Skywritings

FLY IDAHO!: A GUIDE TO ADVENTURE IN THE IDAHO BACKCOUNTRY
BY GALEN L. HANSELMAN

Fly Idaho! offers a colorful and informative guide to backcountry airports in the middle of nowhere; nowhere, that is, unless you like to fish, camp, hike, or photograph. Then, you're somewhere special. Most of these airports have no FBO, restaurant, fuel — heck, not even a town.

This book will also motivate you to seek mountain flying instruction, once you see the color photographs of several of the grass and gravel mountain strips — especially the crooked ones. Pine Airport's Runway 16, for example, appears to be a par 3 (looks like three landing attempts will be needed) dogleg to the left. And watch out at Hollow Top: The runway surface is subject to damage from livestock, ground vehicles, and rodents. The color photos are by John Plummer, who worked closely with Hanselman on the book.

In the section marked "Ground" you will find tidbits on local history and things to do. All of the airport descriptions contain advice from the locals on how to use their airport safely. Hanselman's no amateur: He spent enough money on graphics and research to do it right. Don't fly the Idaho backcounty without it. Available for $39.95 plus shipping from Q.E.I. Publishing, Box 1236, Hailey, Idaho 83333, or phone 800/574-9702 or 208/788-5176; fax 208/788-4621. — Alton K. Marsh

VISIONS OF LUSCOMBE, THE EARLY YEARS
BY JAMES ZAZAS

For lovers of the old Luscombe marque, or those just curious about the roots of one of the more innovative postwar airplane builders, James Zazas' Visions of Luscombe, The Early Years is a keeper. Chock full of delightful factoids and brimming with photos and illustrations, Visions of Luscombe traces the Luscombe line and the lives of Donald Luscombe and those around him.

Indeed, what marks Zazas' work is the detail given to the characters involved in producing some of the most interesting postwar airplanes. Rather than a walk through old parts catalogs, Visions offers the motivations and concerns, the victories and failures of the Luscombe airplane.

Zazas makes an effort to follow the design and construction of the early Luscombe airplanes — the Monocoupe, the Monocoach, and the Monosport, for example — and the inter-industry relationships, like the one Luscombe had with the Velie family and its engines. Moreover, Zazas attempts to track the lives of various airplanes as they bounced from owner to owner and, occasionally, from groundloop to nose-over. Extensive flight-test information is also offered.

The work also follows the design and prototyping of the Phantom and Luscombe's Model 8; the latter all-metal airplane was a significant departure from the mostly tube-and-fabric models of the day.

Virtually spilling over with photos and illustrations — 475 all told, in a 336-page book — Visions represents both an entertaining trip into Donald Luscombe's world and a tremendous resource piece. In hardback, Visions runs $36.95; a softback version is available for $26.95. For more information, contact Aviation Heritage Books, Post Office Box 665, Destin, Florida, 32540; telephone 800/999-0141. — Marc E. Cook

VIDEOS

NON-FLIERS GUIDE TO THE COCKPIT
SPORTY'S ACADEMY

Sporty's Academy is well-known for producing carefully organized, fast- paced videos with excellent graphics. Non-Fliers Guide to the Cockpit is no exception. The theory behind the presentation is that an informed passenger is a happy passenger. Segments on weather and navigation seem a bit deep for the mildly curious passenger, but the Fast Forward button on your VCR will cure that. Pilots can expect passengers who see this tape to want to help with checklists, and perhaps talk on the radio. The 75-minute tape is $24.95 from Sporty's at 800/SPORTYS. — AKM

FLYING THE TURKS & CAICOS ISLANDS
ISLAND STAR PRODUCTIONS

Anyone wanting to get into the aviation video business should purchase this and other tapes by Island Star Productions, because producer Ross Gault has found the right formula. It promises valuable information and from the time the tape is shoved into the VCR, that is what it provides. Gault has spent the time and money to do it right, returning to the islands again and again for additional scenes and interviews that illustrate key points. Even if you can't afford to fly to the Turks and Caicos, you can travel there vicariously through this tape. The tape is 60 minutes long and sells for $19.95. Call 800/940-6084, or write: Island Star Productions, 2225 State Road 3, Suite 14, St. Augustine, Florida 32084. — AKM

FLYING DOWN TO THE BAHAMAS
CURRENT PRODUCTIONS

Travel videos often have to walk a fine line between presenting the information necessary to make a trip possible and offering sufficient entertainment to keep the viewer interested. Current Productions' Frank Augustine has solved this thorny problem by separating Flying Down to the Bahamas into two volumes. The first takes you on a flying tour of the Bahamas and Caicos and Turks islands, seen both from the perspective of the tourist and from the perch of Augustine's Mooney. You'll even see some underwater footage mixed in with video and still shots of resorts, restaurants, and breathtaking tropical vistas.

In Vol. 1 there's relatively little of the nuts and bolts information pertaining to customs and paperwork. That's because Augustine rolls all the detailed information into Vol. 2, which also contains a good bit of in-flight videography.

As in the other Current Productions pieces, the held-by-the-hand approach works quite well, offering the pilot with an interest in traveling the Bahamas a first-hand view of the customs and procedures. Moreover, you get views of all the major airports in the area and useful tips on runway condition, ground transportation, and fuel availability.

This is Current Production's third shot at traveling videos, and the experience is beginning to show. Much of the footage is shot with hard-mounted cameras in the airplane or using tripods for ground-bound views. There's little of the hand-held, jiggle-view footage that marks Uncle Harry's first Christmas with the new video camera. Paul and Shery Loewen join Augustine and his wife Pat for the tour, and share some of the camera-operator duties.

In addition, the footage presents the flavor of the Bahamas sufficiently to be both informative and enticing. Augustine captures a typical yet comical encounter with the unicom operator at Pittstown Point on Crooked Island. After receiving an airport advisory, the friendly voice on the unicom reads the flight of two Mooneys the current lunch menu, from which each crewmember places an order.

And while the Mooney is not the best of camera platforms, Augustine manages to pull it off reasonably well, offering a variety of angles and plenty of over-the-nose footage that makes you feel like his right-seat passenger.

Each volume costs $39.95 plus $4.50 shipping, or you can buy both volumes for $69.95 plus $6.00 shipping. Augustine says that with the purchase of both volumes he'll send along a note good for 10 percent off the rates at most of the resorts mentioned in the video.

To order contact Current Productions, 5104 Smoki Drive, Prescott, Arizona 86301; telephone 602/776-7768. — MEC