Spinning Through Clouds: Tales from an Early Hoosier Aviator [Paperback]

Max E. Knight (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0871952564 | ISBN-13: 978-0871952561 | Publication Date: December 28, 2007 | Edition: 1st

Aviation pioneers of the 1930s flew by the seat of their pants. Donning leather helmets and fur-lined goggles, these adventurous men and women climbed into open cockpits to battle the elements, sitting in narrow, flimsy cabins. Early pilots flew by feelings-not instruments or radios. They looped, spun, hedge hopped, and barnstormed, then landed in farm pastures. Flying new planes as quickly as they were crafted, early pilots repeatedly broke speed, distance, and endurance records, flying the jet age into being. Max Knight began flying in 1936 at the age of ten. At his father's airport in Lynn, Indiana, he met many of the state's aviation pioneers, learning to fly from some of them. He flew in many planes, from Piper Cubs to the Tin Goose, the first transcontinental passenger plane. Suitable for young readers and adults, the book also tells national stories from the early period of aviation, introducing air-racing champions such as Roscoe Turner and Jacqueline Cochran as well as better-known pilots such as Amelia Earhart and Howard Hughes.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

A pilot at the age of ten, Max E. Knight served in the Cavalry during World War II, attended Earlham College, was editor of his hometown weekly newspaper the Lynn Herald, and served on the staff of the Richmond, Indiana, Palladium-Item, for twenty-six years as sports editor and features writer. After retiring, he studied at two Bible colleges and became a state police chaplain. He also photographed worldwide travelogue movies for ten years and wrote several books, including the popular Somebody Stole the Pea Out of My Whistle: The Golden Age of Hoosier Basketball Referees, published by Guild Press of Indianapolis in 1995.

Product Details

• Paperback: 218 pages
• Publisher: Indiana Historical Society Press; 1st edition (December 28, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0871952564
• ISBN-13: 978-0871952561
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 7.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,777,630 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Dry yet good-natured wit characterizes this enjoyable glimpse of days yore, enthusiastically recommended for aviation buffs., March 4, 2008

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Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spinning Through Clouds: Tales from an Early Hoosier Aviator (Paperback)

Suitable for readers of all ages and backgrounds, Spinning Through Clouds: Tales from an Early Hoosier Aviator is an anthology of aviation vignettes by author Max E. Knight, who began flying in 1936 at the age of ten. Tales from Knight's own experience, the adventures of his fellow aviators, and amazing stories of early state and national aviation history fill the pages of this head-in-the-clouds reflection of how far flying has come. "That white thing up there is called a cloud. It is harmless unless another aircraft is at your level going the opposite direction." Dry yet good-natured wit characterizes this enjoyable glimpse of days yore, enthusiastically recommended for aviation buffs.