The classic first analysis of the art of flying is back, now in a special 50th anniversary limited edition with a foreword by Cliff Robertson. leatherette binding, and gold foil stamp. Langewiesche shows precisely what the pilot does when he or she flies, just how it's done, and why.

An episodic log of some of the author's more memorable hours aloft in peace and as a member of the Air Transport Command in war.

Unlike conventional aviation authors and instructors I do not teach primary flying, crop dusting, pipeline patrol flying, bush flying, helicopter medical evacuation flying, and air to ground gunnery using instruments inside the aircraft as the primary situational awareness tool. Rather I teach Dutch rolls, slow flight and stalls over the runway, the energy management turns, use of ground effect on all takeoffs, the brisk walk apparent rate of closure approach, hover taxi in fixed wing aircraft, and low level low power mountain flying using sights, sounds, smells, and kinetics. Sight is used 99.9% of the time looking at the ground. Airspeed, nor any other instrument is used in takeoff or landing. This text teaches the art of flying in the old style at low level using ground references. Its author has over sixteen thousand hours of flying Army helicopters, crop dusters, and pipeline patrol airplanes at three feet to five hundred feet above ground level.

The ultimate book for learning stick and rudder flying skills for beginners and experienced pilots.

This behind-the-scenes account of a USAF career is “an absorbing read, written with the classic humor fighter pilots seem to have” (Flight Line Book Review). From Baron von Richthofen to Robin Olds, the mystique of the fighter pilot endures. The skill, cunning, and bravery that characterizes this distinctive band of brothers is well known, but there are other dimensions to those who take to the skies to do battle that have not been given the emphasis they deserve—until now. You don’t have to be an aviation aficionado to enjoy Colonel Steve Ladd’s fascinating personal tale, woven around his twenty-eight-year career as a fighter pilot. This extremely engaging account follows a young man from basic pilot training to senior command through narratives that define a unique ethos. From the United States to Southeast Asia, Europe to the Middle East, the amusing and tongue-in-cheek to the deadly serious and poignant, this is the lifelong journey of a fighter pilot. The anecdotes are absorbing, providing an insight into life as an Air Force pilot, but, in this book, as Colonel Ladd stresses, the focus is not on fireworks or stirring tales of derring-do. Instead, this is an articulate and absorbing account of what life is really like among a rare breed of arrogant, cocky, boisterous, and fun-loving young men who readily transform into steely professionals at the controls of a fighter aircraft. “This book will appeal to a variety of readers with its Vietnam War combat stories and accounts of flying the Warthog in Cold War Europe. Fun, flying, international experiences—you won’t want to put it down.” —Aviation News

The fourth edition of the perennial best-seller. Fully updated, with everything the private pilot needs to know about flying IFR, such as handling emergencies, filing flight plans, understanding IFR communications, navigating, and flying more efficiently. Polish and improve your instrument-flight skills with the proficiency exercises. Glossary of aviation terms included.

Back in print with a new design, this guide includes instruction on the basics of takeoffs and landings, the realities of flying into and out of an airport, and the functions of the throttle, stick, rudder, and trim. A pilot's pilot, Collins provides a complete and coherent account, from takeoff roll to full stop, of a perfect flight and landing; identifying many common errors pilots make along the way. In addition to extracting from his own lengthy career and personal experience, Collins shares tips and secrets he learned by observing airline pilots, reading military manuals, attending manufacturer's flight training programs, and interviewing some of aviation's most famous thinkers and figures.