Fast Jets to Spitfires: A Cold War Fighter Pilot's Story

Have you ever looked up at that aircraft passing overhead and wondered what it would be like to actually fly one? That stately airliner, the noisy military jet, or the busy light aircraft can all evoke curiosity and thoughts of adventure for many. Ron Lloyd has flown powerful Cold War fast jets as well as iconic propeller-driven fighters from the Second World War. In 1968, whilst training fast jet pilots in the Folland Gnat, he was selected to fly Spitfires in the making of the famous feature film The Battle of Britain. In this fascinating book he takes the reader into the cockpit to share what it feels like to fly and operate the early jets, or climb into the cockpit of a Spitfire, start up its Merlin engine and take to the skies. He uses his extensive experience as a flying instructor to set out how a pilot acquires his unique skills and how they are applied in peacetime and in war. Ron s operational role after training on Provosts, Vampires, and Hunters was as an interceptor pilot flying the Gloster Javelin, the mainstay of Britain s air defence in the 1950s and early 1960s. On exchange with the USAF, he was then selected to train American pilots to fly the Convair F-102, a similar job but with very different experiences. In this book, Ron sets out to share his passion for flying as a pilot with those who have not had that opportunity. He describes working with students at flying clubs, where preparation to fight is replaced by the personal challenge simply to get airborne in control of an aeroplane. Those who have flown as a pilot can relive their own encounters, which are brought back to life by Ron s stories all of which he tells with the humour and pragmatism characteristic of aviators worldwide. Packed with unique photographs of a golden age of aviation, Fast Jets to Spitfires brings the recent past back to life and allows readers to experience, through Ron s graphic accounts, the pure joy of being airborne and in control of flying machines that have helped forge this nation s history. Size: 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall.…