"Some pilots live to recount their most daunting, most perilous experiences. I was one of these lucky ones." Author Capt Chris John Rosslee is describing a moonless October night in 1960, during which he successfully belly-landed a stricken Boeing 707 at Nairobi in Kenya, saving the lives of all 91 people on board. It's one of many anecdotes delivered with plenty of panache and modesty by the former pilot, who details his experiences from World War Two through to his life as a 'civvie' pilot, up until retirement. Unlike many such memoirs, Rosslee's work is refreshingly easy to read. It contains just enough technical details to please flyers but, more importantly, it's simple and concise enough to engage any reader with an interest in aircraft. The author flew with the South African Air Force's (SAAF) 12th Bomber Squadron in the war against Italian forces in East Africa. Unusually, he flew a Junkers Ju 86, one of relatively few Allied pilots to do so - the SAAF was one of severat nations to operate the German-designed machines. Later, in civilian life, Capt Rosslee flew the famed de Havilland Comet and the 707 with South African Airways. Described as 'an intrepid but humble man, who refused to allow his background of dyslexia and poverty to decide his future', this autobiography is an apt reflection on a fascinating flying career and, above all else, a life well lived.
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