Product Description
Publisher: New York, Hurst and CoSubjects: Children's stories, AmericanNotes: This is an OCR reprint. There may be typos or missing text. There are no illustrations or indexes.When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. You can also preview the book there. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Black Swallow of Death
Fascinating story of Eugene Bullard - world's first black combat aviator. Book is well written and gives many insights into this interesting character that fought both internal and external conflicts his entire life. A really enjoyable read. ... Read more

Product Description
When the USS Abraham Lincoln left San Diego in April 1995 for a six-month deployment in the Persian Gulf, it was the first Pacific Fleet ship to go to sea with female combat pilots. Before they had even gotten underway, one of the eighteen women aviators had been killed. By the time the ship returned to California, another had turned in her wings, and a third had been sent home for poor performance. But most thrived in their demanding new environment despite the pressures. This is the story of one of those pilots, Loree Hirschman, a twenty-seven-year-old navy lieutenant and the only female pilot in the carrier's S-3B Viking antisubmarine warfare squadron. She describes the historic cruise with rare candor and balance.

In the center of one of the most pressing social issues facing the military today, Hirschman offers both a personally revealing and professionally insightful account of breaking into the world of the male combat pilot. She writes frankly about the strained interaction between men and woman on the Lincoln as they struggled to define their new roles and about the women's attempts to overcome mistrust and resentment by proving their skill, courage, and determination. She describes the typically competitive route to the deployment and reflects on the irony of flying her jet to defend Arab countries that won't allow women to drive cars, bare their arms, or even go out alone in public.

Informative as well as entertaining, her chronicle of life at sea is a testament to the accomplishments of these pioneering women. No matter which side of the debate a reader takes, Hirschman adds a significant new dimension to the controversy over female integration of navy combat aviation squadrons. As co-ed deployments become routine and women like Hirschman can be accepted as just another pilot, her journal will serve as a reminder of the navy's struggle to adjust to a new era. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Wonderful Book
She's Just Another Navy Pilot: An Aviator's Sea Journal is absolutely one of the most authentic and personal accounts of what its really like to wear Navy wings of gold.Reading this book, you'll be there when she's about to land on a pitching deck...It's an absolute page turner.You'll love it.

She's the real deal!
While books like Jarhead become best-sellers, this
well-written account of a female navy pilot has remained
hidden from the mass market. And that's our loss.

Loree Draude Hirschman, daughter of a Marine general,
joined the aircraft carrier Lincoln as an S-3 pilot, and thereby made history. That year the Lincoln was the first West Coast based ship to depart with an integrated male-female crew. Hirschman flew jets off the deck of the carrier and brought them back -- a test of skill and professionalism. And she describes, in detail, life aboard a carrier, where the frustrations come more from living under a microscope than from battling with the enemy.

She probably pays more attention to details a woman would notice -- and enjoy reading about. For example, pilots work crazy hours, yet the mess officer was adamant that no cereal would be distributed after 10:30 AM!Four women in a cramped stateroom have to work to get along, especially when one brings her "boyfriend" home, in defiance of the rules.

Hirschman was ideally suited for her role. She knew how to be one of the boys and she genuinely enjoyed navy life. She has moments of doubt and despair, but overall she cares about her crew and manages to make a tough situation seem easy. I suspect she left only when her husband became medically disqualified; otherwise she'd probably be on her way too becoming an Admiral.

Strongly recommended!
Before reading "She's Just Another Navy Pilot", I knew about the author from Jean Zimmerman's "Tailspin: Women at War in the Wake of Tailhook".I had seen her letters of rebuttal to reactionary editorial in the San Diego Union Tribune, and to unfavorably slanted articles in Newsweek. I knew her name as a successful Naval aviator and very credible advocate of women in her profession.When I received her book from Amazon, I opened it immediately, and did not put it down until I had finished it.What a fascinating autobiography of a most extraordinary person!Loree Draude Hirschman was one of the US Navy's first female fighter-pilots to transfer to fleet combat operations.She describes the early opposition to women in the jet-jock community and the sometimes open hostility she encountered.She details her first deployment, in which female aviators were isolated and ostracized. By the end of that cruise, one had been killed, another grounded for poor performance, and another had turned in her wings.But with perseverence and dignity, the majority of the sixteen women in the pioneer group had succeeded.By her second deployment, female aviators had already begun to find acceptance -- especially after one new F/A-18 pilot won the "Top Nugget Award" for best score in qualifications.(Loree herself earned placement in the Top Ten.)I hope this book will be read by opponants of female aviators.The author exposes the distortion of fact they have presented to the public.Yet she is refreshingly frank about problems which still exist in the gender-integrated Navy.I hope her book will be read by aspiring pilots in search of a role model. Her descriptions of flying and the flight deck are vivid, and make the reader feel right there with her.And her pride in her Naval service is inspiring, even though she relates her accomplishments with modesty.

