Fixing the Moon: The Story of the Lt Col Henry Tift Myers, the First Presidential Pilot

Hank Myers appeared on the aerospace scene at a pivotal point in aviation history--at a time before there was a branch of service called the Air Force, before planes routinely crossed oceans and continents. As an accomplished and respected aviator with quick wit and a Georgia born charm, he was a natural to become this country's first Presidential pilot--the first to fly the presidential aircraft across the globe and into theaters of war. Setting records for speed and distance, Hank Myers was an aviation pioneer who not only transported U.S. Presidents but royalty, world leaders and celebrities. He thrilled to the task with luck and fortune his traveling companions through millions of miles of air travel. As the first Presidential Pilot, Hank Myers' life offers first class seats aboard the pioneer flights of aviation with personalities who shaped the 20th century at a decisive time in history. The maiden voyage of the first Presidential airplane, the Sacred Cow (a Douglas C-54 with an elevator for the handicapped president) transported Franklin D. Roosevelt to the Yalta Conference. Cella shares that since Roosevelt preferred to travel by sea or land because he was able to get more rest, Myers and his crew would often play leapfrog with the President's itinerary so they would be immediately available when needed. Myers helped design, named and piloted Truman's plane, The Independence, and boasted that his favorite passenger loved to fly and would often take the copilot's seat. Once Truman convinced Myers to buzz the White House while Bess and daughter Margaret went to the rooftop to view the P-80 jet fighters--Myers climbed to 3,000 feet, circled the White House and roared downward, leveling off at 500 feet. When Hank told the president that someone was sure to catch hell for what they had done, Harry Truman quipped: I have wide shoulders. Madame Chiang (wife of Chiang Kai Chek who along with her demanding brother irritated the crew), Richard Russell (who wrote letters to his mother while on board), Henry Cabot Lodge, Winston Churchill, Eleanor Roosevelt (the least trouble of all Hank's passengers), Dwight D. Eisenhower, Herbert Hoover, James Mead and Red Skelton, are just a few among Hank's renowned passengers. The book is chock full of golden anecdotes of the time, told in a fascinating kitchen-table informality that immediately engages and entertains. If you would like a signed copy written to a specific person, please email the author with your request.