We're going to be promoting a pair of books at the El Segundo Public Library for a fellow writer. He bought a booth at the El Segundo Book Fair and then got sick. Fellow writer Rudy and I volunteered to man his booth. If you can, stop in to visit anytime from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The library is located at 111 W. Mariposa Avenue, El Segundo.
"Top Secret Flight" reveals a secret the US Government kept quiet for 60 years! In February, 1942, three handpicked bomber crews were trained in photo reconnaissance, set up in modified B-17 air craft and sent off to shoot the pictures necessary for Doolittle's bombing raid which followed.
The B-17s were not exactly dependable rides as they'd been modified well beyond maximum weight limits. They flew from Wright Field, OH, to Japan where the crew feared being seen (and shot at) and then another 2,700 miles to land in Dutch Harbor at a not-yet-finished Navy airfield. April 16, 1942, 16 B-25s were dispatched from the USS Hornet to bomb Japan.
"Tango Trajectory" is pure fiction as far as plot is considered, but the Mach 7 aircraft that stars in the story was real enough. You can read all about the "Taurora" in an article in the Wall Street Journal in 1992.
A young Navy test pilot is positioned by a powerful Congresswoman to become the first woman to fly Taurora -- if she can past the hostility directed at her from her fellow pilots. That's just the start of the story. Romance, intrigue, Al Qaeda members, the CIA and the FBI, a plot to down Taurora and kill the pilots... it's a really interesting story.
Dale Cox, author of both, is now retired, but his two transcontinental speed records still stand. He flew from LAX to New York and back in 1957.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment