In the fall of 1979, Vickie and Dave Case set out from San Francisco in a 29'sailboat built from a semi-kit. They harbor hopped down the coast to Manzanillo, Mexico before bravely heading the 2700 miles over open ocean to the Marquesas. Using a compass, sextant, and sumlog they covered the distance in twenty-two days. Then it was off to Tahiti, and the Society Islands, Rarotonga, Pago Pago, before heading back by way of Honolulu and home to San Francisco. This was voyaging in the tradition of Joshua Slocom; no GPS, long-range radios, refrigerators or air conditioners. The journey was as God intended; a fair breeze, a star to guide, and a bit of luck to tide us. Very primitive by today's standards, mechanical problems and weather were nevertheless a constant challenge. It was the people met along the way that made it all more than worthwhile.

Returning from a sailing voyage around the Pacific with Vickie, his wife, Captain Case was beginning to think his flying career was over when the phone rang. It was an old friend and fellow pilot telling him of a company in Michigan that was hiring. It had been over three years since touching the controls; he needed a complete ground school and probably a few months as a copilot before being ready for the left seat once more. The chief pilot liked him and seemed more interested in hearing about his sailing experience. After a brief interview the chief pilot said, "e;This isn't much of an airline, but if you promise me you'll work for six-months after getting back on the line, I'll get you current."e; Captain Case gave his word staying with the company for over six years as they grew to become an around the world carrier for Emery Air Freight. After ground school he was awarded the left seat as a captain making him more than a bit cautious. He eventually became one of their instructors and check airmen; teaching others the tricks of the trade.Captain Case left to become a freelance pilot offering his services to the highest bidder. He trained pilots in South America, flew for Kenya Airways on their international routes eventually settling with Air Marshall Islands where he flew the Majuro-Honolulu-Christmas Island schedule. He was one of their senior international captains and Director of Flight Operations before the age-sixty rule caught up with him forcing him to hang up his goggles.

A boy dreams of flying. He's an outsider - still he dreams. A summer job at an airport leads to flying lessons. Shortly thereafter he's smuggling lobster off Mexican beaches in an old surplus airplane. Later, it's the Congo and a revolution. Followed by a CIA operation in Laos where making dangerous airdrops to the Royalists fighting the communists is the mission. Then Vietnam, and more adrenaline-pumping excitement. He lives his dream with luck, pluck and always knowing the glass is half-full. This is the early years of Captain Dave Case's forty-four-year action-packed career as a swash-buckling pilot; always seeking the other side of the mountain. Volume One is the first of three; each crammed with gripping yarns of one man doing it his way.

In the fall of 1979, Vickie and Dave Case set out from San Francisco in a 29'sailboat built from a semi-kit. They harbor hopped down the coast to Manzanillo, Mexico before bravely heading the 2700 miles over open ocean to the Marquesas. Using a compass, sextant, and sumlog they covered the distance in twenty-two days. Then it was off to Tahiti, and the Society Islands, Rarotonga, Pago Pago, before heading back by way of Honolulu and home to San Francisco. This was voyaging in the tradition of Joshua Slocom; no GPS, long-range radios, refrigerators or air conditioners. The journey was as God intended; a fair breeze, a star to guide, and a bit of luck to tide us. Very primitive by today's standards, mechanical problems and weather were nevertheless a constant challenge. It was the people met along the way that made it all more than worthwhile.

Returning from a sailing voyage around the Pacific with Vickie, his wife, Captain Case was beginning to think his flying career was over when the phone rang. It was an old friend and fellow pilot telling him of a company in Michigan that was hiring. It had been over three years since touching the controls; he needed a complete ground school and probably a few months as a copilot before being ready for the left seat once more. The chief pilot liked him and seemed more interested in hearing about his sailing experience. After a brief interview the chief pilot said, "e;This isn't much of an airline, but if you promise me you'll work for six-months after getting back on the line, I'll get you current."e; Captain Case gave his word staying with the company for over six years as they grew to become an around the world carrier for Emery Air Freight. After ground school he was awarded the left seat as a captain making him more than a bit cautious. He eventually became one of their instructors and check airmen; teaching others the tricks of the trade.Captain Case left to become a freelance pilot offering his services to the highest bidder. He trained pilots in South America, flew for Kenya Airways on their international routes eventually settling with Air Marshall Islands where he flew the Majuro-Honolulu-Christmas Island schedule. He was one of their senior international captains and Director of Flight Operations before the age-sixty rule caught up with him forcing him to hang up his goggles.

A boy dreams of flying. He's an outsider - still he dreams. A summer job at an airport leads to flying lessons. Shortly thereafter he's smuggling lobster off Mexican beaches in an old surplus airplane. Later, it's the Congo and a revolution. Followed by a CIA operation in Laos where making dangerous airdrops to the Royalists fighting the communists is the mission. Then Vietnam, and more adrenaline-pumping excitement. He lives his dream with luck, pluck and always knowing the glass is half-full. This is the early years of Captain Dave Case's forty-four-year action-packed career as a swash-buckling pilot; always seeking the other side of the mountain. Volume One is the first of three; each crammed with gripping yarns of one man doing it his way.