Additional Books Recommended by this site

The following "flying" books are highly recommended by Pat Ranfranz, the developer of this site. If you were thrilled by Charles Lindbergh's flying adventures, please take time to read the following books.

Writer Rinker Buck looks back more than 30 years to a summer when he and his brother, at ages 15 and 17 respectively, became the youngest duo to fly across America, from New Jersey to California. Having grown up in an aviation family, the two boys bought an old Piper Cub, restored it themselves, and set out on the grand journey. Buck is a great storyteller, and once you get airborne with the boys you find yourself absorbed in a story of adventure and family drama. And Flight of Passage is also an affecting look back to the summer of 1966, when the times seemed much less cynical and adventures much more enjoyable.

The Cockpit: A Flight Of Escape And Discovery is the story of Paul Gahlinger, a university science professor who decided to fly his small Cessna aircraft from California to South Africa. Gahlinger ignored the pronouncements of every aviation official that such a flight could not be done. From the beginning nothing came easy or worked quite right. Governments refused to give him permission to fly over their countries. The weather was horrendous. His airplane as an aging, under-equipped machine beset by mechanical glitches. But he persevered through ice-storms, sand-storms, an earthquake, and the threat of civile war to successfully accomplish his flight and make it to his intended destination. As his story progresses, Gahlinger weaves together the history and mechanics of flight with his real-life adventure. The Cockpit is a unique, fascinating, true-life tale of hazardous personal adventure and the unconquerable human spirit.

Northwest Airlines Captain Larry Daudt, "The best book I’ve ever read!" Leaving behind the comforts of civilized life and armed with only a few essentials, award winning author and bush pilot George Erickson captures the exhilarating thrill of roughing it in the wild, as well as evoking the sheer romance of adventuring in the far reaches of North America. The result is a best-selling book that readers-flyers and armchair travelers alike - will not be able to put down. Flying solo in his Piper Cub Special seaplane, Erickson revisits some of the arctic flights he once took with his father. He takes readers on an unforgettable journey through the pristine landscapes of Alaska, the Yukon, and the Northwest Territories. Landing on unexplored lakes and rivers to set up camp, the author fishes for trout using his unique handmade lures, struggles with bad weather, dodges forest fires, and mingles with polar bears, killer whales, musk oxen and caribou.