Tales of the Cessna 195

By: Michael D. Larson

Narrated by: Roland Sickenberger

Mike Larson's fascination with the Cessna airplane began at age 12 with a test flight at the Cessna Aircraft Company factory. Mike became a professional pilot, starting his 50 year career in aviation with a pilot's license, an old plane and a dream. From shuttling skydivers in a Twin Beech 18 to flying the Douglas DC-8, follow Mike's adventure-filled journey from plane to plane and around the world. When Mike and his wife, Charmian, decided to purchase a plane of their own, they choose the Cessna 195. They were quite unprepared for the onslaught of new experiences and friends this plane would bring them.

©2014 Michael D Larson (P)2016 Michael D Larson

Probably could have had a different title.

I did enjoy this book and don’t want to take away from the author but... this book could have been titled “My Entire Aviation Career and a Little About the Cessna 195.” The part the tittle does apply to is informative and interesting. If you want to read about an interesting aviation career this is it.

Great stories.

Michael is a great storyteller, and I could see myself sitting under his wind at Oshkosh and listening to stories into the wee hours of the night.
He did get one thing right. It is about the people most of the time. The people in the tight groups keeping the aircraft alive.

He has a remarkable aviation journey.
I was however expecting to learn a little more about he 195. What its predecessors, successors, how many were built, who operated them. How many models etc. If you a looking for that go elsewhere.

It's a great listen. The parachute schools, the party's and scraping a living were a good listen.

An Exemplary Example of Niche Market Book

Any additional comments?

This was a phenomenal listen! It is the true to life tale of private pilot and ATC rated Captain Michael Larson and his life in General and Commercial aviation. It is very personal and filled with his love of the subject. By the end I felt like I knew the author and his wife personally. I also learned about a plane I didn't even know existed, the Radial powered Cessna 195.This book is not for everybody and is the only reason that it got 4 stars overall. I realize it is a niche listener who will find this completely engaging and I am one of those people as I was a student pilot and an aviation buff so this book was aimed squarely at me. It is a great book as a stand-alone autobiography, but should completely engross ANY aviation enthusiast.

The narrator Roland Sickenberger also did a tremendous job. He has a warm, friendly and sonorous voice and sounded like your best mentor speaking to you. I really believed that it was the author speaking to me.

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review.

Oldie but a goodie

I enjoy this audiobook quite a lot. I guess it is the airplane stories and aviation history of the author.

Thank you Mr. Larson for writing and publishing your personal history.

For aviator buffs.

Is there anything you would change about this book?

More personal stories

Has Tales of the Cessna 195 turned you off from other books in this genre?

Not my cup of tea.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Roland Sickenberger?

He needs to create more enthusiasm.

Could you see Tales of the Cessna 195 being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

The idea is there just needs more punch.

Any additional comments?

"I was voluntarily provided this review copy at no charge by the author, publisher and or narrator.”

Great for Aviation Enthusiasts

This was an excellent book for pilots and aviation enthusiasts. It was not just the history of an airplane but a personal story of the life that it brought to two people. It is a deeply personal and gratifying book with something that every plane buff will enjoy.

This was a great book, but I'm afraid that the audience will be relatively low. I hope I'm wrong because this book deserves to be heard and appreciated.

The narrator did an excellent job. I really felt like the narrator was the author himself.

5 stars all-around.

I received a free copy of this audiobook from the author, publisher, or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review. I was NOT required to write a positive review and this reflects my honest opinion of the work.

a good flight of a book with plenty of turbulence.

when you travel adventure follows so do the stories.. the Air is a liquor of fun...

Needs a new title

The 195 was a supporting character at best in this book. Most of the stories the author mentions have nothing to do with the Cessna 195. They’re great stories of his career and experiences, but why title the book this when only about 25% of the book is actually about the Cessna 195?

