Gordon Baxter — ‘Bax’ to just about everyone — remains one of Flying‘s most loved and revered columnists. His Bax Seat essays graced the last page of the magazine for decades, with tales of monster-size 450 hp Stearman cropdusters, open-door Piper J-3 Cubs and everything in between. Bax, a Texan who made his ‘final flight’ in 2005, was best known for his keen understanding of the bond between these machines and the people who loved and flew them.
He wrote a few books in his time, too. My favorite is How to Fly, and in honor of Bax’s sense of humor I still occasionally pretend to consult my copy shortly after takeoff with a new passenger. Some of his observations and wisdom are timeless, and worth revisiting. For example:
