In The Sky - Jerry Farquhar
- Retired Delta CA writes about his time in the Air Force and Delta, from Constellations and DC-6s to the L-1011 and others. Retired in the late 90s.

Three Years Off This Earth - Alexis Klotz
- Written in 1959, Klotz started as a Night Air Mail pilot for Western Air which lead to a career at TWA. Flew all over the world in WWII for the Air Transport Command, at the time he wrote the book he was still flying the Constellation. His chapter on flying the Night Mail is shocking, to say the least. Retired in 1966.

 

Great book! Read it 20+ years ago at Air Force pilot training. I ended up flying the F-16 in many of the same places he described in the book.

 

"737 Cockpit Companion" - Bill Buffer.

Master your domain.

(Hard to believe all of this nerd level stuff used to be legit questions for checkrides. Be the pro you wanted to be when you started flying and drink from the SWA 737 expert firehose. Boring as fudge. Expertly presented. When the music stops and you're in your airframe for life, get something like this.Here. (I found it on sale in an FBO somewhere) ).

 

FYI William P. 'Bill' BuLfer is a scab. CAL 83

As a union member I would hesitate to recommend his books.

 

I recall there being several 737 "handbooks" or master guides. Given the scab thing, does anybody have a recommendation for an alternate one?

 

Thanks for these recommendations. I read them both. Klotz’s was a heck of a read. Lots of adventures all over the world. I enjoyed reading about his experiences at TWA in the early days and the Connie days.

 

Best Books I read in 2024:

Concorde! By Captain Mike Bannister – A glimpse into what it was like flying Concorde for British Airways from inception to the airplanes retirement.


Tales of a First Round Nothing by Terry Ryan – Terry was a former 1st Round draft pick in the NHL whose career didn’t play out as expected.

A Life Impossible by Steve Gleason – A look at the life of retired NFL Football Player who lives with ALS(Lou Gehrig’s disease). Def a bit dusty in my house during reading.

Fearless Success by John “Gucci” Foley – A book on leadership and success through the eyes and experiences of U.S Navy Blue Angel pilot.


The Trading Game by Gary Stevenson – A young man’s journey from a poor child hood in London to the top levels of finance working on Canary Wharf in Finance to his realization that wealth disparity may ruin us all.


Journeyman by Sean Pronger – Another fun book about an NHL journeyman who constantly straddled the line between NHLer and Minor Leaguer.


Going Solo by Roald Dahl – Did you know Roald Dahl was an RAF fighter pilot? I didn’t either. Here is his story from his post Boyhood days in Africa and through his experiences in the RAF and his journey home to the UK.


Entrances and Exits by Michael Richards – A look at the life of Michael Richards aka Cosmo Kramer. A must for an Seinfeld fan.

Flying for Peanuts by Frank Lorenzo – Written by one of the most reviled airline executives in history, a look at his mindset and his deal making through his turbulent era in the 1970s and 1980s airline industry.

 

God Speed Cedar Key

 

Just a shout out to whomever left the book by J. Smuts ("Smuts" LOL) in the LAX pilot library.

Right up my alley.

Thanks, and I'm not giving it back. What a delightful surprise. That was like browsing a bookstore 20 years ago and thinking "Interesting. What's all this?")

(Contemplating replacing it with something equally off beat and interesting though. If you know, you know. And you'll suspect when you see the book dropoff. I don't LAX turn much though. )

 

assume Jan Smuts?
Which book of his?