Lucky Aviator

Lucky Aviator is a book for aviators, adventurers and anyone who enjoys living life by the seat of their pants - or just wishes they had. A life-long obsession with speed and flight has led Charles Dalglish - great nephew of Air Chief Marshall Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory - through some extraordinary situations. Lucky Aviator is the true story of a life peppered with pranks, explosions and death-defying moments. Charles Dalglish's enthusiasm for flight began at an early age and has never faltered. At public school his only interest was in creating a 750 Special. After engineering college and many speeding adventures it was not long before he had his own Autogiro. Forever speeding and breaking conventional rules, Charles was banned from driving. His solution: learn to fly a helicopter in a week and commute by air instead. With minimal instruction Charles has flown Sipa, Cessna, Auster, Jodel and a Robinson helicopter often in the most hazardous conditions and has cheated death on countless occasions. Always ready for a new challenge, Charles could not pass up the opportunity of re-building a Notar helicopter, "the ultimate toy of anyone's dreams." The project turned out to be both thrilling and painful as on his first flight, this uninsured $1,000,000 machine confronted a Wedgetail Eagle. The decision to sell up and take his young family to Australia seemed to pay dividends as the Dalglish family took root in Little Hartley on the Great Western Highway. Selling Maules, the short take off aircraft, gained Charles friends all over Australia but life's journey once again experienced bumps as the Council tried to destroy Charles's airstrip. The battles with the Council finally led to court and the toll on Charles' health took him through the cancer experience.