Like listening to stories from a friend

This was a great book and wonderful listen. There are plenty of lessons learned, imparted through stories of how the author learned those lessons. This makes it a fairly easy listen for a non-fiction book. You can feel the author’s love for both aviation, and the particular airplane the book it titled for.

The narrator did a good job. Certain types of books (first person experience stories in this case) require the right tone, and feeling to be fully appreciated. This is one of those and the narrator succeeds.

Listening to it was like sitting down with a pilot-friend and hearing flying stories.

I was voluntarily provided this review copy audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator.

An true aviation life story

If you enjoy a good non-fiction story of people who live fascinating lives or have always dreamt of flying into the deep blue yonder, “Tales of the Cessna 195” by Michael D. Larson, narrated by Roland Sickenberger, is a book you will not want to pick up. The book is much more than just an airplane story. It is a wonderfully woven tale from the author’s life told in a way that will keep you grounded in your seat the entire way.

Let me start by saying that my wife and I are both private pilots having our single-engine land licenses and are experienced in both the Cessna 152 and 172 aircraft. I also have knowledge of the Phoenix, AZ area including Falcon field where my brother to this day flies his aircraft out of. Many of the author’s early experiences in the book take place in this same area (including South Mountain and Sky Harbor airport in Phoenix). This aspect of the book personally brought back many memories from my childhood. However, this is not the only reason I enjoyed the book as so much more of it takes place at locations I have never been.

I want to be clear, this book is one that will be greatly enjoyed by those in the aviation field or anyone who likes aviation, however it is not just about the Cessna 195 aircraft. The title is a bit misleading as it is really about one man’s life journey in the aviation business and his love for the 195. I liked that he included both his and his wife’s desires of flying, and that they both enjoyed the many aspects of doing just that. It was something that I found helped me to succeed in getting my license; having another that was going through the process and we always had so much to talk about. It was good to hear of their support and freedom that only flying can bring someone. With that said, I would have liked the author to have defined a few of the terms to help make the book easier to read for a non-pilot.

As much fun as flying is, those who have been involved in the industry understand that often things wrong, and this usually happens at the worse times. How one reacts to such events can mean the difference between life and death; of you, your crew, or your passengers. Often one cannot see how close death is until the event is over; and the author does not spare telling the reader the many struggles and frustrations he experienced while flying; some very close. It is not all about the fun and excitement, but often requires one to improvise to get out of sticky situations. I also like that he included details around how friendly people are in the industry, I also experienced this while flying. Most people will go out of their way to accommodate and assist where they can. It is often a field where ‘paying it forward’ is often rewarded at a later time. If you can ever assist in fixing a “Check Engine” light on a loaner car, please do.

Although it is a true life story, I’m sure the author is glad for the statute of limitations in the US. Over the years he faced a few incidents in which he was able to get out of or never told anyone; but it is now published in this book. Nothing overtly illegal, mostly obstruction, but a few incidents that could have resulted in his licenses being taken or the FAA making his life more difficult. Once again, it shows the fine line one sometimes needs to walk to be a part of the aviation field. I had to openly laugh when he spoke of a watermelon field adjacent to one airstrip and when the fruit was ripe, people would fly in, run out of an active aircraft and grab a watermelon, and depart. All in one quick stop and go. Again, I laughed then the author said that one does not know how good a fresh watermelon tastes on a host AL day. Not that he ever admitted to doing this himself.

Let me say a few words regarding the audiobook’s narration. At the time of this review, Ronald has eight Audible books he has narrated. His performances by others are all rated four stars or higher; and I would agree with their assessment. I enjoyed his reading pace and richness of his voice. He was able to enhance the story by adding inflection bringing the tale to life. I will say that I did notice a few volume places of inconstancies with the recording. Nothing that would take away from the book, but noticeable if one listens closely. No other audio artifacts were detected while I listened. I look forward to hearing more from this narrator in the future.

Disclaimer: I was voluntarily provided this review copy audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator.