Flying Capone's Booze: 1924

Saying no to Al Capone was a sure invitation to a swim in the cement slippers. Unless you happened to be the best damn pilot around Chicago in 1924, just when the Big Fellow discovered aviation ambitions. Al insisted on the best and Slonnie was top test pilot for Lincoln Standard Aircraft, where Capone bought his new airplane toys. The mobster thought a pilot should come with his open-cockpit five-seaters but the Lincoln stunt ace didn't care to fly illegal booze, never mind the pay.If Slonnie couldn't say no right out, he might manage to dampen Capone's enthusiasm for these new biplanes by spoiling a trial run. Slonnie had to try a maneuver far trickier than the outside loop to live. He knew the Cicero bookies wouldn't give odds on his chances but a triple-cross of rival mobs looked like the only way out of town.Along the way he ran head-on into a string of sabotaged airplanes. Could a flying legend spot his enemies before he traded wood and canvas airplanes for a pine box?

Jerry Sloniger lives in Germany where he was a free-lance journalist covering European motoring for magazines in fifteen countries before writing an aviation biography. He spent his youth in most cities where American Airlines landed, the son of a legendary pilot. His favorite reading is historical thrillers.