• Table Of Contents
• Foreword
• Chapter 1 - First Flight
• Profile: Charles J. (Charlie) Boyd
• Chapter 2 - Becoming a Pilot
• Profile: John Myers
• Chapter 3 - Soaring
• Profile: Alcide (Al) Santilli
• Chapter 4 - The Landing
• Profile: Antonio (Tony) Sabino
• Chapter 5 - From A to B
• Profile: Laszlo (Les) Horvath
• Chapter 6 - All of a Piece
• Profile: Christine (Chris) Doig
• Chapter 7 - All Kinds of Air, All Kinds of Flying
• Profile: Carl Ray Smith
• Chapter 8 - Buttoning Up and Getting Going
• Profile: J. William (Bill) Bullock
• Chapter 9 - Helping Out
• Profile: Gerald (Jerry) Hoogerwerf
• Chapter 10 - Making It
• Afterword
• Acknowledgements

Afterword

ow did I come to choose the nine people profiled in these pages? They have not been featured in Who's Who and are unlikely candidates for the history books. They are just people I have met in my own flying odyssey who impressed me with their commitment to aviation and, above all, their style. They are "ordinary" people, but extraordinary in the ways they integrated their lives on the ground and in the air. In one way or another, each of them had an impact on my own pursuit of flying. Most important, I liked them. (I'm using the past tense here, but some are still flying and are still friends.)

Not surprisingly, half a dozen of the nine managed airports or airport operations, for that's where I met them—in Santa Fe, Bloomington, Socorro, Minden, and Estrella. Indeed, I met all nine at—where else?—airports. Four saw military service, although none was assigned flying as a principal military job. All were (or are) licensed power pilots, and more than half were (or are) licensed mechanics as well. Of the five who flew (or still fly) gliders, three strongly prefer to take to the sky without an engine. They all logged gobs of time in the air. Two tried airline work and then went back to private flying. One still flies big jets.

I salute these people and the many others—including Bob Buck—who helped to nurture my love affair with flying.