The African-Bush Pilot The debut autobiography by Cecil Mullins is an auspicious success from the very first page to the last. He tells the breathtaking odyssey of his life from a small town Southwest Virginia boy to a well known, highly regarded pilot who flies the aircraft he dreamt of as a young man. His writing style is fast paced, graphic and often gritty with an occasional side bar of humor and ribald commentary about the fairer sex he encounters during his highly charged, adventurous career as a "Bush Pilot" and his unpredictable forays with non-scheduled airlines. The book is a must read. The reader will feel as if he is in the cockpit with the "Bush Pilot" as the fights the elements, warfare, mechanical and equipment problems and violent weather. It is a great book...you will not want to put it down. Go out and get a copy and experience the thrill of what you find as you turn the next page...and the next. Reaching the pinnacle of his career by surviving unbelievable mechanical failures and mishaps, violent weather, flying into African civil wars and revolutions in the dead of night to evade missiles and gunfire were but a part of the life he chose to live. He survived and prospered by his intellect, courage and unparalleled skill as a top flight mechanic, flight engineer, co-pilot and finally pilot and Captain of his own craft.

Colin Powell once observed that "a dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination, and hard work." This sentiment is mirrored dramatically in the story of African Americans in aerospace history. The invention of the airplane in the first decade of the twentieth century sparked a revolution in modern technology. Aviation in the popular mind became associated with adventure and heroism. For African Americans, however, this new realm of human flight remained off-limits, a consequence of racial discrimination. Many African Americans displayed a keen interest in the new air age, but found themselves routinely barred from gaining training as pilots or mechanics. Beginning in the 1920s, a small and widely scattered group of black air enthusiasts challenged this prevailing pattern of racial discrimination. With no small amount of effort—and against formidable odds—they gained their pilot licenses and acquired the technical skills to become aircraft mechanics. Over the course of the twentieth century and into the twenty-first, African Americans have expanded their participation in both military and civilian aviation and space flight, from the early pioneers and barnstormers through the Tuskegee airmen to Shuttle astronauts. Featuring approximately two hundred historic and contemporary photographs and a lively narrative that spans eight decades of U.S. history, Black Wings offers a compelling overview of this extraordinary and inspiring saga.

"Originally published as 'Bessie Coleman: first black woman pilot' in 2001"--Copyright page.

A poetic and nuanced exploration of the human experience of flight that reminds us of the full imaginative weight of our most ordinary journeys—and reawakens our capacity to be amazed. The twenty-first century has relegated airplane flight—a once remarkable feat of human ingenuity—to the realm of the mundane. Mark Vanhoenacker, a 747 pilot who left academia and a career in the business world to pursue his childhood dream of flight, asks us to reimagine what we—both as pilots and as passengers—are actually doing when we enter the world between departure and discovery. In a seamless fusion of history, politics, geography, meteorology, ecology, family, and physics, Vanhoenacker vaults across geographical and cultural boundaries; above mountains, oceans, and deserts; through snow, wind, and rain, renewing a simultaneously humbling and almost superhuman activity that affords us unparalleled perspectives on the planet we inhabit and the communities we form.

It was 1964 and black men didn't fly commercial jets. But David Harris was about to change that...

A Pair of Wings is a novel based on the life of pioneer aviatrix Bessie Coleman. Arriving in Chicago in 1915 from Waxahachie, Texas, Coleman is among the first wave of African Americans to take part in the Great Migration, the largest movement of Black people fleeing the oppression of the agricultural South for greater freedom and the promise of jobs in the industrialized North. Because no one in the United States will teach an African American woman to fly, Coleman learns to speak French and travels to France where she learns from some of the best flyers and designers of Great War aeroplanes. After her initial training she is awarded the French civilian aeronautic brevet, which entitles her to pilot a plane anywhere in the world. As the 1920s progress, both aviation and the Great Migration continue in parallel, and Coleman becomes the only woman in the world to contribute to both. She returns to Europe a second time for training in aerobatic maneuvers. And just as Coleman translated deftly between French and English, once home she converts the aerial life-saving and death-dealing tactics of the dogfighters of the Great War into daring and graceful barnstorming performances that dazzle and amaze her audiences. Through her tenacity and resilience, this fearless woman overcame cultural, racial, and economic obstacles in order to learn to fly. A full century after her accomplishments, Bessie Coleman continues to inspire. Her story is brought to life by author and pilot Carole Hopson. It is Coleman's bold determination and courage that lifted an entire people, and Hopson as well, upon A Pair of Wings. In order to support others in the pursuit of their dreams of flight, Hopson has created the 100 Pairs of Wings Project, which aims to send one hundred Black women to flight school by 2035. Twenty percent of the proceeds from the sale of each book will support this cause.