East Africa Pilot
East Africa Pilot

Author: Delwyn McPhun

Publisher: Imray Laurie Norie & Wilson

Published: 1998-01-01

Total Pages: 200

ISBN-13: 9780852882511

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Delwyn McPhun has cruised the coast of East Africa between Kenya and Durban for nearly a decade and has surveyed the area covered by this pilot book in detail, visiting each port, harbour and anchorage that he describes. As a long-term resident of the East African countries, he has gained unrivalled working knowledge of the people, customs and problems that the visiting yachtsman may encounter. His sailing directions and narrative have been produced as a complete handbook for both yachtsmen and diving enthusiasts. 'East Africa Pilot' is produced to the high standard that is associated with Imray cruising guides and will be recognised as the definitive work on the area.

The African-Bush Pilot
The African-Bush Pilot

Author: Cecil Mullins

Publisher:

Published: 2012-03-25

Total Pages: 254

ISBN-13: 9780578106915

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The African-Bush Pilot The debut autobiography by Cecil Mullins is an auspicious success from the very first page to the last. He tells the breathtaking odyssey of his life from a small town Southwest Virginia boy to a well known, highly regarded pilot who flies the aircraft he dreamt of as a young man. His writing style is fast paced, graphic and often gritty with an occasional side bar of humor and ribald commentary about the fairer sex he encounters during his highly charged, adventurous career as a "Bush Pilot" and his unpredictable forays with non-scheduled airlines. The book is a must read. The reader will feel as if he is in the cockpit with the "Bush Pilot" as the fights the elements, warfare, mechanical and equipment problems and violent weather. It is a great book...you will not want to put it down. Go out and get a copy and experience the thrill of what you find as you turn the next page...and the next. Reaching the pinnacle of his career by surviving unbelievable mechanical failures and mishaps, violent weather, flying into African civil wars and revolutions in the dead of night to evade missiles and gunfire were but a part of the life he chose to live. He survived and prospered by his intellect, courage and unparalleled skill as a top flight mechanic, flight engineer, co-pilot and finally pilot and Captain of his own craft.

Skyfaring
Skyfaring

Author: Mark Vanhoenacker

Publisher: Vintage

Published: 2015-06-02

Total Pages: 368

ISBN-13: 0385351828

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A poetic and nuanced exploration of the human experience of flight that reminds us of the full imaginative weight of our most ordinary journeys—and reawakens our capacity to be amazed. The twenty-first century has relegated airplane flight—a once remarkable feat of human ingenuity—to the realm of the mundane. Mark Vanhoenacker, a 747 pilot who left academia and a career in the business world to pursue his childhood dream of flight, asks us to reimagine what we—both as pilots and as passengers—are actually doing when we enter the world between departure and discovery. In a seamless fusion of history, politics, geography, meteorology, ecology, family, and physics, Vanhoenacker vaults across geographical and cultural boundaries; above mountains, oceans, and deserts; through snow, wind, and rain, renewing a simultaneously humbling and almost superhuman activity that affords us unparalleled perspectives on the planet we inhabit and the communities we form.

