Stack

Neville Stack was once one of Britain’s favourite aviators. He came to fame as the first man to fly a light plane to India. And, having been honoured by the king for that achievement, he followed it with more than a decade of derring-do. Stack circled the Med, crossed Arabia countless times, and even flew down to Banjul. He served in both World Wars and all three branches of the Armed Forces, broke record after record, and had his own flying circus. He piloted a prime minister, the Shoe King, and the odd sultan. But he also crashed more often than he was willing to admit, wrote bawdy songs – and recorded them, too – and played a controversial role in the Spanish Civil War. And he left behind a rich chronicle of his exploits, including newspaper articles, a memoir in song, and flight commentaries actually dictated in mid-air. Drawing upon that chronicle, and also upon British Government files and a host of other fascinating sources, this book takes a close look at Captain Stack’s life and flights. It talks about his aeroplanes and his friends, who included Amy Johnson, Sir Alan Cobham, and the treacherous Master of Sempill. It goes back to the places he saw first-hand. And it tells the full story of his final, tragic fall from grace. Exuberant, colourful, and ever so light on its feet, STACK provides an intimate and singular account of one of the true heroes of flying’s Golden Age.