Toby Speed

writing mysteries and children's books

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What does flying have to do with writing?

Getting ready for my flight in the Extra

When I was writing DEATH OVER EASY, three pilots showed up in a scene uninvited. I knew then that there would be a chase scene with two small planes, but I didn't know anything about flying. I tried to write the pilots out of the story, but they wouldn't budge. Uncle Ned stood jauntily in the archway to the dining room, toothpick in his mouth, daring me to kick him out.

So I got in touch with Michael Mancuso, a famous airshow pilot who lives in my area, and I drove over to Brookhaven Airport in Shirley, NY, to meet him. Before I went, one of my coworkers agreed to go for a flight with him and report back so I could write the scene. No way was I stepping inside an airplane that was smaller than my bathroom and could flip upside down. But after I saw his Extra 300L -- bam! it was love at first sight. I went for a flight with Michael, and two weeks later I put aside my novel and started flying lessons.

Swee'pea

I earned my private pilot's certificate on July 16, 2004, flying a Cessna Skyhawk. After that I had ten months of dual aerobatic instruction in a wonderful tailwheel plane called a Super Decathlon. I received my tailwheel endorsement and learned basic maneuvers such as aileron and slow rolls, inverted and knife-edge flight, spins, loops, steep turns, hammerheads, you name it. Wonderful stuff.

My next step was to purchase my own airplane in August 2005. That was Swee'pea, a 1966 Piper Cherokee 140 with a manual flap lever and crank trim. She was a loveable pup who tugged at her tiedown ropes and wagged her tail when she saw me coming across the ramp to fly her. On cold, clear winter days she practically jumped into the sky. She flew me to Martha's Vineyard, Block Island, Newport RI, New Bedford MA, Hartford CT, Poughkeepsie NY, Cape May NJ, Lancaster PA, and up and down the Hudson River at a thousand feet, alongside the skyscrapers and past the Statue of Liberty.

Although Swee'pea is no longer mine, I treasure the memories of my many flights at her controls. BFF.

Oh, and by the way, my research paid off. I was able to write that flying scene. :)