A ruthless, crazed serial killer terrorizes North Carolina. He’s not killing teenagers with a grotesque butcher knife, but instead shooting down unarmed, helpless small planes over the blue Carolina skies while flying a replica of the "Red Baron's" triplane. If you want a fast-paced action/adventure novel about a battle between two men for the sake of honor, buy WINGS OF HONOR and buckle up your seat belt for an action-packed flight.
Jay Williams earned his pilot’s license while serving as a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne at Ft. Bragg, NC. He set the background of WINGS OF HONOR in North Carolina because of his familiarity with those picturesque skies. Although he no longer flies, he still understands the divide between those pilots who go strictly by the book and those who fly by instinct and use their inherent love of the sky to navigate the skyways of the US. When his thoughts aren’t in the clouds he writes articles and short stories for magazines, has penned three other books and blogs at The Thurber Brigade.
The excerpt is from "The Pilot's Lounge" a glossary of sorts at the back of WINGS OF HONOR to help the non-pilot readers of the book understand the terms used in this flying adventure.
I came up with this because one day I was talking to a group of students (I was their advisor) and used the term "Catch-22".
They didn't bat an eye, but later I thought to myself, "these kids have no idea what that means, nor read the book which came out decades before they were born.
All of us often do that when we speak. We use terms or abbreviations that mean something to us, but may not to the listener.
So I had a feeling this might happen in the book and decided to cover some terms that pilots use daily, but the non-pilot may not understand. The section includes some aerobatic terms, instruments and other helpful expression that should help the reader fly through this aviation adventure.
Book Excerpt
Wings of Honor
Runway numbers—The numbers on a runway go from 01—36 and represent the magnet heading in 10 degree increments. They are posted as the direction you are landing/taking off. In other words, if you are taking off/landing on Runway 09, you are heading 90° (east).
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