Ace Abbott

 

Ace Abbott was born and raised in upstate New York, entered the U.S. Air Force in 1965 and became an F-4 Phantom pilot based in the Far East. He began his civilian career as a Learjet corporate/charter pilot, spending his last twenty-two years as a Boeing 727 captain. He retired in 2002 after visiting forty-four countries with fourteen different airlines.

 http://therogueaviator.com

 

 

"SIMPLY EXTRAORDINARY...SPELLBINDING AUTHENTICITY. A harrowing journey through the wide spectrum of military flying and civilian aviation. From the top to the bottom in the world of aviation, ROGUE AVIATOR will keep you awake past your bedtime" Joe Weber is the author of 8 aviation novels

 

 

 

 

 

PageOneLit.com: Where did you grow up and was reading and writing a part of your life? Who were your earliest influences and why?

Ace Abbott: I grew up on a small farm in the beautiful Finger Lakes region of Upstate New York. I was very fortunate in that I had some excellent English teachers at my high school. They instilled in me the joy of reading. During the late 50s and early 60s, much of the testing was done with essay questions. In order to be a good student, one also had to be a good writer.

In my junior year of high school I read James Michener's book, Sayonara, and 50 years later, I can still recollect how enthralled I was with the story. It is an amazing coincidence that many aspects of my aviation career were analogous to the storyline and subplots of the great novel, Sayonara.




PageOneLit.com: Why do you write?

Ace Abbott:I write because I enjoy sharing stories. As I mentioned in the preface of The Rogue Aviator, the telling of stories is an integral part of the human condition. Literature often provides unique insight into the human condition, and it can expose the reader to the subtle nuances of relationships that are rarely discussed.

Twenty years ago I read a book titled, Who Will Tell the People, by William Grieder. This book was an enlightening and eye-opening exposé of the graft and corruption of the powerful lobbyists and special interests that have congregated in the area of Washington, DC’s “K Street.” Reading this book was a very profound experience for me and created a voracious appetite for investigative journalism.

As I approached the final years of my aviation career I came to realize that the aviation industry was due for a book that provided an insider's view of aviation reality. Two of my long time friends and aviator colleagues continually suggested that I write a book about my unique and tumultuous aviation career. (Please notice that the sub-title of this book is: In the Back Alleys of Aviation.) Three years ago I commenced the project. The first edition of The Rogue Aviator was published in July of 2009. A slightly revised but vastly improved second edition was published in November, 2010.


 

PageOneLit.com: Tell us a little about your new book The Rogue Aviator: In the Back Alleys of Aviation?

Ace Abbott:The Rogue Aviator: In the Back Alleys of Aviation is primarily a memoir of an adventuresome and fun-loving pilot who experienced a unique and tumultuous career. An additional theme of this book is an insider's view of the commercial aviation industry and the degradation of safety that results when concern for the company’s bottom line trumps the concern for the safety of the aviation operation. The current front and center aviation issue is the ongoing problem of pilot fatigue. This book covers this subject with many personal anecdotes and a discussion of the FAA's complicity in the problem of tired pilots at the flight controls.

The book is filled with improbable and implausible aviation scenarios that will leave the reader slack-jawed with awe,and in disbelief. All of the stories are nonfiction but a few are third-party word-of-mouth anecdotes that were shared by aviator colleagues. The underlying theme of the entire book is the unique trials and tribulations that a professional pilot might encounter during his/her career. I also elaborate on the jet-set “lifestyle of the rich-and-famous” as I vacation (while on the job) at world class resorts and enjoy five-star restaurants and hotels on a school teacher’s salary.

 

 

PageOneLit.com: You mention several adventures that included celebrities, please tell us here how you met Jimmy Buffett?

