Search and rescue pilots do a tough and dangerous job. They fly into risky situations and put their lives on the line to save others. Search and rescue pilots must be team players, trustworthy, and brave. Readers will learn this and more as they are introduced to these community heroes. Readers get a glimpse at a day in the life of a search and rescue pilot and the requirements one must meet to become one. The text covers flying techniques, specialized equipment, and tasks such as search missions, sea rescue, and flying into combat zones. Readers can evaluate the risks and rewards of this career to determine if they want to pursue this heroic job one day. Fascinating photographs, sidebars, and fact boxes supplement the text’s information-rich content.

The daring adventures of a New Zealand search and rescue pilot. 'Somewhere, up ahead, a person is bleeding, but you have to put that out of your mind. Your job is negotiating with time and space. You have your clock, that person has their own, and in the end, whether the rate at which your clock is clicking matches theirs is out of your control.' John Funnell is one of New Zealand's longest serving search and rescue pilots. Often referred to as a 'search and rescue daredevil', John has just retired after an incredible 49 years flying search and rescue helicopters. He is perhaps best-known for the 800-kilometre mission to save a scientist attacked by a shark on the remote sub-Antarctic Campbell Island, when he set off into the night knowing the distance was twice that of the helicopter's normal fuel range. Clocking an incredible 19,000 hours of flight time, John is a hero to hundreds of victims all over New Zealand. What's more, he's a natural-born story-teller, and his stories in Rescue Pilot are utterly gripping.

The history of a near-century of combat search and rescue, with an account of how the discipline was created and how it is administered—or neglected—today.

In the tradition of Tom Clancy and Harold Coyle, Gerry Carroll has drawn on his own experience as a navy helicopter pilot for this tale of war and friendship. In the US Navy's air war against North Vietnam, Lieutenant Boyle's challenge is to fly fast and low to rescue downed pilots.

Photographer Jason Fortenbacher has captured the intense training that the Snohomish County Helicopter Rescue Team undergoes year round through his inspirational pictures. "Support the Last Resort" tells the behind the scenes story of what it takes to keep a world class helicopter rescue team proficient on the complexity of high altitude mountain rescue. The net proceeds of this book go directly to the Team in order to enable their life-saving mission.

Advance praise for Heart of the Storm "Col. Ed Fleming tells a story of true heroism about the constant dangers faced by the pilots and crews who fly the most versatile-and vulnerable-aircraft in the skies today." -John Glenn, former U.S. senator, astronaut, and bestselling author of John Glenn: A Memoir "To risk your life to save a stranger is the highest mark of a human being. Ed Fleming is such a man, and this book is a great read." -Dr. Jerri Nielsen, author of the #1 New York Times bestselling Ice Bound "Filled with suspense and emotion, Heart of the Storm reads like a thriller-but it's all true. Ed Fleming has led a dramatic and interesting life, and this book portrays it in living color." -Robert K. Tanenbaum, New York Times bestselling author of Resolved and Absolute Rage