The Rogue Aviator In The Back Alleys of Aviation (Revised May 15, 2015)

Ace Abbott's book, the recently revised 3rd edition of The Rogue Aviator, will put you in the cockpit of the F-4 Phantom for exhilarating Mach 2 test flights and pulse-racing, treetop-level formation flights. Ace's Learjet charter stories will take you to five-star hotels and restaurants in Paris, jails in Venezuela, and greasy, noisy, air cargo ramps. The final journey encompasses a 22-year adventure as a Boeing 727 Captain with nearly a dozen different airlines during the unstable years of airline post-deregulation (1978 to present).

      The primary theme of this book centers on a memoir of the tumultuous aviation career of a fun-loving, free-spirited, adventuresome pilot. A secondary theme involves a plethora of unique and improbable aviation anecdotes that will leave the reader slack-jawed in amazement. One additional theme sheds light on the darker side of commercial aviation, fatigue in the cockpit. The narrative relates numerous incidents and includes discussions of the current front-and-center safety issue regarding pilot fatigue. The reader will also be exposed to the many hardships associated with the trials and the tribulations of a professional pilot.

       Ace takes the reader along to many rarely explored avenues of aviation as he visits 44 countries during his 36-year career as a pilot. The variety of venues includes: the Far East, the Middle East, Europe, Canada, the Caribbean, with hundreds of flights to Central and South America. Ace's passengers included iconic celebrities such as golfer Jack Nicklaus, astronaut John Glenn, daredevil Evil Knievel, along with entertainers Jimmy Buffett, Helen Reddy, and Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young. Ace's airplane adventures will often leave the reader in amazement and disbelief. Smuggling Bob Marley out of Kingston, Jamaica, and Ace's introduction to the Rastafarian culture are amongst the many challenging scenarios in the Ace Abbott saga.

       This insider's perspective of a professional pilot's exposure to the "back alleys" of commercial aviation will reveal a roller-coaster-like ride that is both entertaining and informative. Ace's unstable career results in numerous oscillations between the aviation penthouse and the aviation outhouse. The myth of under-worked and over-paid pilots will be debunked.  Spiced with humor, The Rogue Aviator is complemented with occasional sketches of pathos and poignancy. Captain Abbott's story also contains a smattering of decadence and debauchery.

       Finally, The Rogue Aviator takes an insider's look at commercial aviation and the FAA. With today's focus on aviation safety and the role of the FAA to insure our safety in the air, the author addresses his thoughts on these vital areas. Fasten your seat belt and hang on!

Ace Abbott, born and raised on a farm in upstate New York, upon completion of college, entered the Air Force in 1965 and became an F-4 Phantom fighter pilot based in the Far East. In 1971 he began his civilian career as a Learjet charter pilot in South Florida where he flew celebrities, iconic sports stars, hyperwealthy Palm Beach socialites, and unsavory drug dealers. From 1980 until 2002 he was a Boeing 727 captain with several airlines during the unstable years of airline deregulation. A thirty-six-year aviation career took him to forty-four countries with twenty-five employers.