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  Featured Books: Aviation
 
THE BIG ONE
The True Story of an Epic Search to Find a Missing Small Plane Lost for Years
By Bruce Gallaher

Order from Sunstone: (800) 243-5644

When a small airplane carrying four men vanished in 1968 over the vast skies of Albuquerque, New Mexico a massive official search was launched in the rugged American Rocky Mountains. That official search was called off within two weeks with few leads. That plane and those four men had disappeared off the planet.

This spellbinding saga follows the men’s wives, families, and friends after they realized it was now up to them and them alone to find their loved ones. These amazing women were joined in their search by a cast of characters as diverse as the New Mexico landscape, including a group of Apollo space program engineers, a bar owner, a stunt pilot, a minister, some of the world’s most renowned psychics, and an army of complete strangers. Along the way, they get help from President Lyndon Johnson, a U-2 spy plane, and an American Indian Tribe. The entire search effort ranks as one of the largest in State history, lasting nearly five years.

An incredible, true story of how two young hikers in the remote mountains of New Mexico stumbled on the greatest discovery of not only their lives but the lives of hundreds of others. That discovery would change everything, forever, for everyone involved.

Bruce Gallaher was born and raised in New Mexico. He was a respected hydrologist at national research laboratory where he conducted water resources investigations and contamination studies and was active exploring the outdoors with boots, bikes, and skis.

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Softcover:
6 x 9
ISBN: 978-0-86534-947-6
200 pp.,$24.95


GOLDEN ARMS, AKA TEST PILOTS
Six Years that Changed Aerial Warfare
By Michael Williams with Lance Grace

Photographs by Michael Williams

From 1989 to 1995, a small group of individuals with unique skill sets came together to support air-to-air/air-to-ground weapons testing over the White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) in New Mexico. Unwilling to maintain the status quo, they came up with innovative solutions to support test missions and became the best at what they did. One of the squadron’s pilots used to say, “We do it, because we can, and we did, because it was fun.” What an adventure to fly and do what others could only speculate about. With little notoriety, we helped advance stealth, global positioning systems (GPS), and missile technologies, while developing our own capabilities that no one thought possible. Instead of saying “why,” we said “why not,” and never settled for ordinary, but extraordinary. In time, our reputation grew as an organization that could always deliver. It was not rare for a project to come in and say, “Your reputation has preceded you, so don’t screw up.” They only wanted the same support they heard other groups had received before. This book is a pictorial history of that journey, by the actual people who participated, and preserved for you to appreciate and enjoy.

Michael Williams served fourteen years of a twenty-six year Air Force career as an aerial photographer, of which eleven were spent supporting Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation (RDT&E) programs over military test ranges in Utah and New Mexico. As one of five Air Force flight test photographers documenting Department of Defense (DoD) inflight weapon systems tests from 1989 to 1995, he developed new techniques and technologies to capture data more efficiently, and helped advance our nation’s air power for today and tomorrow.

Lance Grace spent half of his twenty year Air Force career in the Flight Test arena. Being one of the first test pilots to fly and develop F-15 Strike Eagles at Edwards AFB, he brought a synergistic philosophy to Holloman AFB, where he became the youngest commander of an active Air Force flying squadron. Having little backing, Lance created a self-sustaining mission for the 586th Flight Test Squadron that continues to this day, including all operational and maintenance support for DoD missions staging out of Holloman for tests conducted over the White Sands Missile Range.

Website: https://www.flighttestimagery.com/

Softcover:
8 1/2 X 11 Illustrated, Color
ISBN: 978-1-63293-161-0
202 pp.,$60.00


HELL'S BELLE
From a B-17 to Stalag 17B
By Randall L. Rasmussen

MANY ILLUSTRATIONS

It was December 3, 1943, and American warplanes were on assignment over Nazi Germany. Sergeant William Rasmussen was the ball turret gunner on the Hell’s Belle, a B-17 heavy bomber. During one of its missions, the Belle was shot down and the captured American flyers were sent to the notorious German prison camp Stalag 17B.

In Stalag the American prisoners of war had to deal with the harsh rules imposed by the German Commandant as well as deplorable living conditions: filth, bitter cold, starvation and disease. Told through the eyes of one young flyer, the book has non-stop action, emotion and humor, and captures the upbeat and undefeatable spirit of America’s finest young men who served the United States during WWII.

RANDALL L. RASMUSSEN, M.D. used his father’s memoirs, “From a B-17 to Stalag 17B,” as the basis for this book. Dr. Rasmussen also explored William Rasmussen’s notes, the verbal history that he recorded at the local library, research material, and recollections of the narratives he heard his father tell so many times over the years. William Rasmussen was a popular guest speaker at press clubs, library clubs and service organizations in Michigan’s lower peninsula near his home. His narratives were enjoyed immensely since he had a special gift of being able to captivate audiences as they shared his experiences flying over Nazi Germany and being a prisoner of war.

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Website: http://www.hellsbelle.com
Website: http://books.google.com/books?id=dTlJkA2XqvYC

Hardcover:
6 X 9
ISBN: 978-1-63293-492-5
212 pp.,$34.95

Softcover:
6 X 9
ISBN: 978-0-86534-405-1
212 pp.,$18.95

eBook:
ISBN: 978-1-61139-027-8
212 pp.,$9.99


OVERHEAD ESPIONAGE
A Historical Snapshot of US Aerial Reconnaissance
By Charles E. Cabler

A historical snapshot of the development and evolution of US aerial reconnaissance as a vital part of our national security and combat support operations. Many illustrations in color.

