You Want to Build and Fly a WHAT?: Or ... How I Learned to Fly, Built a WWI Replica, and Stayed Married

by Dick Starks

This is the very funny, true story of a math teacher who goes through the agonies and delights of learning to fly, then goes on to build a replica of a WWI fighter plane. He becomes part of the Dawn Patrol, a group of airborne lunatics who constantly challenge each other to strange types of aerial combat. The book is about the fun of flying and the joy of sharing that fun with family and friends.

252 pages, Paperback

First published March 31, 2006

Reviews

[Jeff Stephenson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I spotted this book at a used book fair. I picked it up and began to read the back cover. The book was written by math teacher (hey, I am a teacher!) who learned to fly (hey, I learned to fly!) and bought a down in the tires Cessna (I bought an old Cessna 172 myself!) before building his own airplane. Did this guy write my story or what? I had to have the book. I laughed and giggled and related extremely well to the author's tales. This is an awesome book and anyone interested in flying will find it to be a gem of a story!

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

I originally bought this book for my dad. I've lost count of the number of times I've re-read it over the years! There are/were a couple deleted chapters that the author was kind enough to e-mail to me a few years back, and reading them had me laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes. Mr. Starks has a knack for story telling. He has a second book out, and he and his cohorts (the KC Dawn Patrol)have an awesome website.
http://www.kcdawnpatrol.org/index.php

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

A just-slightly-exaggerated account of learning to fly and building an airplane. The characters and circumstances will be familiar to any seasoned airport bum.