Sailor' Malan—Freedom Fighter
Sailor' Malan—Freedom Fighter

Author: Dilip Sarkar MBE

Publisher: Air World

Published: 2021-06-09

Total Pages: 362

ISBN-13: 1526795272

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Adolph Gysbert Malan was born in Wellington, South Africa. A natural leader and driven individual with a totally positive outlook, aged fourteen Malan became an officer cadet in the South African Merchant Navy, before being commissioned into the Royal Navy Reserve. Well-travelled and worldly-wise, aged twenty-five the intrepid adventurer applied for a Short Service Commission in the RAF. Universally known as ‘Sailor’ in the RAF, Malan became a fighter pilot. Shortly after war was declared, Malan was involved in the infamous ‘Battle of Barking Creek’, in which 74 Squadron mistakenly destroyed friendly Hurricanes. Then, over Dunkirk in May 1940, Malan’s exceptional ability was immediately demonstrated in combat and a string of confirmed aerial victories rapidly accumulated. The following month, Malan scored the Spitfire’s first nocturnal kill. By August 1940 he was commanding 74 Squadron, which he led with great distinction during the Battle of Britain. In March 1941, Malan was promoted and became the first Wing Commander (Flying) at Biggin Hill, leading the three-squadron-strong Spitfire wing during operations over northern France. After a break from operations, Malan went on to command a succession of fighter training units, passing on his tactical genius and experience, and producing his famous ‘Ten Rules of Air Fighting’ which are still cited today. By the war’s end, Group Captain Malan was the RAF’s tenth top-scoring fighter pilot. Leaving the RAF in 1945 and returning to South Africa, he was disgusted by Apartheid and founded the ‘Torch Commando’ of ex-servicemen against this appalling racist policy. This part of Malan’s life is equally as inspirational, in fact, as his wartime service, and actually tells us more about the man than just his RAF record. Tragically, in 1963, he died, prematurely, aged just fifty-three, of Parkinson’s. Written with the support of the Malan family, this biography is the full story of a remarkable airman and politician.

Chopper Down!
Chopper Down!

Author: Carl Alberts

Publisher: 30 Degrees South Publishers

Published: 2016-04-30

Total Pages:

ISBN-13: 9781928211785

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After twenty years of armed conflict in Angola and political instability in coup-ridden Sierra Leone going back to 1991, private corporate financial interests became the catalyst that spawned the creation of possibly the most successful private military corporation to date: Executive Outcomes (EO). With its initial task of securing Angolan government control in the Soyo oil-producing region, prompted by private oil interests, EO subsequently became involved in the war against UNITA throughout the country. With little more that 100 of its own combat personnel on the ground in both the wars in Angola and Sierra Leone, the outstanding success that EO achieved was in no small part due to the force-multiplying effect and support given by its helicopter and jet pilots of the Air Wing. This is the true story of the frustrations, personal sacrifices and too often the extreme risks that the aircrews took while flying in support of the ground offensives. Most of this was achieved with outdated equipment and aircraft that were seldom airworthy. Living under harsh conditions with the ever-present threat of enemy attack, as well as great risk from their ill-disciplined allies, the contribution these aircrews made to the overall success of the war effort was extensive. Although EO costs were but a small fraction of the replacement United Nations forces, which were generally unsuccessful, international pressure to leave prematurely, led to renewed regional conflict with great loss of life. The author describes the realities of 'postwar syndrome', his subsequent failed business venture in Liberia and his involvement in the conflict in the Ivory Coast that brought about his arrest in South Africa for mercenary-related activities.

Black Wings
Black Wings

Author: Von Hardesty

Publisher: Harper Collins

Published: 2008-01-22

Total Pages: 196

ISBN-13: 0061261386

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Colin Powell once observed that "a dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination, and hard work." This sentiment is mirrored dramatically in the story of African Americans in aerospace history. The invention of the airplane in the first decade of the twentieth century sparked a revolution in modern technology. Aviation in the popular mind became associated with adventure and heroism. For African Americans, however, this new realm of human flight remained off-limits, a consequence of racial discrimination. Many African Americans displayed a keen interest in the new air age, but found themselves routinely barred from gaining training as pilots or mechanics. Beginning in the 1920s, a small and widely scattered group of black air enthusiasts challenged this prevailing pattern of racial discrimination. With no small amount of effort—and against formidable odds—they gained their pilot licenses and acquired the technical skills to become aircraft mechanics. Over the course of the twentieth century and into the twenty-first, African Americans have expanded their participation in both military and civilian aviation and space flight, from the early pioneers and barnstormers through the Tuskegee airmen to Shuttle astronauts. Featuring approximately two hundred historic and contemporary photographs and a lively narrative that spans eight decades of U.S. history, Black Wings offers a compelling overview of this extraordinary and inspiring saga.