What happens when a young man who dreamt of flying ever since he watched The Battle of Britain in 1969, manages to squeak through the demands of Air Force pilot training and finds himself posted to fly Boeing 707s in a unit that routinely transports members of the Royal Family, Governors-General and Prime Ministers around the world? For someone who aspires to one day occupy the hallowed captain's seat of a Qantas Boeing 747, it's a once-in-lifetime opportunity and promises travel to (and adventures in) foreign countries and destinations that he's only ever dreamed of visiting.
From Plastic Parrots to Flying Kangaroos is the account of a young man in pursuit of a dream and Book 1 - Big Boeings and Hovering Helos - chronicles his travels and experiences during his first couple of postings flying Boeing 707s in 33 Squadron and then, a few years later, in that old battlewagon of the Vietnam War, the Iroquois helicopter, as a member of the legendary 9 Squadron. Talk about going from the sublime to the ridiculous! So, if you've ever wondered what it would have been like to fly to Moscow at the height of the Cold War; survive on nothing but stock cubes and barley sugars for a week; be in an out-of-control helicopter over the Brisbane River or take part in a police drug raid, then this is the book for you.
Keywords: Memoir; Aviation; Military; Pilot; Humour; Air Force; Australia
