By the seat of my pants: a pilot's progress from 1917-1930
Maker and role
Dean C. Smith, Author
Production date
1961
Object detail
Accession number
80-0281
Maker
Description
"'On trip #4 westbound. Flying low. Engine quit. Only place to land on cow. Killed cow. Wrecked plane. Scared me. Smith.' - Dean Smith sent this telegram to the superintendent of Air Mail after the flight it describes so eloquently. Except for the cow, it was a more or less routine flight for an air mail pilot of the 1920's, and the account of it sets the tone for this chronicle of flying in America... Smith, who is the greatest surviving bad-weather pilot of his time, received his first taste of fling in the Army Air Corps during World War I...after the war, Smith did a stint as a stunt pilot, and then joined the air mail. In 1928 he was asked to join Admiral Byrd's first expedition to the South Pole. He spent the next year coping with the problems of frozen planes, under the peculiar stresses and strains which existed at the base in Little America. Though the story of this expedition has been told many times, he gives it a dimension and curiosity which no other account could produce. By The Seat of My Pants is an engrossing account of Smith's experiences, but even more, it is fascinating flying history, for he has made vivid the times and trials of not only the pilots but also the planes. There is enough aviation lore here to satisfy the most demanding air buff, and plenty to interest the general reader." - book jacket
Aviator, 1917 style / air mail / the south pole / finis
Aviator, 1917 style / air mail / the south pole / finis
Media/Materials
Physical description
245 p. ; 21 cm.
Edition
First ed.
Other title
A pilot's progress from 1917-1930
Credit line
Dean C. Smith. 1961. By the seat of my pants: a pilot's progress from 1917-1930, 80-0281. Walsh Memorial Library, The Museum of Transport and Technology (MOTAT).
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