206th Review Fly Over Down Under- Australian Adventures by Single-Engine Airplane- Michelee Morgan Cabot
Michelee Cabot made a dairy of her 4 weekly roundtrip along the whole coast of Australia together with her husband Hal flying a Cessna 172. They started the trip with 4 single engine GA planes supervised by a very experienced pilot Nick Sharpe, guide and owner of the planes that were rented by the participants of this trip. Michelee Cabot wrote a vidid description of their time in the air and the time they spent between the flights together with their fellow travelers.
In a colourfull way she describes the landscape that appears under their wings during the flight and connects it with the history of Autralia. Random stories were Michelee refers back to her youth and the period in which she got pilot training are pretty sidetracks from the stories of their daily routine during this wonderfull and adventurous trip.
With a female touch and with a great sense of humor she tells about the sometimes strange encounters with local people in remote places were you only can get with an aeroplane. The stories about the photoshoot in a swimming pool and the encounters with the typical Aussie habits are fun reading.
Many years ago I have read “Charlies Travels”a book written by John Steinbeck and that tells about a flight across the USA in a Stearman together with his dog Charly. Well this book reminds me strongly of Steinbecks adventures but it is more a modern translation in another time and place setting and told by a gifted writer with a fine feeling for detail.
Both Michelee and her husband Hal are holding a pilots license and therefore the situations in the air and especially during approaches to unknown airports are commented in a familiar pilots jargon that will appael to the flying loving readers. It is however a pity that this book does not contain more photomaterial of the rare Australian landmarks that passes by under their wings
Fellow private pilots reading this book will certainly feel an urge to follow the same adventurous trip made by Michelee and Hal and see for themselves the exotic places that Michelee describes.
Well what is stopping you folkes?
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