Fly for their Lives

Practically every pilot in the U.S. knows of the legendary Max Karant, fighter for the rights of private pilots, thorn in the side of Congress and the FAA, and founding editor of AOPA Pilot, the magazine of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. No one did more to advance the cause of general aviation than this colorful and controversial aviator. From the 1940s to the 1970s, Karant battled Congress and the FAA, and also the big airlines, all of whom wanted to restrict private airplanes' use of airspace: "At each step of the way, Max stood for the little guy - the pilot who wanted to be safe, fly without an oppressive set of rules, and who had a keen eye on his wallet, " said Tom Horne of the AOPA. Toward the end of his fascinating life, Karant sat down to write this collection of flying stories - his own adventures in the air and against bureaucratic interference. But, in aviation terms, he "flew west" before finishing the work and his co-worker and friend Charles Spence completed these tales of a tumultuous time in aviation history that runs the gamut from hair-raising and historical, to serio-comic.