Amazon Review
Anthony Woodward was never remotely interested in flying. And you don't have to be either to enjoy Woodward's book
Propellerhead which tells the story of the author's hilarious and foolhardy attempts to learn to fly a microlight. The main motivation behind Woodward's determination to get his wings is to get the girls. Ever since his mate Richard had returned from Africa having learnt to fly, women seemed to flock to him. Richard had become "a person of deeper substance; tinged with a romantic whiff of intelligence, wealth and daring. Or so the girls plainly seemed to think." Incredulously, and infuriatingly, the bank manager had become a babe magnet. Having gone through long periods of unrelieved celibacy Woodward decides to join a flying syndicate (comprising of Richard and an eccentric Norfolk landowner and his son) and spends the weekends with his head in the clouds and his heart in his mouth. A kind of Those Magnificent Men Behaving Badly in Their Flying Machines,
Propellerhead recalls one astonishing aeronautical escapade after the other--such as the time Woodward finds himself slap-bang in the middle of the flight path of a Battle of Britain fly-past. As you read about the hapless pilot's close shaves, near misses and direct hits don't be surprised to find yourself instinctively adopting the crash position. Uplifting and head spinning,
Propellerhead is ultimately the story of a man on a flight of self-discovery. Strap yourself in. It's going to be a bumpy ride. --
Christopher Kelly
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
‘Inspirational…one of the best books ever written about flying.’ PILOT, May 2011
‘What Nick Hornby did for football, Antony Woodward has done for flying … Wonderful.’ OBSERVER
‘Hugely engaging … refreshingly amateur and low-tech … a true love affair, albeit with clouds and air.’ SUNDAY TELEGRAPH
‘Hilarious … chock-full of incident, heartache, historical detail and near-death-experience, in as entertaining a non-fiction narrative as I have read … Woodward has a gift for storytelling and comic timing and his acute awareness of the absurdities of maleness make this an impossible book not to like. INDEPENDENT
'A must-read for all pilots, everywhere, ever. But would I get in a plane with this nutter? F***, no.' (Captain) ALEX JAMES, BLUR
'Nick Hornby meets Jeremy Clarkson in a cockpit. Acutely funny', MARIELLA FROSTRUP
'Woodward's a truly terrible aviator - but his enthusiasm makes even the most timid flier want to take to the skies.' FHM
‘A genuine original–smartly written, eccentric, funny, engaging, with just the right combination of anorak and anarchy…The flying sequences are fabulous, the historic ghosts of Bomber command are strangely moving, and the whole book stays wonderfully airborne throughout. It reminds me of the early lunatic Redmond O’Hanlon, and a bit of Roger Deakin’s weird, soul-searching, swim-across-England book “Waterlog”.’ RICHARD HOLMES
'Lunatic… written so engagingly as to ensnare even those who know nothing about flying.' TIM BINYON, EVENING STANDARD
'Propellerhead is one of the best aviation books of the lot, and it has almost universal appeal…Take it from me, anyone who has even an incipient trace of flying in their blood will want to read Propellerhead.' PHILIP WHITEMAN, GENERAL AVIATION
'This eccentric, charming and poignant book is full of gems…sublime.' COUNTRY LIFE
