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Rating:  Summary: Flying on the edge, but by the numbers Review: Contrary to popular opinion, not all cropdusters or bush pilots are short-lived cowboys. F. E. Potts is nomadic and independent, but his 17,000 hour, accident-free bush flying career was no fluke.
This book reveals that flying survival comes from focusing on a professional attitude, by flying scientifically and with judgement. It is entertaining and thought-provoking, and a wonderful reference manual with practical tips on terrain, weather, airplanes, operations and flying techniques useful to any serious pilot.
An excellent foreword gives some interesting insight into Potts' life and compliments interesting website anecdotes like one at: http://www.fepco.com/bear_attack.html
While a bit pricey, it is very well-written, winning a 1994 Aviation/Space Writers Association Journalism Award.
Rating:  Summary: Good info for pilots with some backcountry experience Review: I bought this book before learning to fly and most of the technical references went right over my head. Then after getting my license, and with some backcountry experience I read it again. This guy really IS a pro. If my skill and judgement can begin to approach his I will be doing very well. Many of the techniques are also applicable in the desert backcountry, and some have served me well already. Highly recommended.
Rating:  Summary: Don't fly the bush without having read it-- Review: Not only everything you need to know about bush flying, but everything you didn't know you need to know about bush flying.
Rating:  Summary: Info note Review: Text and photographs of F. E. Potts' "Guide to Bush Flying" can be found at http://www.fepco.com
Rating:  Summary: Good but expensive without color photographs. Review: The book was good with some good techniques for bush flying. At a price of $34.95 for a soft-cover book I would have expected superb quality paper and extensive color photos of Alaska's beauty that were not there. The book would be a good value at $12.95.
Rating:  Summary: excellent advice, but pricey Review: This book was assigned to me as homework for Andover Flight Academy's bush-flying course. I found that most if it didn't apply to the sort of flying I expect do, which is improved grass fields, on wheels. (The airport would be very annoyed if I made an actual bush landing.) Potts for good reason devotes a lot of space to sandbars, snow, and sub-zero and ski-plane operations, and to my regret I'll probably never do any of that. So the book for me came down to three chapters: takeoffs, approaches, and landings. These are valuable but very short. (Chapter 18 on landings is a bit more than five pages!) There are some useful black-white photographs, all at the back of the book. For those in the market for an airplane, Potts explains the quirks and advantages of the PA-18 Super Cub and the Cessna 180, but doesn't branch out to the Aviat Husky, despite the fact that it was in production when the book came out in 1993. I bought my copy through Amazon, but as a secondhand book in good condition, which brought it down to a more reasonable price. Generaly there are several used or Marketplace copies available.
Rating:  Summary: Man O Man Review: This is the best writer, he describes flying and landing in the bush. Easy to read, very interesting. It has some unique stories in it. I hope to use the techniques!
Rating:  Summary: Fun reading, and a good look at the world of bush flying. Review: Through his book, Potts provides a look at the bush pilot's world from a perspective that outsiders to the profession have probably never have seen before. His writing is entertaining and informative. Potts goes a long way to dispell the macho, reckless, cowboy persona so often, and wrongly, associated with bush pilots; at least of those who survive.
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