August 1 - First Friday Event @ 7 p.m.

Capitan Public Library will host author and pilot, Albert Charles Ackerman, Jr., on Friday, August 1, at 7:00 p.m. for an entertaining evening discussing Ackerman's life experiences and his recently published book, My Journey West: A pilot's lifetime in aviation.

Ackerman was born in 1933 and experienced a difficult early life after being abandoned by his father at age fourteen, which left him and his mother struggling to support themselves.  In 1950, his life took a new direction when he took an illegal solo flight in a Piper J-3 Cub.  He knew from the moment he first touched the controls that becoming a pilot would be his only goal.

After some disappointing setbacks and a miraculous survival from a horrific crash, he established a career in aviation.  For 63 years he flew famous celebrities and world leaders in over a hundred different types of airplanes and helicopters.

After retiring, he spent a rewarding five years as an Angel Flight Pilot.  These pilots fly disadvantaged patients to health care facilities free of charge.  Ackerman is still an active pilot at the age of 81, making him a new member of the UFO (United Flying Octogenerians).  The UFO is an international, non-profit organization with over 1500 members worldwide.

   My Journey West: A pilot's lifetime in aviation

Piper J3 Cub

AMAZON SYNOPSIS: High-flying hijinks. Death-defying close calls. Rubbing elbows with rock and roll bands, politicians, and glitzy celebrities. Albert Ackerman has whittled down the most funny, sad, and downright scary tales into My Journey West. Ackerman went from his first flying lessons in high school and his eighty-seven-dollar-a-month air force job to becoming a flight instructor, a commercial airplane captain, and a charter pilot to the rich and famous. He got to know Bill Lear, creator of the Learjet, and Chuck Yeager, the pilot who broke the sound barrier. He flew Conway Twitty, Steppenwolf, and even Frank Sinatra, whose plane came complete with a piano bar and well-stocked liquor cabinet. He even got a close look at President Lyndon Johnson. His flying days were also punctuated by brushes with death, including a crash over the Caribbean. My Journey West is sure to please both aviation buffs and readers who prefer to keep their feet firmly on the ground.