About Author

“Tales From the Cockpit” by Chuck Howard

Not many Vietnam Helicopter books are written by Test Pilots…this one is, giving one more perspective of flying in Vietnam. However, this well-written book goes even further. Author Chuck Howard also gives a bird’s eye view of his many adventures after Vietnam. At least half the book is dedicated to his later career and is very entertaining. Quite the career, Sir!

Logging his flight time as “TP” for Test Pilot in VN, Chuck does an exceptional job describing his numerous “Excellent Adventures” (my words) growing up, flying helicopters in combat and post-Vietnam flying for the Port Authority in New York and New Jersey. Talk about a career! The book consists of 49 Chapters with very few Chapters more than several pages and many only a couple of pages. Quick, concise writing using easy to read plain English. Kinda like Readers Digest; some short, quick “snippets” that allow the reader to read a couple of chapters and come back later at the reader’s convenience without having to remember the previous chapters.

Here are some things to look for in “Tales from the Cockpit”: Playing “Chicken” with a helicopter and a Deuce-and-a-Half. An interesting R&R to Japan. A “Gotcha” experience with a Korean passenger. The World Record Exhibitionist. And a VERY prophetic comment from the Mastermind of the first bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993. Most of these got a verbal reaction from me. 

However, to me, the most interesting post-Vietnam Chapter was his documenting the loss of TWA Flight 800 over the Atlantic. I’m thinking “What the heck did he have to do with that?” You will have to find out for yourself, but here’s a hint: Pilot Howard is the first helicopter on the scene; his eye-witness accounting of that tragedy and his analysis of the final accident report were quite interesting to me. Things that make you go “Hmmm?” Overall, his post-VN “Excellent Adventures” were just as good as his combat time!

Books like Howard’s are the things that make me glad I volunteered to review books for the VHPA Aviator. Otherwise, I would have missed many of the Excellent stories contained in all of them.

Thanks for serving, Chuck.

Phil Marshall

DMZ Dustoff 711

Camp Evans and Quang Tri, 1969

"What kind of a man would I be if I didn't tell their stories?"