Ace Abbott: My random encounter with Jimmy Buffett occurred in 1975 when he and his wife chartered a Learjet from the company for which I was employed. We picked up Mr. Buffet and his wife on Thanksgiving eve and when they boarded the airplane they had a large smoked Turkey with them. After we leveled off at cruise altitude they asked if we had a knife aboard the airplane. A few minutes later they were feeding their pilot chauffeurs their Thanksgiving turkey.

During that era, I was a devout Jimmy Buffett fan and to have him and his wife feeding me their Thanksgiving turkey was a most unique experience. My other radical experience with a male vocalist involved smuggling Bob Marley and his entourage out of Kingston, Jamaica. This is a somewhat lengthy scenario which is described in my book.

I flew a variety of celebrities including Evil Knievel, female vocalists Helen Reddy and Olivia Newton John, many politicians and Fortune 500 CEO’s. Jack Nicklaus, a sports icon during the 70s was a frequent charter customer For three consecutive years I was able to watch the Masters Golf Tournament as Jack provided his “chauffeurs” with passes to the prestigious event.
 

PageoneLit.com: At what age did you realize an aviation career/profession was your calling?

Ace Abbott: During my youth, from approximately 6 to12 years of age, my father owned a small propeller airplane called a Taylorcraft, which we flew out of the “back-40 hay field.” From age 12 to age 22, I did not go near an airplane. During my senior year of college, just a few months before graduation, I hesitated briefly in front of the Air Force recruiter's office. Within minutes I was taking an aptitude test to become an Air Force pilot. It was 1965 and the Vietnam War was starting to heat up. The possibility of being a fighter pilot got my macho juices flowing and I enter the Air Force in November of 1965


 

PageoneLit.com: The Rogue Aviator: In the Back Alleys of Aviation would make a great film. If Hollywood called and asked you to cast the characters , who would you cast and why?

Ace Abbott: I think that George Clooney would be the perfect actor for the role of “Ace Abbott.” He always exhibits that confident, self-assured demeanor that is critical to being a successful fighter pilot or airline captain.
 

PageoneLit.com: Plot or character? Which do you find more important and why?

Ace Abbott: Since this book is non-fiction, the only plot is: Will Ace Abbott endure the slings and arrows of an unstable aviation career? The more important element of the book is the character development of Ace, the protagonist, as he hangs on to his aviation career by his fingernails.

PageoneLit.com: What advice do you have for other authors working on their first novel?

Ace Abbott:My advice for beginning authors is to be sure that you are very adept with Microsoft Word. Understanding its capabilities and possible pitfalls will save hundreds of hours of wasted time in the “computer twilight zone.” Read several books on the art of writing and pay close attention to proper grammar and punctuation.

I used a writing aid called Dragon Naturally Speaking which allowed me to write much of my book from the “stream-of-consciousness” mode, as I spoke into the microphone. This software can be a writer’s best friend, particularly, if the writer is not an advanced typist.

Edit, Edit, Edit! After you think that your editing is complete, the author should then get a professional editor to provide additional guidance and suggestions. Looking at one’s own writing often brings on dysfunctional tunnel vision.





PageOneLit.com: What do you hope to achieve with The Rogue Aviator: In the Back Alleys of Aviation?

Ace Abbott:The primary purpose of The Rogue Aviator is to entertain the reader with an interesting story while also providing him/her with some insight into those elements of aviation that most people are not aware of.
 

PageOneLit.com: What was the last book you read?

Ace Abbott:The last book that I read was Joe Weber's novel, Targets of Opportunity, which was a sequel to his book Rules of Engagement, which I also read. Both books could be considered reality-based fiction and provide some scintilating accounts of the Vietnam air war.

 

PageOneLit.com: What's next?

Ace Abbott:I recently wrote an article that appeared in the Airliner magazine. Two of my ex-aviator colleagues had some amazing experiences while flying Boeing 727s in Africa and they have suggested that they might want me to act as a ghost writer to help them tell their story. My number one priority is to focus on marketing The Rogue Aviator in order that it might "get some traction and go viral."