The Rogue Aviator: In the Back Alleys of Aviation, 2nd Edition

Now available in a new Third Edition: ISBN-10: 0578085089 ISBN-13: 978-0578085081

Take a ride on the wild side throughout Ace Abbott's thirty-six year journey that includes: exhilarating low-level formation flights and night airborne refueling missions in the F-4 Phantom; five-star hotels and restaurants in Paris, greasy cargo ramps, and South American jails. Ace's journey will oscillate between aviation penthouses to aviation outhouses as he transitions through the turbulence of the airline post-deregulation chaos.

This radically erratic adventure is filled with equally implausible, pulse-racing aviation anecdotes and scenarios that reveal Ace's frequent excursions "outside of the box." Ace will take you to places where few layman or pilots have ever been. He will relate his close encounter with the Rastafarian culture when he smuggles Bob Marley out of Kingston, Jamaica. He hobnobs with iconic celebrities and Palm Beach Socialites while his chauffeuring of the rich and famous provides him a millionaire's lifestyle on a school teacher's salary.

An additional theme of this book is aviation safety, particularly regarding the current front and center issue of pilot fatigue. Ace relates his all-too-frequent personal experiences of fatigue in the cockpit and discusses the role of the FAA and the pilot unions regarding this problem. The stories of duty periods in excess of twenty hours were a result of his exposure to "the back alleys of aviation."

My reasons for writing the book were multi-faceted. The primary impetus was provided by two of my best aviator friends. They both insisted that I tell the story of my adventuresome and turbulent aviation career. I also felt that there was a need for an insider's perspective of the nuances of the life of a professional pilot. This theme is accompanied by a discussion of aviation safety, particularly the ongoing, and current front-and-center issue of pilot fatigue in the cockpit.

        My career was filled with unique, often improbable aviation anecdotes and events that he wanted to share with the reader. These radical aviation anomalies are entertaining and informative; sometimes poignant, but often jaw-dropping and pulse-racing. Much of the narrative is spiced with subtle humor along with a smattering of decadence and debauchery. I relate to the reader the good times and the bad along this rocky-road, roller-coaster-like path.

        I am an avid consumer of investigative journalism and I wanted to inform the reader that aviation safety is very fragile and frequently subject to the effects of safety being trumped by reducing operational costs..