Honesty about the issues facing women in service
This was a great book! Open, honest and to the point.There is no sugarcoating here, just straight simple truthful writing.I recomend it toanybody who wants a dose of reality about trans-gender issues in a hostileenvironment.

Awesome book for anyone!
I was recommended this book when I shared with a friend my interest in the Air Force and Army. I never read much, but this got my attention. Her discription of life at sea, and all the little things she had to deal with,that civilains never think about on land. The author made it easy tounderstand her emotions, and her life style. It was an excellent resourceto how woman were integrated into the Navy, and how difficult it was. Itwas facts, and also her opinions as she lived through it. I loved it! ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Mississippi Business Journal, published by Venture Publications on September 23, 2002. The length of the article is 1087 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Ag aviation still changing one year after Sept. 11 attacks. (Focus Agribusiness).(agricultural aviators affected by terrorism)
Author: Elizabeth Kirkland
Publication: Mississippi Business Journal (Magazine/Journal)
Date: September 23, 2002
Publisher: Venture Publications
Volume: 24Issue: 38Page: 22(1)

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Product Description
Speeding above fields and woodland the red messenger of pending disaster raced through the air. Five minutes after taking flight Jimsy espied a high red tower. Eight and one half minutes after the Dragon had shot aloft it fluttered to earth on the village street of Topman's Corners, amid an amazed group of citizens who had seen it approaching. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Thrills! Chills! Spills!
And hooray for Project Gutenberg! Thanks to their free downloads I was able to use my Android phone to read this first book in the AVIATOR GIRLS series, which was published way back in the early 1900s. My sister stumbled across the title when she was helping me find the novel CECELIA by Fanny Burney, a book that gave Jane Austen's PRIDE AND PREJUDICE its name. The AVIATOR GIRLS stars two cheerful, capable, intrepid brother/sister pairs who make and fly their own airplanes, and because it features independent girls who solve mysteries it reads like it could have been an inspiration for NANCY DREW or TRIXIE BELDEN.Peggy and Roy live with their aunt and are fixing up the Golden Butterfly, a plane they hope will win them the $5,000 they need to pay off their aunt's mortgage so they won't lose their home. They are helped by their wealthier friends, siblings Jess and Jimsy, who also supply one of the books mysteries--someone stole their mother's jewels while Jess and Roy were knocked out after a suspicious car accident! Other characters include a lonely hermit with a sad secret, a working girl with a good heart, a rich entrepreneur with a long lost brother, and of course a jealous villain with the worst of motives. ... Read more

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Kaplan describes aircraft carriers, from the first ramshackle seaplane carriers to nuclear-powered vessels, and the planes that have flown from them - Swordfish biplanes, Hellcats, Hornets, Hawkeyes and Sea Harriers. ... Read more

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The US naval aviator of World War II played a pivotal part in the winning of the war. From the warm waters of the Pacific to the icy conditions of the Bering Sea(including the battle of Midway), the Naval aviator was on hand to fight the enemy in any and all conditions. Between 1940 and 1942 the training of the naval aviator lasted eleven months, divided into five separate and distinct phases. From phase one, known as the Elimination or "E" base for short, through to final assignment to a carrier based squadron, the training was demanding and unrelenting.This title examines the life and experiences of the US Naval Aviator in all three types of carrier squadron - fighters (VF), dive-bombers (VB) and the torpedo squadrons (VT). From recruitment to battle, the detail of what it was like to fly and fight for the US Navy is brought vividly to life. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Naval Aviation Rules!
"U.S.Naval Aviator: 1941-45" (Osprey's Warrior Series) is a well-written, highly informative
and interesting book. The author has done a fine job of following the career of typical
United States Naval Aviators from the earliest days of their careers through deployment on board
fast attack carriers during the dark days of World War II.
The aviators, their planes, their tactics are all clearly set forth here.
The text reads well. It is accompanied by well-chosen photos with informative captions.
Excellent buy. Put it on your shelf. ... Read more

Product Description
In 1927, Charles Lindbergh made his historic solo flight across the Atlantic;Amelia Earhart became the first woman to do so in 1932. And so was born the golden age offlying. Aviators became the era's new heroes and the airplane its icon. In early 1930s Chicago, aGerman-born graduate student became fascinated by the airplane and its usefulness as a greatgeographic and sociological tool. Wolfgang Langewiesche sold his car and used his meagersalary to pay for flying lessons at 25 cents a minute.

