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In Flight USA Articles
Author George Leopold gives NASA Pioneer Gus Grissom His Due in Calculated Risk: The Supersonic Life and Times of Gus Grissom
By Mark Rhodes
Author George Leopold’s biography of Astronaut Gus Grisson, Calculated Risk: The Supersonic Life and Times of Gus Grissom (Purdue University Press) is a thoughtful and comprehensive attempt to not only tell the story of Grissom’s life but most notably put Grissom’s accomplishments in context and perspective as one of the original seven NASA astronauts. Grissom, who died tragically during a pre-launch test for the Apollo 1, is a unique figure in NASA lore and history in that he was one of the few astronauts to not fully “tell his story” in the form of a memoir.
Mr. Leopold, who writes frequently about the space program, methodically traces the arc of Grissom’s rise from small town in Indiana to enlisting at the end of World War II as a teenager in the embryonic U.S. Air Force then studying engineering at Purdue before ultimately re-enlisting in Korea where he saw action in the skies (interestingly enough, unlike several of his future astronaut peers, Grissom never had an official kill, as he primarily functioned as a wingman). Post Korea, Grissom distinguished himself as one of the first rank of American test pilots at Edwards Air Force Base.
Everything changed in Grissom’s life in 1957 when Sputnik was launched into space throwing the Cold War into a very high gear overnight. Grissom competed with over 100 exceptional and accomplished candidates to be one of the “Mercury Seven” astronauts. This distinguished group of American test pilots was thrust into immediate celebrity status thanks to flattering, gushing profiles in Life Magazine. Grissom was particularly uncomfortable with this development, as the work the test pilots did was hardly public knowledge and was in many instances top secret. Grissom also didn’t possess a high degree of the natural swagger and charisma of his peers (particularly John Glenn who was preternaturally media savvy). Despite this, Grissom became the second American in space and was part of the first man-maneuvered space flight as one of the astronauts in the Gemini program.
World War I in 110 Objects Take a Novel Approach to Chronicling "The Great War"
By Mark Rhodes
Military historian, Peter Doyle’s masterful, thoughtful and fascinating book World War I in 100 Objects (Plume) is not only a captivating chronicle of The Great War pictorially, it is also a spellbinding bit of storytelling by Mr. Doyle. The book could have easily functioned as a coffee table-style book, coasting along on the mesmerizing images such as a Pickelhaube (a German style ceremonial hat), a nasty looking Butcher bayonet, a Trench art ring (trench art being a sort of folk art using the residual artifacts of war like shell casings to manufacture jewelry and so on).
Joseph Flint's Rescue From Innocence
A combination of aviation thrills, ripped from the headlines intrigue and romance make for a satisfactory late summer beach read.
By S. Mark Rhodes
Author Joseph Flint is one of the most experienced flight test engineers in the world. He has tested all variety of aircraft and has now added ‘author’ to his impressive resume. (Courtesy of Joseph Flint)Joseph Flint is one of the most experienced flight test engineers in the world with more than 30 years experience testing and flying experimental aircraft all over the globe. He has tested all variety of aircraft including the Chinook, Apache, as well as the Boeing 737, 777, 787 and 747. To this impressive resume Mr. Flint has just added author with the recent publication of Rescue From Innocence (Xlibris Corp.), which was inspired by Mr. Flint’s own experiences working within the realm of global politics more than two decades ago. The book reads as a satisfying thriller with some welcome romance and soap opera elements (as well as a charismatic protagonist named Walter Judge) thrown in for good measure, Mr. Flint was nice enough to check in with In Flight’s Mark Rhodes about his colorful and accomplished life and his recently published book.
Author/Action Hero Peter Heller Creates an Instant Classic of Aviation Literature in The Dog Stars
By S. Mark Rhodes
Author Peter Heller is well known for his innovative and adventurous non-fiction and journalistic work including Kook: What Surfing Taught Me about Love, Life and Catching the Perfect Wave, an account of several months of the author’s life learning to surf under the guidance of surf gurus in Mexico and California. He also famously learned to fly in less than a month in a Men’s Journal piece entitled “How to Be a Bush Pilot in Less than a Month.”
Mr. Heller’s debut novel, The Dog Stars (Knopf) connects directly to his interest in aviation. The Dog Stars tells the story of a pilot named Hig who attempts to cope in a post-apocalyptic landscape by piloting his 1956 Cessna around what used to be Colorado (with his dog as a co-pilot).
With this work, Mr. Heller has emerged as a unique voice in American letters, someone whose storytelling ability bears watching. Mr. Heller was nice enough to speak with Mark Rhodes about The Dog Stars, aviation and other aspects of his adventurous existence.
IF USA: This is your first novel after several well-received works of non-fiction, many of these works revolved around your own personal experiences like surfing or flying. What was it like to construct something fictional?
Dark Horse Unearths an Aviation Comic Chestnut with the Rick Masters Series
By S. Mark Rhodes
(Dark Horse Comics)Dark Horse Comics has recently released Volumes 1 and 2 collecting the very early comic adventures of the Buddhist superhero called The Green Lama. Within these volumes there is buried an interesting aviation comic titled Rick Masters. Within the narrative of the comic, Masters is a former WWII ace who was discharged from the army having been labeled by the military as an “invalid” (the term the comic uses). Masters, a predictably capable and resourceful aviator re-invents himself as a kind of mercenary/adventurer/aviator who teams up with his Native American cohort/partner Twin Eagles (AKA “Mike”) who is an ace mechanic and a first-rate aviator in his own right.
Masters was created by Walter Gardern (with workmanlike art by Ira Turner) as a dashing creation seemingly inspired by dashing stars of the silver screen during the 30s and 40s such as Errol Flynn. Masters’ adventures started out as pretty much standard issue stuff dealing with saboteurs, smugglers, gangsters and the like. Eventually though they moved into a slightly more sci-fi realm traveling back in time and testing out early versions of “flying squirrel suits.” In this way, the strip was apparently influenced by some of the scientifically advanced pulp fiction stuff like Doc Savage and G-8 and his Flying Aces that were forerunners of traditional comics.
Seabiscuit Author Laura Hillenbrand Talks About her Latest Unbroken
By S. Mark Rhodes
Seabiscuit author Laura Hillenbrand has come up with another remarkable tale in her latest book, Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption (Random House) the rousing authentic story of Louie Zamperini who managed to live through a series of calamites that prove the old cliché that truth is stranger than fiction. In crisp descriptions, Hillenbrand narrates the story of Louie Zamperini a troubled young man who evolved into an Olympic runner and later a military hero. While on a routine patrol over the Pacific, Louie’s bomber crashed into the ocean setting off a chain of events for three years that test the limits of human endurance, fortune and fate. Ms. Hillenbrand was cordial enough to correspond about her work with In Flight’s S. Mark Rhodes.