By the Seat of My Pants: A PilotÕs Progress from 1917 to 1930

Download or read book By the Seat of My Pants: A PilotÕs Progress from 1917 to 1930 written by Dean C. Smith and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2020-01-21 with total page 189 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: By the Seat of My Pants is Dean Smith's story of his life as a flying cadet in WWI, an airmail pilot in the 1920's and, lastly, as the lead aviator in Admiral Byrd's 1928 Antarctic expedition. Told in a self-deprecating style with a matter of fact sense of humor, it is an engaging read from start to finish. Passages describe airmail runs heading West with no maps or runways available, and Smith's interesting take on the Byrd Expedition is a version of events not in the official records. Indeed, Smith claims his log-diary, which mysteriously went missing once the party returned stateside, was most likely stolen by Byrd himself lest it conflict with his narrative of the expedition.