A Good Stick Hardback - 2005

Forced by federal regulations to retire at age 60, Jerry Sorlucco had served as an airline captain for nearly forty years and was probably the senior pilot on the planet. During that long career, he flew everything from DC3s to Boeing 767s. His memoir documents that experience professionally, personally and to some extent technically. Anyone with any curiosity about the life, work, gear and training of an airline pilot will find something engaging in this book. The story begins with an Italian kid from Brooklyn''s early love of flying and ends with his final flight from Frankfurt in 1997. Photographs of the aircraft Sorlucco flew, crewmembers, and his friends and family enhance the lively narrative. Given the sorry state of the airline industry, this story is especially timely. Sorlucco discusses some of the reasons for the industry''s collapse and offers some possible solutions. In fact, the entire narrative is framed in its historical context, so the reader will be constantly reminded of the wider world surrounding a personal journey. A Good Stick is a must read for the thousands of fellow pilots who shared an era with Jerry Sorlucco, for young pilots trying to keep afloat in a sea of airline red ink, and for anyone wondering what on Earth happened to America''s airline industry. For the aficionado, the historical and technical data in the narrative is not merely anecdotal; it is thoroughly researched and accurate.