Books

Douglas Wellman’s new book “Boxes: The Secret Life of Howard Hughes” has been released and is available at major online book retailers. The book tells the tale of Hughe’s secret life under the assumed identity of Verner “Nik” Nicely, from the point of view of his wife, Eva McLelland. Her discovery that her eccentric Midwestern […]

In January 1943, an Electra piloted by Alaskan bush Pilot Harold Gillam crashed in foul weather on its way from Seattle to Anchorage. Gillam died trying to find help for the survivors. One other passenger also died after a couple days. Miraculously, four others survived nearly a month in the wilderness with little to eat, […]

“The Chicago Air & Water Show: A History of Wings above the Waves” has just been published by The History Press. Written by Gerry and Janet Souter, the book documents the Chicago Air and Water Show, which draws over 3 million people to the lakeshore for a weekend of beach leisure and high-powered entertainment. The […]

Powder Puff Pilot has released its third aviation book for children, “Claire Bear Explains…What Pilots Fly.” Like the first two picture books in the series, it stars Claire Bear, a pink-clad aerobatic performer and mentor for aspiring young pilots. The series is the brainchild of Sue Hughes, a pilot since 1996 and a flight instructor […]

Books by pilots about their experiences vary dramatically from very good to, well, being polite, not as good! When a friend brought me a book written by a friend of his about the friend’s efforts to buy a plane and fulfill a lifelong ambition to fly around the world, I kinda rolled my eyes. And, […]

A new book, “Final Flight: The Mystery of a WWII Plane Crash and the Frozen Airmen in the High Sierra,” will be released in September. The book explores the true-life mystery uncovered in 2005, when two mountaineers climbing above Mendel Glacier in the High Sierra found the mummified remains of a uniformed World War II […]

Dave “Bio” Baranek was one of 451 young men to become a Navy flight officer in 1980, but he was the only one from that group to become an instructor at Topgun, the Navy’s elite Fighter Weapons School. He was so good that Hollywood came knocking on his door, and asked to assist with the […]

Just released is “The Red Tavern,” the true story of the silent preachers of the First Air Cavalry Division, who piloted the Huey helicopters that were the beginning and end of every Vietnam story. The story is set in 1967, following the First Cavalry Division’s Ia Drang Valley campaign, which gave rise to the book […]

Just released is “The Book of Skydiving Formations.” The book covers all group sizes from two-ways through 20-ways. There are more than 1,000 formations in all. You’ll find simple formations that are easy to build as well as exotic ones that will challenge the most skilled skydivers, according to the publishers. There’s also a chapter […]