Christmas Eve, 1957: An RAF pilot needs a miracle to make it home as his fighter jet begins to fail, in a story by the #1 New York Times–bestselling author. It is Christmas Eve, 1957, and there are cozier places to be than the cockpit of a de Havilland Vampire fighter plane. But for the Royal Air Force pilot who has just taken off from West Germany, this single-seat jet is the only way to make it back to England for Christmas morning. His flight plan is simple; the fuel tank is full. In sixty-six minutes, he will be back in Blighty. But then the plane begins to fail. First the compass goes haywire, then the radio dies. Lost and alone above the English coast, the pilot is searching for a landing strip when the fog closes in, signaling certain death. He has given up hope when a second shadow appears—a Mosquito fighter-bomber of World War II vintage. The plane is a “shepherd,” guiding the Vampire to a safe landing, and its appearance is a gift from fate, a miracle out of time—but for one lonely pilot, the mystery has just begun. A classic bestseller, beloved by aviation fans (including actor John Travolta, who calls it “one of my favorites because it personalizes the two planes”) and general readers alike, The Shepherd is a gripping, heartwarming tale for a cold winter’s night.

Human error is cited as a major cause in over 70% of accidents, andit is widely agreed that a better understanding of humancapabilities and limitations - both physical and psychological -would help reduce human error and improve flight safety. This book was first published when the UK Civil AviationAuthority introduced an examination in human performance andlimitations for all private and professional pilot licences. Nowthe Joint Aviation Authorities of Europe have published a newsyllabus as part of their Joint Aviation Requirements for FlightCrew Licensing. The book has been completely revised and rewritten to takeaccount of the new syllabus. The coverage of basic aviationpsychology has been greatly expanded, and the section on aviationphysiology now includes topics on the high altitude environment andon health maintenance. Throughout, the text avoids excessive jargonand technical language. "There is no doubt that this book provides an excellent basicunderstanding of the human body, its limitations, the psychologicalprocesses and how they interact with the aviation environment. I amcurrently studying for my ATPL Ground Exams and I found this bookto be an invaluable aid. It is equally useful for those studyingfor the PPL and for all pilots who would like to be reminded oftheir physiological and psychological limitations." –General Aviation, June 2002

In February 1999, only a few weeks before the U.S. Air Force spearheaded NATO's Allied Force air campaign against Serbia, Col. C.R. Anderegg, USAF (Ret.), visited the commander of the U.S. Air Forces in Europe. Colonel Anderegg had known Gen. John Jumper since they had served together as jet forward air controllers in Southeast Asia nearly thirty years earlier. From the vantage point of 1999, they looked back to the day in February 1970, when they first controlled a laser-guided bomb strike. In this book Anderegg takes us from "glimmers of hope" like that one through other major improvements in the Air Force that came between the Vietnam War and the Gulf War. Always central in Anderegg's account of those changes are the people who made them. This is a very personal book by an officer who participated in the transformation he describes so vividly. Much of his story revolves around the Fighter Weapons School at Nellis Air Force Base (AFB), Nevada, where he served two tours as an instructor pilot specializing in guided munitions.