A Chick in the Cockpit
A Chick in the Cockpit

Author: Erika Armstrong

Publisher: Behler Publications, LLC

Published: 2015-10-19

Total Pages: 276

ISBN-13: 1933016205

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“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard your flight. As you step onto my aircraft, take a quick glance into the cockpit. Yep, that’s me sitting in the captains’ seat, and that’s my first officer laughing about how he accidentally locked himself out of his hotel room. Naked. Again. We’re both a little ripe from flying for the last five days, but we’re still smiling because we have spent years and thousands of hours training and living an uncommon lifestyle to be up here for you. For the next few hours, you have to turn your life over to us. It’s hard to trust others, and there are moments when you don’t have a choice about being in control. During those moments, you’ll just have to tighten your seatbelt and trust that others will get you through the storm. Our route today will take you through a segment of my life up in the air, and you will see things you could never imagine. Since I have been locked in the cockpit with men for several thousands of hours over the years, I have been given a perspective few get to experience. To help you see a different perspective, too, I am giving you a checklist to use as we move along our route. It will take you from gate to gate, and when we’re done, we will have both learned a little more about what it takes to fly. Now…just sit back and relax. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.” Erika Armstrong has worked every aspect of aviation in her twenty-five years in the industry, including an international corporate airline captain. She is an award-winning staff writer for Colorado Serenity Magazine and is a professional pilot columnist for Disciples of Flight, NYC Aviation, Contrails, Flying, LinkedIn, and Business Insider and is the owner of Leading Edge Aviation Consulting.

Beyond Haiku
Beyond Haiku

Author: Linda Pauwels

Publisher:

Published: 2020-12-10

Total Pages: 60

ISBN-13: 9781952779565

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Beyond Haiku peeks through the cockpit door to reveal the poetic heart of airline pilots. Captain Linda Pauwels, instructor pilot on the Boeing 787 and former aviation columnist for the Orange County Register, presents a selection of haiku and short poems by men and women who fly airplanes for a living. The writing is niche and empathetic. The humor is characteristically wry, befitting the pilot persona. Beautiful illustrations, by children of pilots aged 6 to 17, bring this flight of fancy in for a smooth landing. Proceeds from Beyond Haiku will go to the Allied Pilots Association Emergency Relief and Scholarship Fund, to provide support for pilots impacted by industry effects of COVID-19.

Dare to Fly
Dare to Fly

Author: Martha McSally

Publisher: HarperCollins

Published: 2020-05-26

Total Pages: 218

ISBN-13: 0062996304

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“Like the A-10 aircraft she flew in combat, retired colonel and fighter pilot Martha McSally is a gritty individual who loves our Air Force and personified its core values of excellence, integrity, and service before self, while standing up to make it a better institution for everyone who serves. How to be resolute, do the right thing, persevere, find gratitude, and learn compassion are just some of the lessons in her inspirational life story.” —Ron FOGLEMAN, General (ret.), U.S. Air Force; former Air Force Chief of Staff Combining the soulful honesty of Make Your Bed with the inspiring power of You Are a Badass, America’s first female combat jet pilot and Arizona Senator Martha McSally shows you how to clear the runway of your life: embrace fear, transform doubt, succeed when you are expected to fail, and soar to great heights in this motivational life guide. Martha McSally is an extraordinary achiever whose inner strength and personal principles have helped her overcome adversity throughout her life. Initially rejected from Air Force flight school because she was too short, she refused to give up, becoming the first female fighter pilot to fly in combat and the first to command a combat fighter squadron in United States history. During her twenty-six-year military career, she fought to free American servicewomen stationed in the Middle East from restrictions requiring them to don full-body, black abayas and ride in the backs of cars – and won. McSally has continued to serve America, first in the House of Representatives, and now as a U.S. Senator from Arizona. McSally is also a survivor. She shares how her experiences propelled her to become a fighter for justice in and out of the cockpit. In this powerful, uplifting book, McSally reflects on her successes and failures, shares key principles that have guided her, and reveals invaluable lessons to break barriers, thrive through darkness, and make someone proud in your life. “Courage isn’t magic or genetics. It is a choice. By choosing to do things afraid, you discover your own power to overcome.” Filled with fresh stories and insights, Dare to Fly will help each of us find the courage inside to break our barriers, endure turbulence, and keep flying high.

