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After scoring well on pre-aviation screenings and showing the necessary drive and discipline, Bob, Paul, and Walt arrive in Pensacola, Florida, to begin flight training for the Navy. The three young men become acquainted and realize they’ll be in the same squadron. They excel as pilots through intense training, both in the classroom and behind the stick in planes. In addition, they become close friends. Although it is 1929, and the stock market has just crashed, the young navy aviators are isolated from most of the trouble because they are in the armed services. Walt’s father is a wealthy energy tycoon, so he helps the young men stay in fancy hotels and experience the finer things in life when they have leave. Eventually, they all pass their flight certifications and get their wings. Bob and Paul are assigned as pilots to a carrier, while Walt becomes an important member of a team working on lighter-than-air vehicles to use as flying aircraft carriers. As these experimental carriers get more national attention, the young pilots meet again as they attempt to solidify the viability of these vehicles for the Navy and the public. However, tragedy puts that goal out of reach.
Walter’s knowledge of the flight controls of the early Navy planes and the development and history of the lighter-than-air carriers is extensive. Anyone interested in that particular program or those who are aviation enthusiasts and enjoy the intricacies involved in piloting early aircraft will find a lot of welcome information. In addition to being informative, the writing is clear and easy to follow. The off-duty lives of the three pilots and their lavish trips are interspersed with the test flights to break up the focus on early Navy aviation and give the characters more personality to draw in readers and create empathy. However, as the men finish training and go to their new assignments, the focus narrows onto Walt and the development of the lighter-than-air program.
It is impossible not to draw comparisons between the young pilots’ training period and the original Top Gun movie. These young, hotshot pilots form strong bonds with each other, excel in their training, and earn top marks while also being popular and well-liked by the ladies during their times on leave. With the added advantage of the money Walt’s father can contribute, these aviators seem to live more like movie stars than pilots. However, their character development ends up taking a backseat to the meticulously detailed flight examples and rather methodical, point-by-point narrative style. The author also chooses to keep the danger and tension to the minimum in this story, focusing instead on details that serve to enrich and educate. Readers who are looking for an in-depth dive into the history behind the tale and who dislike fiction taking precedence over facts in their reading will likely enjoy this work. Walter’s novel will especially appeal to historians interested in early flight and the lighter-than-air program as well as flying enthusiasts who love old planes and the details of how to actually fly them.