Aerial reconnaissance, an invaluable part of US military warfare for intelligence gathering and support of ground troops, was referred to in its developmental years as overhead espionage. Although overhead espionage is most often associated with the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, its origin dates back to Napoleon Bonaparte’s French Balloon Corps in 1799. A little-known fact is that US aerial reconnaissance was effectively used by both the Union and Confederate armies during the Civil War at the battles of Bull Run, Yorktown, and Vicksburg. Many people are familiar with the U-2 or the Blackbird as significant US spy planes. However, from its beginnings in this country in October, 1861, reconnaissance work has grown exponentially using many different types of aircraft. The United States Army Air Corps, formed in 1941 partially for reconnaissance work, was followed in 1947 with the creation of a separate branch of service, the US Air Force, for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance purposes, in addition to aerial combat. This book is a snapshot of significant first planes in the progression of overhead espionage, and a way to remember the men and women, past and present, who bravely help to provide the freedom we enjoy in our great country through their dedicated work in overhead espionage.

Charles E. Cabler is a US Air Force veteran who served for six years during the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Vietnam War. He was stationed at the 3800 Air Base Wing, Maxwell Air Force Base, Montgomery, Alabama; the 1094 Support Squadron, Manzano Base, Albuquerque, New Mexico; and the Air Force Reserve, Denver, Colorado. He is also an amateur historian and an aviation enthusiast with a great appreciation for the work accomplished in aerial reconnaissance. He is a member of the American Legion, Post 11 in Florence, Alabama, and uses his forty-three-year banking background as a volunteer adviser for the American Corporate Partners Organization, providing career guidance to military personnel as they transition into civilian life.

Website: https://chasec09.wixsite.com/author/published-books

Hardcover:
6 x 9
ISBN: 978-1-63293-497-0
204 pp.,$39.95

Softcover:
6 x 9
ISBN: 978-1-63293-321-8
204 pp.,$24.95


TALESPINS
A Story of Early Aviation Days
By Edith Dodd Culver

See PRAISE FOR THIS BOOK below.

Order from Sunstone: (800) 243-5644

This first-hand account of early aviation days includes the beginning of air mail service in the United States. It also includes stories about air pioneers and their training and exploits, as well as authentic accounts of the women who were aviation enthusiasts and, in some cases, pilots themselves. The author points out that these women played a vital part in early aviation history. Many photographs.

“Culver’s late husband, Paul, one of the country’s earliest pilots, was a member of the team that carried the first bags of air mail. Here his wife recalls those days when to be a pilot was to court death and when marriage to a pilot presumed early widowhood.” —Publishers Weekly

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Website: http://books.google.com/books?id=S1QUAAAACAAJ&dq=9780865340732

Softcover:
5 1/2 x 8 1/2
ISBN: 978-0-86534-073-2
128 pp.,$14.95

eBook:
ISBN: 978-1-61139-897-7
128 pp.,$9.99


YARDARM AND COCKPIT
By David D. Allyn

“This book is about a man living his passion and dreams. Dave Allyn combines flying and sailing adventures from an early age to the present. As a former airline first office, while reading this book I could feel, smell, and see those round engines as they propelled military and civilian airplanes of long ago. Yet Allyn’s experiences can also be enjoyed by readers who only dream of such things. And for those who always wanted to sail around the world here is a year of doing just that. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to know what it is like to fulfill one’s dreams.” —William J. Harris, Captain (Retired) US Airways

“Dave Allyn has courageously taken the time to do what so many of us often wish we could accomplish: recap our life experiences with candor and humor. The difference is that Dave has the credentials to back it up. Such a treat to get to know Dave through his experiences owning and flying airplanes that most of us only dream about throughout aviation’s golden age.” —Geoffrey VeneKlasen, Airline transport/corporate pilot and federal pilot examiner

Order from Sunstone: (505) 988-4418

David D. Allyn has led a life that others can only dream about. Adventurer, traveler, sailor, aviator, explorer, and big-hearted bon vivant, Dave came of age while sailing around the world on the last voyage of the tall Brigantine Yankee with all the accompanying tales of drudgery and heat punctuated by terrifying gales, tension amongst the crew members, and a too-close encounter with a one-thousand-pound bull shark. Then there was the time he survived emergency surgery on the ship’s kitchen table.

An adrenaline junky, Dave also flew planes back in the days when you needed a helmet and goggles to do it. Aviators and historians will delight in his vivid accounts of flying vintage aircraft—139 different types in all, as well as his stories of collecting a large fleet of famous old aircraft and establishing a fixed base operation—it’s still there: Dolphin Aviation in Sarasota, Florida—and a museum.

These stories aren’t just about boats and aircraft, however, they’re also about people and pristine landscapes. You’ll visit Tahiti, Bimini, and the Galapagos before tourists got there. You’ll meet cowboys, mechanics, skydivers, artists, deep-sea divers with a death wish, crazy drunks, and a host of other characters who knew how to live life large.

A life-affirming, swaggering book, Yardarm and Cockpit is one wild ride without a seat belt.

David D. Allyn, an avid aviator, sailor, diver, and adventurer, took his first flying lesson at age five, his first dive at thirteen, and turned twenty-one on Roratonga, while sailing headlong through the South Pacific on the Brigantine Yankee's last complete voyage around the world. Originally from San Francisco, David now lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

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Website: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Yardarm-and-Cockpit/571855626215330

Hardcover:
7 x 10
ISBN: 978-0-86534-924-7
410 pp.,$60.00

Softcover:
7 x 10
ISBN: 978-0-86534-923-0
410 pp.,$50.00

eBook:
ISBN: 978-1-61139-208-1
410 pp.,$9.99


 
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