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I’ll Fly Away

A World War II Pilot’s Lifetime of Adventures From Biplanes to Jumbo Jets

After an exciting career flying dozens of different aircraft to destinations as near as midwestern cornfields and as far as Middle Eastern deserts, veteran aviator Jack Race regales us with his unique experiences in I’ll Fly Away, an engaging biography written with acclaimed novelist William Hallstead.

From his adventures flying for the Allies in World War II to his work as head pilot trainer for Ariana Afghan Airlines, Race has logged more than six decades in the air. I’ll Fly Away tracks his travels around the globe, encompassing his post-war job as crop duster and bush pilot, his thirty-four years as a commercial airline pilot for Pan American World Airways, his consultancy to King Hussein for Royal Jordanian Airlines, and the eight years in which he served as lead pilot for Orbis, an eye hospital on wings that served thirty-one countries. In 1989 Race notably retraced Charles Lindbergh’s 1927 20,000-mile goodwill tour, flying his Spirit of Orbis biplane to all forty-eight of the continental U.S. states.

A remarkable and wholly readable biography of an American original, I’ll Fly Away will be essential for the bookshelf of every aviation enthusiast.


296 pages | 40 halftones | 6 x 9 | © 2006

History: Military History


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Reviews

"An intriguing collaborative biography."

Max Friedersdorf | Island Sun

"Pilots and nonpilots alike will enjoy this engaging biography."

Art Sanfelici | Aviation History

Table of Contents

1.  The Germans saluted crisply
2.  "Speen!"
3.  Nothing is quite so silent as a dead engine
4.  Hired on the spot by the AAF
5.  Fierce acceleration glued me to the seatback
6.  A real handful of no-nonsense airplane
7.  Bluenose B
8.  Impressed by the trip but not by the captain
9.  "Release! Release!"
10.  Wear your Goggles! Don’t look back!
11.  The Stearman slowed, then in a shower of sparks, it lunged forward
12.  From AOA’s dark blue to Pan Am’s black
13.  Brass bands and red-carpets
14.  "What are you doing in that thing, Jack?"
15.  Seconds after lift-off, number three engine died
16.  A sky full of aggressive fighter planes
17.  "Where did that come from?"
18.  "You’ll have a special passenger"
19.  Quarantine or leave
20.  A colossal swindle afoot?
21.  Staring at me from my rice pile was an eye
22.  A visit to the Twilight Zone
23.  The worse news any parent could ever hear
24.  Flowers, bowls of fruit and champagne
25.  Three miles west of Wurtsboro the engine stuttered
26.  Aloft with ORBIS
27.  "Help him, Lord, help him"
28.  "Barnstormer’s Mutual"
29.  The year to live a dream
30.  "He’s not quite as tall, but he looks like Charles A. Lindbergh!"
31.  Weather forecast: Rain
32.  Across the U.S. by map and compass
33.  "You can’t park here!"
34.  A risky case of "get homeitis"
35.  Closing the circle
 
Flight Credentials
 

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