With the same passion America had taken to the road a decade earlier, Langewiesche took to theair. He eagerly inhaled the landscape and breathed observations about the country, writing aseries of books that describe the heady excitement and freedom of flight and the stunning viewsof his adopted country from an entirely new vantage point—the sky. This new edited volumerevives the writings from two of his now out-of-print books. America from the Air drawsfrom Langewiesche's classic account of his early experiences as a pilot, I'll Take the HighRoad (first published in 1939 and praised by the New York Times as "a stirring andrevealing story, told with sensitiveness and lucidity and with the warmth of a modest personalcharm"), and selections from his 1951 memoir, A Flier's World, to create a distinctivebook that provides a pioneering look at the American landscape as seen from the cockpit of alight plane. Langewiesche's photographs from his cross-country flights circa 1939 evoke the era.

Wolfgang Langewiesche is revered among pilots for his 1944 flying primer, Stick andRudder, currently in its seventieth printing. Considered the bible of aviation, it tells us the"how" of flying; America from the Air tells us the "why." Here his descriptions of thecountry offer unique perspectives on New England, the Midwest, and the Atlantic Coast fromVirginia to Key West, at a time before the country was paved over by multilane expressways,suburban tract housing, and strip malls. His bird's-eye view of America takes in small farms,deserted seashores, busy railway lines, and cities in which skyscrapers were still engineeringmarvels. With the keen eye of a surveyor and an uncommon talent for conveying the physicalsensation of flying, he describes landscape in all its beauty and detail as it rolls out beneath him,unveiling its mysteries. Langewiesche is revealed here as an infectiously enthusiastic aviator andan unrivaled observer of the American landscape. In a new foreword, Langewiesche's son, writerWilliam Langewiesche, describes his father's love of the view from above. Hokanson and Kratz'sintroduction and biography update the reader, incorporating stories gleaned from recentinterviews with the author. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

For anyone truly curious about what it feels like to fly
Collaboratively edited and with introductions by Drake Hokanson and Carol Kratz, America From The Air: An Aviator's Story is the memoir of Wolfgang Langewiesche, a German-born test pilot, writer, and editor famous for his series of classic books that describe his adopted home of America from the sky. America From The Air collects selections from his classic accounts, "I'll Take The High Road" and "A Flier's World", first published in 1939 and 1951 respectively. Both give a talented perception of the physical sensation of flying, seeing small farms, deserted seashores, busy railway lines, and the general awe and wonder of lookind down from on high. An engrossing read for anyone truly curious about what it feels like to fly, encompassing memories of America through time and the author's own true passion for aviation. ... Read more

Product Description
Trained as a pilot during World War I, Russel Merrill was determined to spend his life flying. His love of flight lured him from Oregon to Alaska, the far frontier of aviation, where Merrill piloted the first airplanes to fly into Petersburg, Wrangell, Kodiak, and Anchorage. FLYING COLD chronicles Merrill's daring 750-mile journey across the Gulf of Alaska in a flying boat with a single small motor, his first rescue mission by air, crash landings, and strandings. In 1928, Merrill nearly died after being forced down in the Arctic, showing up weeks later, half dead, but still carrying a cup of rice he had saved for an ""emergency. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

First commercial pilot in Anchorage
Trained as a pilot during World War I, Russel Merrill was determined to spend his life flying. His love of flight lured him from Oregon to Alaska, the far frontier of aviation, where Merrill piloted the first airplanes to fly into Petersburg, Wrangell, Kodiak, and Anchorage. FLYING COLD chronicles Merrill's daring 750-mile journey across the Gulf of Alaska in a flying boat with a single small motor, his first rescue mission by air, crash landings, and strandings. In 1928, Merrill nearly died after being forced down in the Arctic, showing up weeks later, half dead, but still carrying a cup of rice he had saved for an "emergency."Many photos.A great read.

