Moondog's Academy of the Air and Other Disasters

I met Pete Fusco at our EAA Monday Morning Coffee & Donuts a month ago, and guys were talking about the book, so I picked up a copy for my aviation shelf.DAMN GOOD READ! If you like great aviation stories, you'll love the book. And according to Pete, every word of it is true...

It was all I could do to get through the first chapter. Stories that can't be true but also can't be made up!

This is very funny. It consists of some tall tales of an aspiring pilot who has to take on some shady freight flying jobs to earn a living. If you are a pilot, the stories are doubly funny. I laughed out loud several times.

If you started your pilot career in general aviation during the late 1950’s thru the 1980’s you have pretty much lived this book! Every shady operator you have worked for is represented in this book. The junk airplanes, promises of “ground floor “ opportunities, bad weather, long hours and short pay. Yup, it’s all there. And you know, it’s all funny (well, it is now)! I read this about once a year!

I have already loaned out my copy to the first of several on my list of flying friends. This is a good aviation read and I 100% recommend it as a fun, and somewhat instructive read to all pilots.

I am a pilot and aircraft owner. I love this book. Many people have asked me why I do not chase a career in aviation to which I reply "I could not take the vow of poverty" - which leads to puzzled looks because "everybody knows pilots make big dough". Perhaps some pilots do well, but I suspect this book details the career arc I would have probably "enjoyed". Pete, you had me from the preface "Pilots as yet unborn, destined to inherit an aviation world sanitized of all fun by corporate and federal memo fairies". So true. If you can fly an airplane without a GPS and a GoPro and/or fake airline uniforms seem pretentious then this book has something for you. Enjoy.

It's amazing how much aviation today is the same as it was 40-50 years ago, maybe just a little tamer. My own experiences as an instructor and freight dog weren't quite as wild as Pete Fuscos, but the industry and the characters in it are the same today as they were then. At times I felt like I was reading my own thoughts. This is a must read for any pilot, or anyone thinking about becoming a pilot. Definitely one of the best aviation books ever written.

Coming up in aviation via the civilian route one absolutely had to have a sence of humor or else you did not make it or were deemed a stick in the mud. Also the whole vow of poverty can not be emphasized enough! Fusco's story comes from a time of a much more Wild West era of limited government oversight. This is a must read for anyone looking to dip there toe in the water of an aviation career. Though the days of the chump change guaranteed solo are long gone and now to get all your ratings could by you a nice house. This along with Gann's Fate is the Hunter should be required reading.

This was a great read, one of the few aviation books I have read which you wanted to read in one hit.Some of the stories are very funny, some a tad sinister, but always hugely readable.Another book is called for.

Undoubtedly one of the funniest book on aviation. Probably makes it to my personal top-5 “most entertaining books ever” list. It’s a great and refreshing read.

Couldn't put it down

I couldn't put this book down once I started it. A very entertaining read.

First chapter a bit overwrought; gets better as you go.