 |
Literary Aviatrix: The Power of Story - Women in AviationAuthor: Liz Booker - Pilot, Writer, Aviation Diversity Advocate
Join Liz Booker as she interviews authors whose books feature women in aviation from across genres, historical periods, and types of flying, and be inspired by the tenacity, adventure, and courage of our sisters in the air. * Liz not only promotes books featuring women in aviation, but also provides the tools and information for other women to tell their stories. Check out Writers' Room interviews for in-depth discussions on writing, publishing, and book promotion. * Liz is a retired Coast Guard helicopter pilot and writer, and host of the Aviatrix Book Club, Aviatrix Writers' Group, and Literary Aviatrix website where you'll find hundreds of books featuring women in aviation for all ages. * Sign up for the Literary Aviatrix Newsletter to stay up to date on book news and book discussions and follow her on social media @LiteraryAviatrix. * https://linktr.ee/literaryaviatrix Language: en-us Genres: Arts, Aviation, Books, Leisure Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
Listen Now...
Airline Captain Heidi A. Porch talks about her memoir Ditching the Sky about a ferry flight engine failure 540 miles from Hawaii, a Cold War rescue, and the long road from ocean ditching to the 747
Episode 6
Friday, 27 February, 2026
Send a textHeidi Porch was 540 miles east-northeast of Hawaii when her engine began losing oil pressure.She was 500 feet above the Pacific when she turned off the master switch and prepared to ditch.In this episode, Heidi joins me to talk about Ditching the Sky, her gripping memoir of ferrying single-engine Cessnas across the Pacific in the 1980s—and the day her engine quit over open ocean.We talk about:Growing up with a dream of becoming an airline pilotBuilding time as a glider pilot and ferry pilotFlying 17-hour legs over open ocean without autopilotTrusting your instincts when your “little voice” says something isn’t rightCalling a Mayday when others aren’t convincedEngineering your own ditching plan mid-flightSurviving impactClimbing into a life raft in the open oceanBeing rescued during the Cold War by a Soviet refrigeration vesselAnd going on to fly the DC-9, Airbus 320, Boeing 747-400, Airbus 330, and Gulfstream 500We also talk about writing the book decades later, self-publishing, narrating her own audiobook—and the unexpected recognition that followed.This is a story about preparation, intuition, resilience, and the long arc of a career that almost ended before it began.Buy the book: https://literaryaviatrix.com/book/ditching-the-sky/Did you know you can support your local independent bookshop and me by shopping through my Bookshop.org affiliate links on my website? If a book is available on Bookshop.org, you'll find a link to it on the book page. By shopping through the Literary Aviatrix website a small portion of the sale goes to support the content you love, at no additional cost to you. https://literaryaviatrix.com/shop-all-books/Thanks so much for listening! Stay up to date on book releases, author events, and Aviatrix Book Club discussion dates with the Literary Aviatrix Newsletter. Visit the Literary Aviatrix website to find over 600 books featuring women in aviation in all genres for all ages. Become a Literary Aviatrix Patron and help amplify the voices of women in aviation. Follow me on social media, join the book club, and find all of the things on the Literary Aviatrix linkt.ree. Blue skies, happy reading, and happy listening!-Liz Booker
