alike. The story is that or Mr. Morris who loved books and stories. One day, his life gets upended but that is a blessing in disguise. He ends up in a library, helping the books and lending them to others, thus bringing joy to other people as well. caption id="attachment_7495" align="alignnone" width="333" caption="A fascinating account of a fighter pilot's job during the Cold War."] [/caption] What First Light does for Spitfires and the Battle of Britain, Robert Prest does for the F-4 Phantom in RAF service in the Cold War. Bouncing Buccaneers at low level, the awesome power of a jet fighter at your fingertips, this book gives a day-to-day account of a fighter pilot on QRA defending the UK and NATO in the military stand-off in Europe. Superbly written. Night Flight – Antoine de Saint-ExuperyCharles Lindbergh is famous for his solo nonstop trans-Atlantic journey from New York to Paris in 1927. This autobiographical account of the landmark flight details the thrilling danger of Lindbergh’s journey in his single-seat, custom-built aircraft: the Spirit of St. Louis. The Pulitzer Prize-winning adventure tale gives readers a glimpse into the history of aviation before the days or commercial flights and air charter services. I first fell in love with the Fantastic Flying Books and Morris Lessmore's story from the beautiful Academy Award-winning short film based on Joyce's book. I was so excited when my library finally got a copy of the book itself so that I could enjoy the original. Not all nonfiction aviation books need to be boring—even when they cover technical information you can apply to your own flying. We’ve found a few here that make for easy and/or fun reading while you learn.