Flight Lessons 4: Leadership & Command

How Eddie Learned to Lead

This is volume four of a five volume collection that chronicles the author's journey from novice pilot to professional pilot, while adding technical lessons learned along the way.  The author has a following through his website, www.code7700.com, which receives nearly 2 million hits every month.  The website is used by airline, business, corporate, and military pilots for references to pilot procedures and techniques.  The website also receives frequent visits from aviation industry, government offices, and colleges throughout the world.  One of the most requested parts of the website are for more and more of the lessons, told in story form.  The website author's web name is "Eddie," and many of the stories are told in an easy to read style, in Eddie's first person voice.

While this book can stand alone, it takes up after volume three.  After fifteen years as a pilot in one United States Air Force squadron after another, Eddie gets his turn as a commander, leading a squadron of 150 pilots, engineers, radio operators, flight attendants, and ground support personnel.  His squadron is part of a dysfunctional wing, giving Eddie the perfect opportunity to study his peers and superiors in search of the perfect leadership style.  Soon after his command tour is over, the squadron crashes an airplane, killing all on board.  The ensuing investigation forces Eddie to take a second look at his own leadership style, revealing the secret to leadership and command.