Low flying moonlit-covert missions over the Mekong in the tiny Helio Courier, airdrops into war-ravaged Vietnam from the C-123 Provider and testing out the "idiot's loop" from 200 feet at 400 knots in the North American F-100 Super Sabre are just a few of the every-day adventures Ron Sutphin recounts in this memoir spanning nearly three decades. Brig. Gen. Heinie Aderholt, USAF, (Ret.) called Ron "one of the greatest pilots in the history of aviation," rating him with Jimmie Doolittle, Bob Hoover, and Chuck Yeager.
Sadly, Ron was killed in a plane crash before he finished this fascinating story of his truly legendary life. So, it's been left to me to make certain his story is told, and in keeping with the spirit of my brother's high standards, I have not changed much in his book. I edited, to be sure, and finished a few stories, giving the reader some background in the way of research in endnotes and photos, necessarily from the WWII era, the 50s, and 60s. His career was impacted by, and, in a few instances subtly helped impact, several significant touchpoints in our nation's history.
Covert Skies accounts for only a portion of his long career in aviation, however. From a kid who just wanted to fly, he carved a path for himself, focused like a 20mm cannon on that singular goal, in the end, logging over 35,000 hours of flight. Amazingly, from combat pilot to test-pilot, to commercial aviator responsible for the welfare of many lives, this isn't a very long story. It's all too short, in fact, but every bit worth reading the adventures of this quiet, "totally fearless" aviator. Ron Sutphin is the brother I never knew-until now-and a larger-than-life American hero I've come to love. --CS Norwood
Pilots, veterans, Korean War veterans, Civil Air Transport (CAT), and Air America(R) families and friends will find this a fascinating read. If you love adventure, flight, and history through a pilot's eyes, this Large Print edition of Covert Skies belongs in your bookshelf.