If I'm Lying/I'm Dying

About the Book

This book is an account of one boy who became a man though his love of flying. Sometimes scary, sometimes hilarious, the antics of the author illustrate what to do when the unthinkable occurs, and offers some sage advice on operating and instructing in small aircraft.

The autobiography expresses one man''s view of life as a true Texas entrepreneur, who operated and owned all manner of land planes and one amphibian. In addition, it poses the question of how could one person survive six crashes with only a broken little finger and what might God have planned for him next?

About the Author

            The movie “Aviator” makes me proud to say I was a pilot, not an aviator. Howard Hughes, with his sperm generated wealth, having questionable piloting ability, was interesting but distressful. The movie only told a portion of his extremely weird and eccentric life. He used aviation as a tool for notoriety.  I used it to make a living and acquire flight perfection.  Complacency is the pilot''''s worst enemy. The uneventful time passes, hour after

hour, with each one generating a little more of the same attitude. This monotony lets your guard down and targets you for trouble when you least expect it, then you have a do or die emergency at hand. If you panic, you perish. Proficiency is the only check and balance for complacency, bad weather, Mr. Murphy and bad luck.  As I progressed through 12,000 hours, not wanting to have the number 13 attached to anything in my life, I stopped logging flight time. The direct personal involvement with eight unavoidable mishaps brings me to wonder who my copilot might have been. My associates have all perished doing what they loved best, happy and with no regrets.  They couldn’t take it with them and didn’t worry about it. They lived life to the fullest.    

            By working in the engineering design business, I have been blessed with contracts in the sub-sea arena from submarines to bridges, suspension bridges and structures, hangers, buildings,  drilling rig derricks and substructures, etc.. I have had successful exposure to most all engineering design fields except aircraft design.  I have successfully "undesigned" a total of five aircraft with only a broken little finger.