This inspirational biography-memoir has history, romance, invention, and adventure. It inspires readers to ask the question, "What am I doing to make a difference in the world?" Art Smith was a pioneer of aviation whose hard work and determination led him to become a famous flight performer. He amazed audiences with his spirals, dives, and loop-the-loops, and he was the first aviator to perform night flight phosphorus firework displays. Smith persevered through many trials and failures and never gave up on his dream.
Bruce Eicher re-introduces Art Smith's story to the world for inspiration. He includes thought-provoking questions added to the end of the chapters, historic pictures gathered from a variety of sources, and a timeline that puts Smith's accomplishments in context. Art Smith's life challenges readers to pursue their dreams with a new perspective.
Arthur R. Smith, 1890-1926, grew up in the small town of Fort Wayne, Indiana. When he was 15 years old, just two years after the Wright Brothers had their first successful flight and during a time when many people believed flight wasn't even possible, Art decided he would build his own flight-worthy machine.
He Had to Risk it All Art calculated the costs and presented a plan to his parents, convincing them to mortgage their house to fund his first airplane. After a series of trials and errors, Art experienced several setbacks that ended up causing his family to lose their home. Art had to risk it all for his dream, but he never looked back and was determined to become a successful aviator.
A Good Support System Art was grateful to have the help and support of his good friend Al Wertman, who never stopped believing in him. Together, they worked day and night until Art had finally had a successful flight. Even then, most people told him he would never be a successful aviator.
Art had the support from his future wife Aimee Cour from the very beginning. Art writes about their love story, including their elopement flight that ended with Art and Aimee getting married in their hospital beds after their plane had crashed.
Hard Work Paid Off Art was known as the world's greatest stunt flyer and was awarded many medals in his career. One of his favorite medals was from Buffalo Bill Cody, a man who had been one of his heroes since the beginning of his journey. It was a long journey, but he persevered through many failed flights, crashes, broken parts, and discouragement from skeptic engineers.