Amazing Airplanes
Amazing Airplanes

Author: Tony Mitton

Publisher: Kingfisher

Published: 2018-07-10

Total Pages: 27

ISBN-13: 075344366X

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Buckle up to learn all about flying! Amazing Airplanes follows the animal crew, as they become pilots, baggage handlers, and air stewards. Each page is filled with details that machine-mad kids love, such as the cockpit, landing gear, and much more. This book is perfect for budding pilots or happy vacationers! From airplanes to fire engines, the internationally bestselling Amazing Machines series is the perfect way for children to learn about all sorts of vehicles! Each book introduces a new vehicle and the jobs it can do. Bright, engaging artwork and simple, rhyming text combine to make these fantastic books for young children. Kids will love getting to know the friendly, animal characters who feature throughout the series and reading about their fast-paced adventures!

Bomber Squadron
Bomber Squadron

Author: Martyn R. Ford-Jones

Publisher: Fonthill Media

Published: 2019-03-19

Total Pages: 438

ISBN-13:

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— Previously unpublished personal diaries reveal the day-to-day life of British aircrews during the Second World War, based on their personal diaries, which were written at the time — Revisiting a revised look at a popular out of print publication with fresh material such as new characters and chapters — Historically rich in detail with previously unpublished photographs of many of the characters involved — A welcome return of an updated version of a book first published over thirty years During the Second World War, thousands of young men volunteered for service with the RAF. Some became fighter pilots, but a great many more were destined to be trained as bomber aircrew – pilots, navigators, wireless operators, bomb aimers, gunners and flight engineers. On completion of their training, a number of these recruits were posted to XV Squadron, a highly-regarded frontline bomber squadron, which had been formed during the First World War. Bomber Squadron: Men Who Flew with XV Squadron relates the personal stories of a small number of these men, giving an insight to their anxious moments when flying on operational sorties, staring death in the face in the form of prowling night-fighters and ground fire, and relaxing during their off-duty hours. The book also reveals the motivations, emotions and personal attitudes of these men who flew into combat on an almost nightly basis. Their stories encompass the whole six years of the war where XV Squadron flew various bomber types, including Fairey Battles, Bristol Blenheims, Vickers Wellingtons, Short Stirlings and Avro Lancasters.

Women in the Military
Women in the Military

Author: Connie Goldsmith

Publisher: Twenty-First Century Books ™

Published: 2019-01-01

Total Pages: 115

ISBN-13: 1541557085

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In December 2015, the Pentagon changed a rule to allow American women to serve for the first time ever in front-line ground combat troops. Women have fulfilled many military roles throughout history, including nursing; driving ambulances; handling administrative duties; working as mechanics; and serving in the WASPs, WACs, WAVES, and SPARS. More recently women are flying jets, conducting surveillance, commanding naval ships, and now fighting on the front lines. Yet no matter their official title, they have faced devastating discrimination—from lack of advancement, economic inequity, and inadequate veteran support, to sexual harassment and rape. Meet the women who have served their country courageously and who are standing up for fairness in the US military.

Chinook Crew 'Chick'
Chinook Crew 'Chick'

Author: Liz McConaghy

Publisher: Air World

Published: 2022-12-24

Total Pages: 222

ISBN-13: 1399072935

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Liz McConaghy, from a small town in County Down, spent a total of seventeen years flying with the RAF’s Chinook Fleet. Aged just 21, she was the youngest aircrew member to deploy to Iraq and was also the only female ‘crewman’ on the Chinook wing for four years. In her astounding career Liz McConaghy completed two deployments to Iraq followed by ten deployments to Helmand province in Afghanistan in support of the enduring Operation Herrick campaign. Liz’s inspiringly honest story reveals the highs and lows that she witnessed at war, and the cost that came with that both, physically and mentally for those involved. During her deployments, she survived not only a near fatal wire strike onboard her CH47, but numerous enemy fire ‘contacts’ defending her crew by returning fire from both the M134 ‘Minigun’ and M60 weapons entrusted to her to operate. Her biggest honor of all her duties, however, was serving on the Medical Emergency Response Team, or MERT, flying ambulance as it was more commonly known. This involved recovering wounded soldiers from the battlefield, often under fire, and witnessing them both die and indeed come back to life at her feet in the cabin of her Chinook. Liz saw Camp Bastion grow from a barbed wire fence surrounding an area of tents in the sand to the huge Operating Base it became. She was also on the last 1310 Flight deployment there as the British forces withdrew 10 years later handing it back to the Afghan National Army. Very few Chinook crew members, if any, spanned the length of time deployed as Liz McConaghy did. This is a genuinely unique tale that only Liz could tell, which ends with her battling the memories that haunted her, long after she had left the battlefield. Her own war within took her to the point of suicide once she had left the service. Her survival from both the battles in foreign lands and in her own head led her to begin telling her story, in the hope she can help others win their wars.