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Title: One Zero Charlie: Adventures in Grass Roots Aviation by Laurence Gonzales ISBN: 0-671-74278-7 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Pub. Date: November, 1992 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $20.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4 (8 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Great Book about Flying and Aerobatics
Comment: Some may not like the emphasis of the book, but for what it does describe, it does very well. In fact, I'm hard pressed to think of a better book in this area. The recent Joshua Cooper Ramo book "No Visible Horizon" was an extremely poor effort by comparision. I think the balance described between author's natural caution and great joy in flying is described very well. It presents a accurate picture of what the "grass roots" private pilot should be (and actually is in most of my experience) ... cautious and joyful as opposed to reckless and ego-driven.
I read this book first in 1996, about a year after I got my pilot's certificate and during a time when I was really begining to experience "grass roots" aviation by getting a tailwheel endorsement in a Piper Cub. The content rang true then against my early experiences and spiked my interest in actually trying aerobatics. I talked to some local competitive akro pilots and was looking at taking some aerobatic training. In the years since I have done many more of the things the book explores (including buying a share in and flying the Pitts Special, which is very well described in the book). It all still rings true, even after I have seen, met, and talked to people in the book or those that know (or knew) them. Some of the "rowdy" behavior described at the aerobatic contest isn't seen during current IAC contests I've participated in and wouldn't be tolerated today. I'm told it was more relaxed 15 years ago.
The risks are real, but, as Gonzales says, are at least partially managable by the average pilot. A few accidents do occur every year, but many are preventable, with good maintenance and pilot decision making. A aerobatic pilot that doesn't "push the envelope" and avoids flying low (i.e. "airshows") can reasonably expect as long a life as anybody else. And by the way, I've never rolled a Pitts on takeoff and don't plan to! But the pleasures and risks of flying inside the whole envelope are eloquently described here and is hard to equal elsewhere!
Rating: 3
Summary: Glorifying
Comment: I enjoyed this book, so I do not want to say it is not an enjoyable read, but I have to state a couple of facts. First, I don't really think of this as a look at 'grassroots general aviation.' So much of the book covers aerobatics - and some of the deaths that followed a couple of people in that pursuit. One of those deaths was pure pomposity, and another was high risk taking run wrong. If people thought this was general aviation, everyone would be afraid of small planes (actually most people already are anyway). I think the author focuses on these aspects because he wants to sort of glorify his own involvement in aerobatics. That's fine - I think anyone who does aerobatics deserves to get to tell some stories about it. But one should understand the crux of the book before buying it.
Rating: 4
Summary: Adventures in Aerobatics
Comment: "One Zero Charlie" doesn't have much of a plot, being more of a collection of vignettes from the recreational pilot lifestyle. I obtained this book from the public library, but I enjoyed it sufficiently that I intend to purchase a copy for my own library. If you are a weekend pilot, or if you have enjoyed similar books like "Zero Three Bravo", "Weekend Wings", "Flight of Passage", "A Gift of Wings", etc. etc., I think that you would probably enjoy "One Zero Charlie" as well. The book does discuss two or three fatal accidents, all of which occurred during aerobatic practice. The author makes it clear that aerobatics is an inherently risky - but deeply satisfying- hobby.
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Title: Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why by Laurence Gonzales ISBN: 0393052761 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: October, 2003 List Price(USD): $25.95 |
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Title: 98.6 Degrees: The Art of Keeping Your Ass Alive by Cody Lundin, Russ Miller, Christopher Marchetti ISBN: 1586852345 Publisher: Gibbs Smith Publisher Pub. Date: September, 2003 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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