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 CATCH THE WIND - A Pilots Memoirs - © 2003 - 2018 by
AL RIONI
A pilots memoirs of aviation and the sweetness
of youth *
* * * All of these stories are true and happened exactly as remembered *
* * * The names of the individuals have been slightly altered |
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EXCERPTS - - - - - - - - - - |
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From Chap. 2: - I sat in the airplane on the Boston Airport ramp and waited for my courage to return . . . After about 30 minutes,
I was ready to go back up there . . . (lots more) . . . Just as the airplane left the ground and entered the low clouds, I heard
a loud bang followed by very loud engine and wind noise . . .
 **
From Chap. 3: - I tried to figure out what caused me to become
so disoriented that night that I landed at the wrong airport . . . This was a very shocking and humbling experience that left
a lasting impression on me . . . It seemed like something out of the "Twilight Zone". . .
**
From Chap. 4: -
Rob insisted he had not
landed the trainer in any cowpasture as the angry farmer had charged. . . We all got down on our hands and knees and looked under the
airplane . . . We saw, what appeared to be, large blobs of cow manure stuck all over the underside of the
wings and landing gear . . .
**
From Chap. 9: - Gene told the LaGuardia Airport Tower
controller that his 90 year old grandmother could do a better job of controlling air traffic . . . This was a situation
that would never be tolerated in the intolerant and security conscious environment of today . . .Today, our entering
New York City airspace without clearance and Gene's belligerent behavior in the LaGuardia Control Tower would be met with
a completely different response . . . (lots more) . . .
 LaGuardia Airport / New York City **
From Chap. 11: - I took Nicole for a ride in
the Twin-Commanche . . . I let her fly the airplane from the co-pilot's seat . . . . We shared some intimate moments
while the autopilot flew the airplane high over Quebec City . . .
 **
From Chap. 12: - Because the George Washington Bridge, in
New York City, is almost 200 feet above the Hudson River, some pilots are tempted to fly under it, rather than over it. We
joked that we could easily fly under the high bridge if we wanted to . . . (lots more) . . .
 **
As we approached lower Manhattan, we flew very
close alongside the World Trade Center Towers . . . These huge buildings were almost 1500 feet high, and we were
at 900 feet of altitude . . . We estimated that we were looking into the 60th or 70th floor windows of these twin-towers . .
 **
From Chap. 15: -
The airplane was falling tail first in a full stall condition . . . The left wing dropped out of control as we hit the ground . . . (lots more) . . . I
lost consciousness . . .(lots more) . . . We got away from the wrecked airplane as quickly as we could . .
**
From Epilogue - Flying an airplane creates a sense of self-confidence
and self-reliance (some would say "cockiness") that very few endeavors can provide . . . (more) . . . It may be the mystery of aviation that
makes non - pilots wary of flying. It is the intent of this book to remove some of this mystery and familiarize the non-pilot reader
with the - "down to earth / personal" - side of aviation . . . (lots more) . . .
I hope the readers of this book have found these stories to
be interesting and informative and now feel more familiar with the world of aviation, and with the people who
live in that world . . .
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