Aircraftstories.com

09/02/2022

Story 3) Introduction – I Lived To Fly Another Day
Leave a Comment / I lived to fly another day / By Wrigley Shane
Book by my father, George Wrigley.

“It has been my good fortune to have survived forty years of flying and have had many near misses during this time. A few examples are, being shot at while working for the CIA as a mercenary pilot in the Caribbean, ditching in the ocean, experiencing a tail rotor failure in a helicopter, narrowly missing flying into hills at night and closely avoiding electrical cables. I have recounted these and many more episodes in this book. Some of which were due to my or others’ pilot error and hope they will be of interest to those who enjoy aircraft-related stories. The reasons for many of my shortcomings have come to light, but I am not sure why I have lived despite many foolhardy escapades. I have met several exceptional and unusual characters, undertaken many jobs, and flown many aircraft types.

Some of my jobs included flying Sea Vixens off HMS Victorious for the Fleet Air Arm, instructing on fixed-wing aircraft in the Rhodesian Air Force. I also taught on helicopters in Rhodesia and was deployed in Alouettes in the bush war there. I then flew helicopters on ship service from Cape Town and did crop spraying in the Bell 47 helicopter. I flew for the CIA as a mercenary, during the Contra war in Nicaragua and then finally flew as an airline captain for a South Africa airline. Many of the stories also highlight the battles pilots endure against adverse weather conditions.

Although I have laid the stories out in chronological order, I did not write this book as an autobiography.”

Find this book in https://aircraftstories.com front page.

27/12/2021

Story 1) My Glider Accident

In 1987 I joined the Hennerman Gliding Club (now called Goldfields Gliding Club) in the Free State, South Africa. It was about 15km from the Mine that I was working for and about 300 Km South of Johannesburg. Every second weekend I rode to the club on my Honda 750 to have a few flights. It took about 48 flights of about 5 minutes each before I went solo in a wood and fabric ASK 13. I went solo with no problem. See what happened later in https://aircraftstories.com

22/12/2021

Story 2) Honeymoon trip in Tiger Moth in Tiger Moth over East Africa (1936)

This is the story of my Grandmother and Grandfather’s Honeymoon trip in a Tiger Moth biplane in 1936 as reported by the Bulawayo Chronicle, Rhodesia/Zimbabwe. WEEK OF HONEYMOON IN A KRAAL Bride’s Adventures on Flight Up Africa. An exciting honeymoon, packed with thrills and adventure, is described in letters from a young Bulawayo bride,

The rest of this fascinating story is in https://Aircraftstories.com

The photo below is of my Grandfather and my mother with his Tiger Moth.

08/12/2021

I Lived To Fly Another Day

Book by my father, George Wrigley

"It has been my good fortune to have survived forty years of flying and have had many near misses during this time. A few examples are, being shot at while working for the CIA as a mercenary pilot in the Caribbean, ditching in the ocean, experiencing a tail rotor failure in a helicopter, narrowly missing flying into hills at night and closely avoiding electrical cables. I have recounted these and many more episodes in my book. Some of which were due to my or others' pilot error and hope they will be of interest to those who enjoy aircraft-related stories. The reasons for many of my shortcomings have come to light, but I am not sure why I have lived despite many foolhardy escapades; I have met several exceptional and unusual characters, undertaken many jobs, and flown many aircraft types.

Some of my jobs included flying Sea Vixens off HMS Victorious for the Fleet Air Arm, instructing on fixed-wing aircraft in the Rhodesian Air Force. I also taught on helicopters in Rhodesia and was deployed in Alouettes in the bush war there; I then flew helicopters on ship service from Cape Town and did crop spraying in the Bell 47 helicopter. I flew for the CIA as a mercenary, during the Contra war in Nicaragua and then finally flew as an airline captain for a South Africa airline. Many of the stories also highlight the battles pilots endure against adverse weather conditions.

Although I have laid the stories out in chronological order, I did not write this book as an autobiography.

For this and other stories see

Aircraft Stories Blog