Adventures in Flying

By Curt Epstein

March 1, 2008
Business Aviation Lifestyle

For more than 38 years, AIN contributor Jack Elliott, an award-winning journalist and member of the New Jersey Aviation Hall of Fame, chronicled aviation in New Jersey and beyond through his weekly column in the Sunday Star-Ledger. Now he has compiled a collection of his favorite columns in book form. Adventures in Flying, from Alexander and Ray Publishers, takes the reader on a wide-ranging, sometimes nostalgic tour of human-interest stories spanning the history of flight.

Covering subjects that range from Concorde to ultralights, from seaplanes to skydiving, Elliott’s columns have profiled aviation icons such as Jimmy Doolittle and Bill Lear, as well as lesser lights in the aviation sky, particularly those with New Jersey connections. Rather than list them chronologically, Elliott has grouped his columns by subject matter into several categories such as “The Old Timers,” “Look Out Below” and “The Movers and Shakers.” A chapter titled “The Gutsiest Pilots” examines those who have overcome disabilities in pursuit of their dreams of flight.

While the book does feature the occasional black-and-white picture, regrettably they serve in most cases as a source of distraction rather than information, due to their poor computer scan quality. But the main attraction remains the articles, which are short, informative and in most cases provide unique snapshots of the times of which they were written.   

Adventures in Flying, by Jack Elliott; Alexander and Ray Publishers; 516 pages; price $29.95; ISBN 978-0-615-13294-

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