The book begins like many autobiographies of the pilots from the World War II era. A young boy falls in love with airplanes, gets a first ride from a barnstormer, learns to fly Cubs, and becomes an aviation cadet in the Army Air Corps. However, the expected war adventures do not occur, because war ends before the author finishes his training. Instead the book describes the adventures of peace time flying as both civilian and military pilot.
Although during peacetime flying there is no one trying to shoot you down (usually), there is still plenty of room for adventure. As John Anderson's flying carrier moved through several phases: flight instructor, pilot for the National Guard, and then airline pilot for Eastern Airlines, he had his share of adventures.
Shortly after the end the war John Anderson worked as a flight instructor. During one dual cross-country flight in a PA-12 "Super Cruiser" (that's a three seat Piper Cub-style airplane) he and a student were trapped above an overcast. Now the PA-12 only has basic VFR instruments and the instruments are located in the front where the student sits. The instructor's seat is in the back and all he gets to see is the student's neck. As the fuel supply ran low our author decided to attempt flight through the clouds using only the wet compass. Luckily, after he and student switched seats in flight (!) they spotted a hole and used it to safely get below the clouds.
In the early '50s the author was a pilot for a National Guard squadron based in Puerto Rico. There he got to fly the P-47 Thunderbolts as well as military transports of the era. One evening, while checking out another pilot in the twin-engined C-45 John Anderson turned one engine off while in the traffic pattern. When the pilot under test tried to secure the stopped engine he turned the running engine off. At this point the airplane was too low to make the runway and wound up in the bay. Fortunately no one was hurt and the airplane was later fished out out the water. The official inquiry blamed the crew for the accident, but because of some questionable maintenance on this particular airplane the pilots avoided serious punishment.
While working the "day-time" job at National Guard, John A. managed to squeeze in work as a crop sprayer. With two friends he started a crop spraying business in Puerto Rico using a brand new Super-Cub. One of the chapters of the book describes the ferry flight of the new Cub from Lock Haven in Pennsylvania to Puerto Rico in the middle of the winter.
At various points when reading the book I kept wishing for the author to provide more details about various flights. At time he'd say: "We took the C-45 from Puerto Rico, dropped some people in Miami and then I went and visited my family in Wisconsin." as though he was saying "I went to the corner and got the paper". To a low time amateur pilot like me a flight from Miami to Wisconsin would be a major undertaking!
Parts of the book are quite amusing. Here is how the author describes his first ride in an OX-5 powered Travel Air when he was eight:
"(...) I got in line, and when my turn came there were two other passengers who also got in. This was a two-place front seat, but since I was small they squeezed me in the middle. We bumped along the ground for a little while, then the engine suddenly made a lot of more noise. Then it smoothed out and I figured the pilot had changed his mind and stopped. The after about five minutes the engine was throttled back and I heard a strange whistle (I found out later in life that the whistle was the flying wires and was normal for a biplane). At that time it was rather scary. Then we bumped along the ground again. I just knew that we would take off this time, however we stopped and the man said 'Everybody out.' The ride was over and I didn't even know that we had left the ground."
The book starts little slow, but the story draws you in so that after a while it's hard to stop reading. I suppose "hearing" the story of such a full life from the person who lived it is what makes it so fascinating.
Finally a word about the photograph on the book's dust jacket. If you had read Richard Bach's Biplane or Nothing by Chance, you must remember the Parks P2A biplane that was the "hero" of those books. Did you ever wonder what happened to that airplane? Well, John Anderson traded a J-3 Cub for the Parks and that's the Parks biplane that you see on the cover of the book.
Reviewed by: Richie Bielak, 4/98
This book is printed by a small publisher and may not be available in your local bookstore. If you are interested in buying it you can contact John Anderson by email at: JAnder6008@aol.com for ordering information.