Over the Rockies with the Air Mail

Ted Scott Flying Stories #3

by Franklin W. Dixon

Armchair Fiction is proud to offer the Ted Scott Flying Stories. “Over the Rockies with the Air Mail,” by Franklin W. Dixon, was written in 1927. Unlike Ted’s Hardy Boys counterparts, there were no later revisions offered by Grosset and Dunlap. The series was discontinued in the mid-1940s. Old copies of the originals were all there was for collectors to seek out—until now! In this great tale, Ted faces a storm in near-zero temperatures, a snarling grizzly bear, plane saboteurs, a violent plane crash, a fang-baring rattlesnake, and of course there’s a dastardly villain lurking in the shadows. So join Ted as he races across the blue horizon into a thrilling world of adventure and intrigue.

214 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1927

About the author

Franklin W. Dixon is the pen name used by a variety of different authors who were part of a team that wrote The Hardy Boys novels for the Stratemeyer Syndicate (now owned by Simon & Schuster). Dixon was also the writer attributed for the Ted Scott Flying Stories series, published by Grosset & Dunlap.
Canadian author Leslie McFarlane is believed to have written the first sixteen Hardy Boys books, but worked to a detailed plot and character outline for each story. The outlines are believed to have originated with Edward Stratemeyer, with later books outlined by his daughters Edna C. Squier and Harriet Stratemeyer Adams. Edward and Harriet also edited all books in the series through the mid-1960s. Other writers of the original books include MacFarlane's wife Amy, John Button, Andrew E. Svenson, and Adams herself; most of the outlines were done by Adams and Svenson. A number of other writers and editors were recruited to revise the outlines and update the texts in line with a more modern sensibility, starting in the late 1950s.
The principal author for the Ted Scott books was John W. Duffield.

Reviews

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

First published in 1927, this book is very much in the vernacular of adventure stories of the early quarter of the twentieth century. The dangers posed to the hero, aviation pioneer Ted Scott are constant and way over the top. It opens in the midst of a massive blizzard with white-out conditions. Scott is approached by a physician that is desperate to fly to a medical emergency and the only way there is by air. At first, Scott refuses, considering it suicide. Yet, when he learns that a life is in danger, he relents and flies over rough country where there are peaks and visibility almost non-existent.
In true heroic adventure style, when it is discovered that he must land immediately due to lack of fuel, Scott conducts a semi-crash landing. He ends up colliding with a haystack that cushions their landing. By following a fence, Scott and his passenger find assistance and the life is saved.
In the standard style of stories by the house name Franklin W. Dixon, Scott is knocked out a couple of times and ends up crashing another plane, this time in the wilderness of the Rockies. While he and his passenger manage to survive uninjured and even maintain control of their weapons, the coincidences pile up to the point of absurdity. They survive an attack by a grizzly bear by of all things running it off a cliff, shoot the head off a rattlesnake in mid-strike and are rescued by a wilderness expedition led by a romantic rival.
If you read this book with any other mindset than one of analyzing it outside the context of the YA adventures of the time, you will likely utter a few derisive ha-has. However, if you can keep the proper historical context, it can be enjoyed.

[Matthew Bieniek · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun read. Not a lot of depth to the characters (this was a YA book way before YA became popular) but contains lots of good action and danger. I'm keeping my eyes open for other books in this series.

[Jeremy Warner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Found this vintage kid's book at Oakland White Elephant Sale. Loved every quick minute of it. Had forgotten the pleasure of reading something simply entertaining. Plucky, courageous hero, facing all adversity: killer gale-force storm, maddened grizzly bear, sabotaged plane, crash in the wilderness, flash flood, ripping rattler (made good eating), lovesick friend, vile and unscrupulous enemy, envy.

The hero is a 1920s pilot who had successfully flown the first New York to Paris non-stop flight across the Atlantic, winning a purse. Written in the same year as Lindberg's flight (1927), Scott is a very well grounded, determined young man, with courage running through his blood. A fictional character, he's more in the mold of the first aviators to complete a transatlantic crossing, Captain John Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown in 1919.

Good stories and good plotting never go out of style.

[Jerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun book to read from the golden age of aviation and adventure literature. Enjoyed this step back to the past and a more innocent time.