[ChampChump]

On the World Service

A short piece, starting at about 11:23 in.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0173gzr

[profchrisreed]

Thanks for this - a good listen.

His autobiography, "Sagittarius Rising" is I think the best book of WWI aviation memoirs, mainly because he really could write. And the coda, his experiences flight training in China, should help any instructor by showing how much worse things could have been!

[Josh]

Thanks - brilliant. Some of it was taken from his Desert Island Discs - an absolute must-listen. It's available on their archive website.

[MichaelP]

his experiences flight training in China

I read this and I can attest that from my own experience the situation in China has not changed!

It's interesting that reading a nation's history can give you a taste of the character of the people.
I do remember reading Sagittarius Rising and the part about taking aeroplanes to China. I went to China to teach on DA40s and DA42s, and these were as strange and remote to Chinese students as Avros, and Vimy's were in the early 20's.

BTW, my Sun sign is Cancer, and my rising sign is Sagittarius... I suppose there's something to astrology...

[MichaelP]

How about this too:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-22254048

[joe-fbs]

In a addition to the truly brilliant Sagittarious Rising which I first read only about a year ago I found in a charity shop on Friday a near perfect (and I guess first edition) of his Farewell to Wings. It's a short collection of what it was like to fly each of the WW1 types that he experienced, enhanced with anecdote and wisdom. Well worth it if you can find it.

I was particularly struck, as I was when reading writings by the Wright brothers recently, how much basic airmanship was established then but so many of us keep rediscovering the hard way.