Rating: 
Summary: More than a coming of age book
Review: "Flight of Passage" goes deep within the human heart of brothers, sons and fathers. It is not often in this day and age that we are given this masculine insight of two brothers and their love for each other. Nor, are we given such a privleged look into the relationship of a father and his sons. The airplane (espcially the Piper Cub) is a metaphor. The boys learn how to cherish life, to be good men, to be good citizens in fact from their work on this small airplane as it cruises across the United States. And, do they cross the U.S.! Strangly we are given the rare opportunity to see our nation from the air, with the eyes of teenagers who believe in themselves, their dad and their Piper Cub. We meet the men and women of America as the Piper lands in strange little airports in the midwest, the south west and the California coast. Not only do they fly out, they fly back to New Jersey. What the brothers discover is the grandness of this country, qualities that bind this country together, and the things that make each region unique. This is not a travelogue. This is a coming of age story that touches the heart -- deeply.
Rating:
Summary: Thoroughly enchanting
Review: A thoroughly enchanting yarn. The story of 2 brothers fixing, then flying a small Piper cub across the US during one of their teenage summers. Told with a zest for adventure, and a great sense of humor.
One of the best parts of the story is Buck's colorful use of language. When talking about how his father had to keep turning a plane back and forth to land in a crosswind, he talks of the plane "jackassing" its way up the strip. Similarly with his tale of "Hank the Stearman man" and the other pilots in East Richmond, Indiana.
The pictures give the book a real scrapbook feel to it, and make things feel more real. (As if Buck's use of language weren't enough!)
The book can tend to get over-scmaltzy at times, but the author can be forgiven that, esp. given his obvious affection for the subject matter.
The ending chapters serve to cement the nostalgic feel of a "bygone" era, which makes one a little sad for its passing. However, this does not diminish the book; rather it made me treasure it all the more.
Rating:
Summary: A Fantastic Voyage
Review: As I began to read this book, I immediately found myself lost in the story. Mr. Buck's style of writing allows you to become absorbed in the story and actually part of the story. He wisks you off to marvelous places where you discover colorful and intriguing people. I could not put this book down. The interaction between the two brothers and the brothers with the father paralleled the relationship that I have with my brother and father. I connected with this book on a deep level. If you are in aviation in any way I recommend this book highly. It tells a fantastic story of aviation and two young pioneering pilots. Read it and you will not be disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: Great potential but an inferior book.
Review: At the time I wrote this review I was the 65th one to do so on Amazon. 62 of the reviews given were 4 stars or better. I just don't see it. I don't see how this book has made an impression even with such a great premise. Two things really bothered me about the book: the writing, and the irresponsibility portrayed by the author and his brother.
The dialog in this book was extremely clumsy, and this book is all dialog. People just don't address the person they're talking to by name at the beginning of every sentence. This was made all the more annoying by the unusual names of the characters. And, does the profanity really add anything to the story?
It was impressive to read about two teenage boys that restored a Cub to perfect condition, and the achievement of flying a Cub across the country is admirable for someone of any age. The success of the flight was even more remarkable when you consider the level of irresponsibility of someone who would repeatedly buzz people and vehicles especially over unfamiliar territory. The incident of running a bus off the road and blaming it on the bus driver made me feel that these two boys were very fortunate to make it across the country. Further, throwing avocados from an aircraft while circling over a crowded airport is just idiotic. When my son goes up for his license I want him to be understand that people who fly like this tend to die sooner than later.
Reading the other reviews make this book look like it's destined to become a classic. In my opinion it's missing the power and readability of Gann, Langeweische, or Hillary, or any of the really great aviation literature. But hey, I'm just 1 out of 62 who feels that way.
Rating:
Summary: Great potential but an inferior book.
