LEARNING TO FLY

By Ben Greenman

from forthcoming collection, as yet untitled

Books on human flying—that is, humans rising into the air under their own power, without the help of any motorized craft or winged apparatus—are usually written by fliers who cannot write or by writers who cannot fly, and their contents consequently tend toward ironically grounded prose or  lofty quotations of the great poets on the matter of man having slipped the surly bonds of earth. “Flying: Explained,” a manual prepared under the auspices of Lift House by H. Dell Mansour (Allogash, Pauling, and Co.) occupies neither of those extremes, instead taking up residence in a wonderful middle. It consists of exactly forty pages, exactly half of which are taken up by black-and-white photos of a human flier in action, annotated sparsely so that the instructions can be clearly followed. The other twenty is a mix of testimonials as to the thrill of being free in open air and candid sometimes humorous accounts of moderately consequential errors. The whole thing has the strong feel of being guided by persons who have had constant practice, not only in their own flight, but in the instruction of children. It is a strong example of skilled experience at work. Only a few parts of the process are addressed, primarily takeoff, mid-flight navigation, and landing, but as these three are the foundation of all flying, this work will be of great value to all student fliers as well as flying parents wishing to pass the requisite knowledge along to their children. Of special note is the section on exercises that should be performed while not flying, calisthenics for strengthening the muscles of the calves and back so vital to proper flight. Insufficient conditioning of those muscles can result in improper form, and as the book explains, once acquired, these unhealthy habits  can be nearly impossible to overcome. The book is packaged with a beautiful fold-out map that identifies some of the best locations for beginning fliers: meadows without sharp rock outcroppings, lakes without extremely cold water or perilous depths, and the like.