Flights Of No Return

Discover the mysterious, controversial, and sometimes downright eerie history of flights that didn't end as planned. The history of aviation is full of accounts of history's most spectacular flights. But what about the ones from which someone failed to return? - A celebrated millionaire--who also happened to be the world's foremost aviator--lifted off in a small plane one clear morning in 2007 and disappeared. - The glamorous son of a beloved fallen president took off on a hazy summer night in 1999 and plunged himself and two others into the Atlantic Ocean. - A US Navy blimp landed one Sunday morning in 1942 in the middle of a city street in California with no one aboard. Some of these "non-returns" occurred because of errors in judgment; others were intentional, and some resulted from causes still unknown. Get the full, meticulous account of the fascinating people involved in these flights, the mistakes they made, and the ways in which their "flight of no return" affected the world. Pilot and aviation writer Steven A. Ruffin covers the entire 230-year span of manned flight in all types of aircraft through war and peace. Balloons, blimps, biplanes, jets, and spaceships have all suffered mishaps over the years. Don't miss the mystery, adventure, intrigue, and a sprinkling of the supernatural and extraterrestrial in Flights of No Return.

No one has ever returned from Mars. Travel to and from the colony—a private venture mounted by a consortium of Muslim investors—has been embargoed since the Martian Fungus began decimating Earth’s oceans. Written off by its investors, the Mars colony struggles to survive on its own. The ecological disaster on Earth has caused famine and triggered political upheavals, including the reemergence of an Islamic caliphate. The colony, whose residents are overwhelmingly Muslim, has fallen under sharia law. Eric Issa, the colony’s infidel Safety Officer, investigates a bizarre death and uncovers a high-level conspiracy that may explain how the Martian organism contaminated Earth. He must quickly yet quietly identify the killer, piece together the conspiracy, and save his own skin, all the while protecting the dead man’s orphaned daughter who may hold the key to controlling the Martian Fungus on Earth. A short story.

Discover the mysterious, controversial, and sometimes downright eerie history of flights that didn't end as planned. The history of aviation is full of accounts of history's most spectacular flights. But what about the ones from which someone failed to return? - A celebrated millionaire--who also happened to be the world's foremost aviator--lifted off in a small plane one clear morning in 2007 and disappeared. - The glamorous son of a beloved fallen president took off on a hazy summer night in 1999 and plunged himself and two others into the Atlantic Ocean. - A US Navy blimp landed one Sunday morning in 1942 in the middle of a city street in California with no one aboard. Some of these "non-returns" occurred because of errors in judgment; others were intentional, and some resulted from causes still unknown. Get the full, meticulous account of the fascinating people involved in these flights, the mistakes they made, and the ways in which their "flight of no return" affected the world. Pilot and aviation writer Steven A. Ruffin covers the entire 230-year span of manned flight in all types of aircraft through war and peace. Balloons, blimps, biplanes, jets, and spaceships have all suffered mishaps over the years. Don't miss the mystery, adventure, intrigue, and a sprinkling of the supernatural and extraterrestrial in Flights of No Return.

This is a boys firsthand account of the Second World War siege of Budapest and the trials of its aftermath, transitioning to an English private school and tough days in London on the way to medical school. Emerging as a urological surgeon, the journey continues to far-flung places, always keeping the human focus. A life lived to the full, it finds the author taking up flying at age fifty-six, something to rekindle the flying daydreams of the armchair pilot.