20 hrs., 40 min.

Chapter 2: FOREWORD

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About This Book

A first-person memoir recounts the author's preparation for and completion of an Atlantic crossing in a small passenger monoplane, interweaving practical details of training, mechanical and navigational challenges, weather conditions, and crew coordination with on-the-ground episodes at staging points and a public reception on arrival. Chapters survey earlier flying experiences, the move of base, logistical planning, and the aftermath, while essays reflect on technological progress, the role of women in aviation, and personal motivations. Numerous photographs and illustrations document people, aircraft, and places encountered.

To

DOROTHY BINNEY PUTNAM

UNDER WHOSE ROOFTREE THIS
BOOK WAS WRITTEN

FOREWORD

IN re-reading the manuscript of this book I find I didn’t allow myself to be born. May I apologize for this unconventional oversight as well as for other more serious ones—and some not so serious?

I myself am disappointed not to have been able to write a “work”—(you know, Dickens’ Works, Thackeray’s Works), but my dignity wouldn’t stand the strain. I can only hope, therefore, that some of the fun of flying the Atlantic has sifted into my pages and that some of the charm and romance of old ships may be seen to cling similarly to the ships of the air.

A. E.