A Pilot First, Last and Always

the long version

A Pilot First, Last and Always by Col. Vaughn E. Denning (USAF Retired) covers a 32-year career during some of the most dramatic changes ever to the U.S. military from 1942–1974. Follow a professional flying officer through sweeping military change, from World War II into the Cold War. Witness first hand innovations for military aircraft, the evolution of nuclear weapons, and the birth of the space program. Sit in the pilot’s seat during test flights, flame-outs, engine fires and jungle rescues. Vaughn E. Denning has flown more than 48 different types of airplanes, from a small single-engine wood and fabric bi-plane to a Mach 2 jet fighter made of exotic metals and fabrics. Col. Denning served and transported such civilian and military leaders as Charles Lindbergh and General Jimmy Doolittle in aircraft including the former presidential flagship Sacred Cow. Discover what it is like to work with military and elected leaders in our nation’s capital. Col. Denning spent 10 years in the Washington, D.C., headquarters of the Air Force and a top agency of the Department of Defense. While there, he worked with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Atomic Energy Commission, planned and conducted nuclear weapons tests, developed space satellites and boosters, participated in launches, and created new space capabilities.