Wally Kahn, with over 50 years of continuous soaring experience, wrote this book to preserve for posterity his particular intersection with soaring history. It begins with the young Wally at the RAF Air Display at Hendon aerodrome in 1937, where he was "inflicted by aviation mania." It then moves on quickly to 1944 and his post-war years in Germany where a lot of gliding was done in surplus German ships.

Wally displays a truly British sense of humor in his portrayal of events he witnessed and characters he knew throughout his flying career. His collection of stories and soaring songs are interesting, enjoyable to read and often very funny.

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Lasham Field Today

The largest part of the book deals with the trials and tribulations of acquiring Lasham field, all 504 acres, for the premier British soaring site. This monumental struggle with British beaurocracy dragged on for nearly five decades. It's an interesting read for anyone involved in the club politics. Thanks to the efforts of Wally and a wide array of compatriots, over 200 gliders fly from Lasham field today.

If you enjoy reading soaring history, you will enjoy this one too.

Table of contents:

Chapters
1. The early days and the RAF at Oerlinghausen
2. More Oerlinghausen, 1947 National Championships
3. Mindeheide and Scharfholdendorf
4. Dunstable and Redhill
5. The Long Mynd, and the Cambridge Club
6. Competitions, Songs
7. Eight hours to Denmark. The pyramids and S & G
8. The BGA Ball and John Profumo
9. More of them and us, London v Redhill
10. The Lasham airfield history
11. Robert Kronfeld and RAF Ringway
12. The Lasham build up
13. Alan Derek Piggott--our hero!
14. Retrieves and other stories
15. Pont St. Vincent, the mad Brennig, 'the Eight days of Danger'
16. The Battle for Lasham
17. The Appeal, a rocket from on high, Operation 'Downbeat"
18. Tobacco Wills, World Champs and the Irish
19. We have 'em even if they are not all there
20. More heroes: Sproule, DD, Scott and Sling, Lefty and Theo
21. The finale, at last

Appendix
• The Melodrama 'Wings for Prudence'
• He wrapped it round a tree in a claptrap
• Air streams warm and unstable
• Gliding in comfort and joy
• The Lashamites song
• He had to go and prang it in a claptrap
• Bloody gliding weather
• The Slingsby Serenade
• The Twelve Days at Lasham
• The Met. song
• The Daisy list
• The Committee Dittee
• I'm a little Bungey Flower
• You can't stop me from Gliding!

American pilots should be aware that Wally writes to a British audience. He uses some expressions that will be mysterious to American readers. However, this should not deter you from reading his book and, in my opinion, it makes the book more interesting.