Central Kansas Library System

Jason Blair is an active instructor and FAA-designated pilot examiner who has worked for many years in the aviation training industry. He has flown and instructed in more than 90 makes and models of general aviation aircraft, and through his experience has learned enough to share some knowledge that may be useful to others. He writes for multiple aviation publications and has worked for and with aviation associations and the FAA as an industry representative...

A gripping account of how a major air disaster was averted, by the captain and former Top Gun pilot Instinctively, I release my pressure on the sidestick. Out of my subconscious, a survival technique from a previous life emerges, Neutralize! I'm not in control so I must neutralize controls. I never imagined I'd use this part of my military experience in a commercial airliner... On routine flight QF72 from Singapore to Perth on 7 October 2008, the...

The mystery of flight is magical; the reality even more so-from the physics that keeps a 450-ton vehicle aloft, to the symphony of technology and teamwork that safely sets it down again. Take it from Mark Vanhoenacker-British Airways pilot, international bestselling author, and your new flight instructor. This is How to Land a Plane. Vanhoenacker covers every step-from approach to touchdown- with precision, wit, and infectious enthusiasm. Aided by...

This charming history of aviation covers every contraption that flies in one spectacular comic album about our conquest of the skies.

Calling Major Tom is a tale of friendship and community about the world's most unlikely astronaut. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll get a David Bowie earworm and you will cheer on all the grumpy men in your life. There's a starman waiting in the sky. And his name is Thomas. He is very happy to be on his own, far away from other people and their problems. But beneath his cranky exterior lies a story and a sadness that is familiar to us all. And he's...

A series of short stories that chronicles the life of Iva Metz and her husband Homer. For years, friends and family have told Iva, “You should write a book!” At the age of 97 (although she still claims to be 39) she finally decided to write her book. This memoir starts out with Iva’s earliest memories at age 4 growing up in rural Kansas. She fell in love with the idea of flying at a young age. Later, she was the first female pilot to solo from...

The ghost and Mr. Chicken: After deciding to solve a murder mystery, a timid typesetter spends a fright-filled night in a haunted house. The reluctant astronaut: A small-town carnival worker who is deathly afraid of heights suddenly finds himself working for NASA and getting mixed up in an experimental flight. The shakiest gun in the West: After leaving the comfort of the East to bring modern dentistry to the West, a timid Pennsylvania dentist finds...