When people get together around southern Arizona, there's a good chance that somebody will say, "That reminds me of the time I flew with Ike Russell. . . . " A backcountry pilot famous for his jaunts into the wildest, most remote regions of the borderlands, Alexander "Ike" Russell has become something of a legend since his death in 1980, and the stories surrounding his flights never fail to amaze. This book combines biography and oral history by offering a wide range of anecdotes and remembrances about Ike by friends and family. Many describe the great adventures and gut-wrenching close calls that have become enshrined in local folklore as classic "Ike Russell stories," in all their hair-raising and hilarious splendor. Russell was an easterner who moved to Arizona for his health and got his pilot's license in 1948—despite suffering from a respiratory disorder that would have kept other men firmly anchored to the ground. Over the years he flew scientists and other scholars to remote field locations in Mexico's Gulf of California and Sierra Madre Occidental that otherwise might not have been investigated. He often landed on short and dangerous airstrips and never seemed to mind running out of gas, getting caught without provisions, or attempting night landings in unlighted terrain. He took along a teapot wherever he went—and wherever he stopped, his first priority was to brew a quick cup. Backcountry Pilot is the story of a larger-than-life adventurer, with those who knew Ike sharing tales tall and true about his famous exploits, brushes with fate, and sometimes narrow escapes from the jaws of disaster. It includes reminiscences by such scientists and friends as botanist Richard Felger, whom Ike frequently flew down to Seriland; ethnohistorian Bernard Fontana, whom Ike took to Tarahumara country; and paleoecologist Paul Martin, who talked Ike into a nine-month trip through Africa over totally unfamiliar terrain. A concluding chapter by Thomas Bowen offers a brief biographical sketch of Russell. Ike Russell was a central figure for a generation of people who studied the southwestern desert and who helped others see it as a biological treasure rather than a wasteland. More than a highly skilled bush pilot, he was an extraordinary human being who touched the lives of everyone he met. For those who never got the chance, Backcountry Pilot secures Ike Russell's legacy in the desert skies.

Do you want a long, satisfying career in the sky? Good, because that's what I want for you, and why I wrote this book. Let me give you wisdom that only fifty years in the cockpit can offer. POSTFLIGHT has tips and information I wish I had when I started flying fifty years ago. If your dream is to fly, then POSTFLIGHT: An Old Pilot's Logbook was written for you. I'll ask only this: Be the best pilot you can be, and someday open your own logbook for a young pilot like yourself. -An old pilot

Learn everything you need for the FAA private pilot exam, biennial flight reviews, and updating and refreshing your knowledge.

This comprehensive book describes in practical terms - underpinned by research - how recruitment, selection, and psychological assessment can be conducted amongst pilots. The chapters emphasize evidence-based and ethical selection methods for different pilot groups. It includes chapters written by experts in the field and also covers related areas, such as air traffic controllers and astronauts. The book is written for airline managers, senior pilots responsible for recruitment and training, human resources specialists, human factors and safety specialists, occupational health doctors, psychologists, AMEs, practitioners, or academics involved in pilot selection. Robert Bor, DPhil CPsychol CSci FBPsS HonFRAeS UKCP Reg EuroPsy, is a Registered and Chartered Clinical Counselling and Health Psychologist, Registered Aviation Psychologist and Co-Director of the Centre for Aviation Psychology. Carina Eriksen, MSc DipPsych CPsychol FBPsS BABCP, is an HCPC Registered and BPS Chartered Consultant Counselling Psychologist and Registered Aviation Psychologist. Todd P. Hubbard, B.A., M.S. Aeronautical Sciences, Ed.D. Applied Educational Studies in Aviation, Lt. Col. USAF (ret.), is the Clarence E. Page Professor of Human Factors research, University of Oklahoma. Ray King, Psy,D., J.D. is a licensed clinical psychologist, recently retired from the U.S. Air Force, currently with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Adverse aircraft-pilot coupling (APC) events include a broad set of undesirable and sometimes hazardous phenomena that originate in anomalous interactions between pilots and aircraft. As civil and military aircraft technologies advance, interactions between pilots and aircraft are becoming more complex. Recent accidents and other incidents have been attributed to adverse APC in military aircraft. In addition, APC has been implicated in some civilian incidents. This book evaluates the current state of knowledge about adverse APC and processes that may be used to eliminate it from military and commercial aircraft. It was written for technical, government, and administrative decisionmakers and their technical and administrative support staffs; key technical managers in the aircraft manufacturing and operational industries; stability and control engineers; aircraft flight control system designers; research specialists in flight control, flying qualities, human factors; and technically knowledgeable lay readers.

“Well-written and holds the reader’s attention . . . an engaging book and a rare personal view of flying one of the most iconic aircraft of WWII.” —Firetrench After recounting his early days as a naval cadet, including a voyage to the Far East aboard the cruiser Köln and as the navigator/observer of the floatplane carried by the pocket battleship Admiral Scheer during the Spanish Civil War, Helmut Mahlke describes his flying training as a Stuka pilot. The author’s naval dive-bomber Gruppe was incorporated into the Luftwaffe upon the outbreak of war. What follows is a fascinating Stuka pilot’s-eye view of some of the most famous and historic battles and campaigns of the early war years: the Blitzkrieg in France, Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain, the bombing of Malta, North Africa, Tobruk, and Crete, and, finally, the invasion of the Soviet Union. Mahlke also takes the reader behind the scenes into the day-to-day life of his unit and brings the members of his Gruppe to vivid life, describing their off-duty antics and mourning their losses in action. The story ends when he himself is shot down in flames by a Soviet fighter and is severely burned. He was to spend the remainder of the war in various staff appointments. “An engaging, engrossing and exceptionally informative book. A worthy addition to any military enthusiast’s library and is unhesitatingly and heartily recommended.” —Aviation History