Review: Aviation enthusiasts will appreciate the skill and adventure of
Rinker and Kern Buck, the young navigator and pilot who made their way from the East to California. Pilots will love the in-depth details of the flight, the problems, and the thrills of their journey. The pilot (17-year old Kern) and the navigator (Rinker, the author) flew to California in a $300 Piper Cub with the exception of a radio--they couldn't afford one. Using light signals to land and experiencing more adventure than they had planned for, including flying over a rocky desert with a sputtering engine, this book is both wonderfully entertaining and thrilling, and informative. Humor makes it enjoyable and Rinker's first-hand writing is exceptional in adventure-writing.
Rating:
Summary: Flight of Passage
Review: Excellent! This is the type of adventure book I would spend hours with in my younger days. Being a pilot since my teens, I found it a wonderful escape to my youth. Well written and enjoyable reading.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating - Barnstorming Story with Depth
Review: Flight of Passage engaged me on multiple levels. Firstly it's a great flying story and the descriptions of the trip, the personalities and situations that the two kids met are vivid. My being the son of light-aircraft pilot just added to my fascination - but it's just as accessible to those without experience of flying. And then there's another dimension to the story. The writer had complex relationships both with his father and brother and the trip brought him understanding of himself and his relationships. A wonderful, thought-provoking and inspiring book!
Rating:
Summary: Great book with special meaning for me
Review: Flight of Passage is an amazing book. I picked it up in 1998 when I saw the cover picture of a Piper Cub. I had flown a bunch of "orientation flights" in a Cub when I was a teenager in Civil Air Patrol in the late sixties. Although it was not official flight instruction, cadets were allowed to do everything but land the airplane. I learned a lot and loved every minute of it - flying low and slow with the door open, learning the basic air work, even the smell of the engine oil on a hot summer day. I wanted to be a pilot, but college, music, work, and marriage led me on a few different paths until my late forties, when I finally started taking flight lessons.
Events at the time were making it difficult to keep the lessons going, and reading this book inspired me to keep at it even if I had to take a few breaks from the lessons. The teenage Buck brothers did a lot more with their Cub than I ever did, but the book sure brought back the memories and the romance of flying. Rinker Buck creates a vivid picture of the life and times of his interesting family and of the late 1960's, in addition to writing one of the best "you are there" flying adventures I have ever read. Highly recommended even if you are not a big fan of flying books - it's a really good read.
But for me, the book had an even bigger role to play. I happened to meet Kern Buck at a Jiffy-Lube in Massachusetts in 1999. I overheard his name and asked him if he was related to the "Flight of Passage" boys, and he said he was Rinker Buck's brother, the pilot in the book! We talked for a while about flying, and it turns out that he had just updated his flight instructor certification after a break of a few years (he is an attorney now, working in the Boston area). I was also coming back from a break in my lessons and looking for a new instructor. Kern signed on as a part-time instructor at the small airport where I was flying at the time, and I took around 8 lessons with him before I had to take another break (buying a house and moving). Kern was a great instructor and really helped me make progress with my landings. I finally completed my lessons in early 2001 (with yet another instructor) and passed my private pilot check ride that May.
Last summer (2004) I decided to start working on a tail-wheel endorsement, and I found a local instructor who owns and teaches in a Piper Cub. I hadn't flown in a Cub since 1968, and the memories came flooding back once I squeezed myself into the back seat and Ed turned the prop to start the engine. This prompted me to re-read Flight of Passage and I enjoyed it even more as I was experiencing once again the pure flying fun of the spunky little Piper Cub.
Flight of Passage is a fine piece of writing and one of my favorite books.
Rating: 
Summary: FLIGHT OF PASSAGE
Review: I ENJOYED THE BOOK VERY MUCH. AS A PILOT I WOULD LOVE TO FLY SUCH A CROSS COUNTRY ADVENTURE. GREAT BOOK ,GREAT ADVENTURE.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant coming of age story...
Review: I think Rinker Buck has captured in this story all the joy and passion of an adventurous youth's desires. It resonated with me in ways that are deep and emotional.
Good job, well worth the read.
| 
