This Way Up: The Tale of a Timid Nobody Who Became a Gyroplane Pilot - Paperback
by Shirley Jennings (Author)
The Tale of a Timid Nobody Who Became a Gyroplane Pilot
This is the story of a shy and unremarkable nobody who learned to be a gyroplane pilot and consequently discovered a wider world. Bored with the daily routine in the 1980s, a spur-of-the-moment decision to fly a light aircraft changed the entire course of my life. I had no intention of becoming a pilot-people like me don't do things like that-but flying soon grew mundane, and the initial thrill wore thin. In an effort to recapture that lost spark of wonder, I tried a small helicopter and became captivated by the rotary-winged bug. My fate was sealed when, just a couple of months later, I saw Wing Commander Ken Wallis (the real James Bond) flying his famous gyroplane, Little Nellie. The addiction was incurable, and I was quite beyond help. However, gyroplanes have a bad reputation, and people tried hard to dissuade me. With so few gyronauts scattered across the UK in the pre-Internet 1990s, it felt like trying to join a secret society. The only available machines were single-seat, and the only way to learn to fly was to own one. No one said this was going to be easy! My quest led me to Cornwall, where a small group of autorotational veterans took me under their collective wing. Thanks to them, Delta-J was born, and they taught me how to stay alive, working from the ground up. Twenty years later, my rotary-winged obsession took this hesitant mouse across the English Channel, where I discovered the unimaginable freedom of the French ultralight world. My tiny rotorcraft and I are now part of that world. It has been a voyage of discovery and new horizons, with ups and downs in every sense-a journey I could never have imagined when I took that first aeroplane flight in 1985. Gyroplanes have been my greatest adventure!Made with care and unconditionally loved by our customers, this signature bestseller exceeds all expectations.
Made with care and unconditionally loved by our customers, this signature bestseller exceeds all expectations.
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