In his 36-year aviation career, Al Morris has logged many hours in the air, visited more than 40 countries and served in roles ranging from fighter pilot to commercial captain.
Jill Connor / The Citizen
Al Morris, author of “The Rogue Aviator”, talks at Creekside Books & Coffee on Thursday, Oct. 8 about his book and his aviation career.
Al Morris, author of “The Rogue Aviator”, talks at Creekside Books & Coffee on Thursday, Oct. 8 about his book and his aviation career.
These years of experience and insight have given him a unique perspective on the world of aviation. And it is these experiences that he has used to write his first book, “The Rogue Aviator: In the Back Alleys of Aviation.”
“I saw a lot and I flew for a lot of different airlines,” said Morris, who wrote “Aviator” under the pseudonym of Ace Abbott. “I wanted to write this to try to give people a better understanding of what goes on in the world of airlines.”
Morris grew up on a farm in Niles and graduated from Moravia High School in 1961. From there he went on SUNY Cortland, where he decided to pursue a career with flight.
“It was a couple of months before I was going to graduate,” Morris said. “I walked into an Air Force recruiter's office and I took a bunch of tests and the next thing I knew I was in the officer training program.”
During his stint with the Air Force, Morris became a pilot and flew the F-4 Phantom for three and a half years. After leaving the service in 1971, Morris had planned to pursue his other passion, golf.
“I wanted to be a pro on the PGA,” Morris said. “I got a job working on the PGA, but I found out how hard it was.”
Morris decided to go back to flying and enrolled in a training program for Learjet, where he became a pilot and worked flying many celebrities, such as golf pro Jack Nicklaus. After eight years with Learjet, Morris went on to fly for UPS and later served as a captain of numerous 727s.
In 2002, Morris retired from flying. He has since focused on golf and spends his winters in Florida working as an instructor. But all the years of stories and experiences from his time flying did not leave him. And gradually, the idea of writing a book grew.
“It took me about a year and a half,” Morris said. “I got started and then about a third of the way through I got bogged down, but then I decided that I had to finish it - that I owed it to my colleagues and my friends to finish this book.”
Morris finished and has self-published the book through iUniverse. In the book, he conveys his story as a pilot, but also the story of flying. Morris touches on his experiences in the Air Force and his career as a commercial pilot, sharing his stories of the interesting people, such as Nicklaus, that he had the good fortune to meet. He also delves into what he terms the “darker side” of the business.
Morris said that it is this aspect that he truly wanted to convey to his readers. In the book, Morris discusses everything from salaries to the difficulties facing pilots and flight crews. During his 20 years as a captain, Morris worked for many smaller airlines that have long since gone out of business. Morris said that this has left him and others like him without any benefits.
“People don't realize it is a tough job,” Morris said. “If you work for one of the big carriers as a captain you might make $140,000 to $150,000 a year. But working for the smaller airlines you might only make $35,000. With these smaller ones, once they go out of business, you have no pension or anything.”
Morris also said that colleagues have found themselves going from captains to lesser roles in the cockpit just to stay working.
Morris also touches on airlines' disregard for FAA regulations and how flight crews will often work well past their allotted hours, which Morris said is both dangerous and negligent.
So far, Morris has sold approximately 200 copies of his book, which is available locally at Creekside Books in Skaneateles and Coffee N' Cream in Moravia. And he has been pleased by the response.
“So far what I have heard has been good,” Morris said. “I just want people to read this and to be able to learn a little more about what really goes on with the airlines.”
On the Web
For more information about “The Rogue Aviator,” visit www.therogueaviator.com
“I saw a lot and I flew for a lot of different airlines,” said Morris, who wrote “Aviator” under the pseudonym of Ace Abbott. “I wanted to write this to try to give people a better understanding of what goes on in the world of airlines.”
Morris grew up on a farm in Niles and graduated from Moravia High School in 1961. From there he went on SUNY Cortland, where he decided to pursue a career with flight.
“It was a couple of months before I was going to graduate,” Morris said. “I walked into an Air Force recruiter's office and I took a bunch of tests and the next thing I knew I was in the officer training program.”
During his stint with the Air Force, Morris became a pilot and flew the F-4 Phantom for three and a half years. After leaving the service in 1971, Morris had planned to pursue his other passion, golf.
“I wanted to be a pro on the PGA,” Morris said. “I got a job working on the PGA, but I found out how hard it was.”
Morris decided to go back to flying and enrolled in a training program for Learjet, where he became a pilot and worked flying many celebrities, such as golf pro Jack Nicklaus. After eight years with Learjet, Morris went on to fly for UPS and later served as a captain of numerous 727s.
In 2002, Morris retired from flying. He has since focused on golf and spends his winters in Florida working as an instructor. But all the years of stories and experiences from his time flying did not leave him. And gradually, the idea of writing a book grew.
“It took me about a year and a half,” Morris said. “I got started and then about a third of the way through I got bogged down, but then I decided that I had to finish it - that I owed it to my colleagues and my friends to finish this book.”
Morris finished and has self-published the book through iUniverse. In the book, he conveys his story as a pilot, but also the story of flying. Morris touches on his experiences in the Air Force and his career as a commercial pilot, sharing his stories of the interesting people, such as Nicklaus, that he had the good fortune to meet. He also delves into what he terms the “darker side” of the business.
Morris said that it is this aspect that he truly wanted to convey to his readers. In the book, Morris discusses everything from salaries to the difficulties facing pilots and flight crews. During his 20 years as a captain, Morris worked for many smaller airlines that have long since gone out of business. Morris said that this has left him and others like him without any benefits.
“People don't realize it is a tough job,” Morris said. “If you work for one of the big carriers as a captain you might make $140,000 to $150,000 a year. But working for the smaller airlines you might only make $35,000. With these smaller ones, once they go out of business, you have no pension or anything.”
Morris also said that colleagues have found themselves going from captains to lesser roles in the cockpit just to stay working.
Morris also touches on airlines' disregard for FAA regulations and how flight crews will often work well past their allotted hours, which Morris said is both dangerous and negligent.
So far, Morris has sold approximately 200 copies of his book, which is available locally at Creekside Books in Skaneateles and Coffee N' Cream in Moravia. And he has been pleased by the response.
“So far what I have heard has been good,” Morris said. “I just want people to read this and to be able to learn a little more about what really goes on with the airlines.”
On the Web
For more information about “The Rogue Aviator,” visit www.therogueaviator.com
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