Details: This is an ...

"Clyde Edward "Upside-Down" Pangborn made crowds gasp when he performed his daring aerial stunts during the Roaring Twenties. He was among the period's finest aerial showmen. As his nickname suggests, he was anything but a conventional pilot, and people loved him for it. But Pangborn was much more than an entertainer. In 1931, he and a fellow aviator set a world record when they became the first people to fly nonstop from Japan to the United States. Pangborn also served as a test pilot in his later years. During his career, Pangborn not only knew the thrill of entertaining crowds and establishing records, but also the painstaking process of thoroughly testing a plane and making it safe for other pilots to fly."

"During World War I, Pangborn served as a flight instructor for the U.S. Army at Ellington Field in Houston. There he taught cadets how to fly the Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny" biplane. Although Pangborn had a relatively uneventful military career, he did acquire a rather unique talent. Pangborn learned to slow-roll his plane onto its back and fly upside down. His fellow pilots subsequently began calling him "Upside-Down Pang," a name that would stick with him for life, although most people would shorten the nickname to either "Upside-Down" or "Pang."

"After the war, many military aviators, like Pangborn, wanted to use their new skills as pilots to earn a living. The U.S. military had a surplus of Jenny biplanes, and many of them bought Jennys and set out across the country performing aerial shows."

"Pangborn became one of these professional barnstormers, thriving as an aerial stuntman and performing all sorts of tricks. One of the first stunts he attempted was an automobile-to-airplane transfer at Coronado Beach, California, in 1920. During the stunt, Pang was supposed to hop off the back of a speeding car onto a rope ladder that was hanging from a cruising airplane, and then climb up into the aircraft. Although Pang got hold of the ladder, he lost his grip and plunged to the ground. Remarkably, he only sustained three dislocated vertebra and some muscle strains and bruises. This would be the only serious accident of his career.

"In 1921, Pangborn joined Ivan Gates and formed the Gates Flying Circus. Pang was part owner of the show and the chief pilot and operating manager. The troupe toured internationally and became famous. One of the key stunts Pangborn performed was to change planes while in flight. He held the world record for the feat. In 1924, he also made news when he rescued a stuntwoman in midair whose parachute had gotten tangled in his plane's landing gear. Pangborn flew countless miles during his barnstorming days without sustaining any serious injuries or inflicting any on his passengers."

Illustrated with numerous photographs.

A fine addition for your bookshelf!

Condition: Both the book and un-clipped dust jacket are in near fine condition with a solid binding and clean pages, no names or markings.