New Book Offers 91 Lessons From Experimental Aircraft Pilots

Fly smarter. Be a better, safer pilot. That is the promise — and the challenge — of “91 Lessons From The Sky: Experimental Aircraft,” the newest title in Fletcher McKenzie’s Lessons From The Sky series.

What sets these 91 true stories apart: Every one is told by a pilot who lived to tell it, according to McKenzie.

“These are not distant case studies — they are first-hand lessons from experimental and amateur-built aircraft pilots who walked away, understood what nearly ended their flight, and shared it so the next pilot doesn’t have to learn it the hard way,” he said.

Drawn from National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) accident reports and pilot accounts, the stories cover the full range of experimental aviation risk: Bounced landings, ground loops, and tailwheel handling; carburetor icing; weather; fuel exhaustion from faulty gauges; elevator cables disconnected in the climb; weld failures on takeoff; engine failures at 100 feet; and the accumulation of small decisions that together produce an outcome no single one of them would have caused alone, he said.

Threaded through every chapter are the fundamentals that make smarter pilots: Checklist discipline, preflight inspection standards, and an honest reckoning with the vulnerabilities of the builder-pilot — the one who knows the aircraft better than anyone and sometimes not quite well enough, he said.

“Every pilot in this book lived to tell their story — that’s exactly why these lessons are so powerful,” McKenzie said. “They walked away, worked out what nearly got them, and passed it on.”

“91 Lessons From The Sky” joins a nine-book series, including “81 Lessons From The Sky: General Aviation,” “72 Lessons From The Sky: Cessna 172,” “71 Lessons From The Sky: Civilian Helicopters,” “61 Lessons From The Sky: Military Helicopters,” “51 Lessons From The Sky: U.S. Military Aviation,” “101 Lessons From The Sky: Commercial Aviation,” and “TOPGUN: U.S. Navy Pilots.”

McKenzie is a private pilot, two-time national flying competition title holder, and producer of the global television show FlightPathTV.

“91 Lessons From The Sky: Experimental Aircraft” is available now in paperback ($19.99) and as an eBook ($5.99) on Amazon and at FletcherMcKenzie.com.