Outstanding book on early alaskan aviation!
Heroic account of how Russell Hyde Merrill brought aviation to Anchorage Alaska. This book is a must read for pilots and anyone interested in Alaskan History and bush pilots. Merrill was an ex Navy pilot who was thefist man to fly into Petrsburg,Wrangell.Kodiak and Anchorage. He discoveredMerrill Pass in the Alaska Range and put Anchorage on the map as the"Tranportation Hub of Alaska" He brought aviation to Anchorage in1927 the same year that Lindberg crossed the Atlantic.He faced incrediblehardships and pioneered air routes all over Alaska that are still usedtoday. He was a true hero and a very thoughtfull and kind man whose mark onaviation and Alaska is still very evident even today. He was lost over Cookinlet on 9/16/29. He was never found, but it is evident he went down andperished in the frigid water off Tyonek Alaska. Merrill Field(very busygeneral aviation airport in Anchorage) and Merrill Pass(important pass tothe west through the Alaska Range)bear his name.In Alaska we all stand onthe shoulders of this great man. ... Read more

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an excerpt from the beginning:

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Glines offer a full and compelling portrait of Bernt Balchen, a leader in Arctic aviation, overshadowed in his lifetime by Admiral Richard Byrd but whose expertise and vision continue to guide trans-Arctic aviation. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

From a pleased Norwegian
The existing review of this book that appears on the Amazon site is an excellent one that gives great details about the book. All I wanted to say is that as a fellow author, and of Norwegian descent, I regretted every time I had to put this book down.
There is a song by the late Canadian Stan Rogers that includes the line: "Now you know what it is to scale the heights and fall just short of fame, and have not one in ten thousand know your name."
That was written about someone else, but it sure fits in Balchen's case. A man always on the verge of being at least as famous as Admiral Byrd. A man of incredible courage, inventiveness, and grace in the face of hostilities, both of nature and of Byrd himself. This is an awesome biography that ought to be the catalyst for the re-writing of every history textbook. I thank Carrol Glines for making the enormous effort.

A long overdue recognition of a true hero.
Bernt Balchen is perhaps the most underappreciated hero of our times. A master flyer, an artist, a negotiator, and most of all, a soldier, Balchen's unassuming personality belied the fact that he had one of themost fascinating careers in aviation history. Balchen, unfortunately, wasthe victim of a vendetta by a man for whom he had done much, AdmiralRichard E. Byrd. Byrd feared that Balchen would reveal that Byrd's famousfirst flight over the North Pole was in fact a fraud, and waged a life-longwar against Balchen. Glines is a highly skilled biographer (JimmyDoolittle, Roscoe Turner) and he makes the most of his talents here. Hisresearch is excellent, and he portrays Balchen in his true colors as apatriot who fought the Russians with the Finns in the First World War, thenconducted clandestine operations with the Norwegian underground in thesecond. He was the confidant of the great flyers of the era, includingAmelia Earhart, and was among the first to be capable of true instrumentflight. Bernt Balchen Polar Aviator would make a fantastic movie, forit has everything--exploration, romance, combat, skullduggery, and most ofall, heroism. Balchen was a strong, handsome man who would have been anOlympic boxer for Norway if he had not elected to learn to fly with theNorwegian navy. He became an expert in Polar matters, saved many lives, wasimportant during the Cold War, and had thousands of friends who knew justwhat a hero he was. The United States government, however, allowed SenatorHarry Byrd to block Balchen's promotion to general, forcing his retirment,and at one time, deported him! This is a great biography of a great man,done by a great biographer! ... Read more

Product Description
In today's aviation parlance, Harold F. Pitcairn had The Right Stuff. He was, at once, a patriot, an aviation pioneer, a business man, a designer, an inventor, a dreamer, and a forecaster of the future. He was a giant of a man in the development and growth of heavier-than-air aviation in The United States. Not only was he responsible for the research, design, and manufacture of a number of different aircraft models, including the famous Mailwing series and his pioneering jump-takeoff Autogiros with fully articulated rotor heads--he was granted twenty-six US Government patents on rotary-wing aircraft but he accomplished all of this while heavily committed to developing and implementing one of the longest air-mail routes in the country. (From the Introduction)Ronald K. NelsonMajor General United States Marine Corps (Ret) ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Informed and reliable
Based largely on original Autogiro Company of America records and the author's personal association with the Pitcairn family this book is easily the most authoritative work on the subject. By relying on and quoting original sources, Gunther maintains objectivity and therefore accuracy in this book.

Highly recommended. ... Read more