AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - March 2025 - 46

BRIEFING
BOOKSHEL F /
Two pilots,
years apart
The Uncharted Flight
of Olivia West
INSPIRED BY REAL events of a female
aviator, The Uncharted Flight of Olivia
West follows Olivia, a young pilot, in
her attempt to complete an air race from
the west coast to her home in Hawaii.
She must fight for her right to take part
in the male-dominated aviation world
of the 1920s, and finally manages to be
picked as navigator, officially entering in
the dangerous race that will threaten her
life, time and time again. Simultaneously,
the story follows Wren in the 1980s as
she inherits a piece of land on the Big
Island that contains clues to a tragic
aviation history. She enlists the help
of neighbors to uncover Olivia's story,
which leads to discoveries that lie much
closer to home than she could have
imagined. -Capucine Cordina
Defending the
U.S. with civilians
America's Homefront Air War
C IVI L AI R PATROL coastal air corps
historian Roger Thiel brings to light the
largely untold story of how U.S. civilian
pilots defended the East Coast from
German submarines during World War II.
The CAP Coastal Patrol consisted of 21
stations with civilian pilots flying their
civilian aircraft and spanned from New
England to the Gulf Coast. Shortly after
the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Thiel
writes that engagement moved from the
Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Coast, with
underwater torpedoing of Allied ships
by German submarines " within eyesight
of New York City. " America's Homefront
Air War contains 90 historic black and
white photos of Golden Age of aviation
classics. Deployed models included the
Fairchild 24, Grumman Widgeon, Ryan
SCW, Sikorsky S-39, Stinson Reliant and
Voyager, and Waco Cabin biplanes. Some
were outfitted with bomb doors and many
had the capability to drop depth charges
on aggressors. The CAP's Coastal Patrol
" influenced the tactics of U-boats " and
ultimately led to increased safety of
merchant shipping vessels, which helped
secure supply chains for the Allied forces.
In all, 26 Civil Air Patrol pilots paid the
ultimate sacrifice with their lives.
-David Tulis
46
AOPA PILOT / March 2025
Secret missions
We Dared to Fly
W I L L I AM R EEDER J R . tells the true
story of his assignment to the special
mission unit, the 131st Surveillance
Airplane Company, call sign Iron Spud.
Army aviators flew the Grumman
OV-1 Mohawk in Vietnam to capture
intelligence for military decision makers
and senior officials. When Reeder joined
the mission, already three-quarters of
the unit's aircraft had been lost, most to
combat action in Laos and North Vietnam.
The Army quickly replaced losses in the
131st because of the critical need for the
information they collected. Reeder brings
the reader into the lives of this group of
fascinating brave men in We Dared to Fly:
Dangerous Secret Missions During the
Vietnam War with recently declassified
material and his own personal experience.
Reeder is a retired U.S. Army colonel who
received two Distinguished Flying Crosses
and three Purple Hearts.
-Julie Summers Walker
AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - March 2025

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