Overview

Three thousand feet above the Zambian bush, the DHC2 Beaver had only ten minutes' fuel remaining. Night was drawing in; ground features were indiscernible. I could not raise anyone on the radio. Would this be the end? John Flexman knew he wanted to be a pilot from moment he saw an RAF flypast as a boy of eight. At sixteen he joined the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy, getting his 'wings' in 1961 at the age of 18. From there on he never looked back. His flying career took him around the world, from the Far East to Africa and back again. John came within seconds of disaster on several occasions and often encountered tragedy, losing several friends and colleagues in flying accidents. During his years as a private pilot in Africa he flew the dictator Idi Amin several times, while on the ground he was able to witness the barbaric results of the dictator's regime. He went on to fly an assortment of prominent businessmen, politicians and pop stars, from Norman Tebbitt to Phil Collins and Paul McCartney. John finally retired at 60, having survived a 42-year career spanning 17,800 flying hours. Aviation at the Edge is his story.

Full Product Details

Author:   John Flexman
Publisher:   Mereo Books
Imprint:   Memoirs Publishing
Dimensions:   Width: 15.60cm , Height: 2.20cm , Length: 23.40cm
Weight:   0.375kg
ISBN:  

9781909020351

ISBN 10:   1909020354
Pages:   304
Publication Date:   30 June 2012
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Early days Page 1 Chapter 2 Boarding school Page 11 Chapter 3 The Royal Navy and flight training Page 19 Chapter 4 Advanced flying training, Lossiemouth Page 28 Chapter 5 803 Squadron, HMS Hermes, the Mediterranean Page 38 Chapter 6 Far East Tour Page 54 Chapter 7 RAAF Butterworth, Typhoon Polly & Accidents Page 66 Chapter 8 750 Squadron, Malta Page 87 Chapter 9 Lossiemouth and RNAS Brawdy Page 96 Chapter 10 The Zambia Air Force Page 105 Chapter 11 UK and Uganda Page 135 Chapter 12 Baylee Air Charter UK Page 153 Chapter 13 Delta Air Charter Nigeria Page 175 Chapter 14 Bristow Helicopters, North Sea Page 197 Chapter 15 The HS125 and Malaysia Page 209 Chapter 16 Nigeria and The Twin Otter Page 234 Chapter 17 Gatwick - Bristow Air Charter Page 252 Chapter 18 Return to Nigeria Page 280

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Author Information

John Flexman was born and raised in Wokingham, Berkshire. As a boy he loved the thrill of riding his pushbike much too fast, and he knew he wanted to be a pilot the day he saw an RAF flypast zoom overhead. Fresh out of school at 17, John joined the Fleet Air Arm, where he relished the experience of learning to fly a wide variety of aircraft. John toured the world on HMS Hermes and completed eight years with the Navy before joining the Zambia Air Force. The experiences that followed as a bush pilot in Africa made his Navy days look like a vicarage tea party. He met his Trinidadian wife Janet in 1964 while on a posting in Malta and they have now retired to Malaysia.

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