That's Fast Enough

Flying, Family & Fleeing

by Peter Herzberg

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Excerpts

A pot of green gloss paint had been left in the garage, as Dad had been painting the new garage doors. I discovered this pot of paint and decided to put it to good use and paint the neighbours’ dog. It was a very friendly and placid old dog and stood there quite happily, as I applied its new colour. There was hell on! It took hours and hours to clean the dog using gallons of turpentine. Fortunately, the neighbour soon regained his sense of humour, and I wasn’t “in the doghouse” for too long.

During day two at this new school, I decided that they couldn’t teach me anything worthwhile so, during the morning break, I jumped over the fence and started to walk home. I got about a couple of hundred yards before someone came after me. I had made the mistake of telling the other kids that I was going home, and they “grassed” on me. I had decided that this school thing was a waste of time.

As Grandfather got older and his hearing and his driving ability deteriorated, I always found it slightly embarrassing to go anywhere with him in his car. He had a Hillman Minx and, due to his age and deafness, he found it much easier to go everywhere in first gear. The engine would be revving wildly, virtually jumping through the bonnet, as it protested at this mechanical torture. The car was a regular visitor to the local garage, as Grandfather went through goodness knows how many clutches.

All went well until the final approach into Beauvais. For whatever reason, I failed to judge my height correctly on the landing, and we “arrived” with an almighty thump on the end of the runway. I was completely crestfallen not to mention embarrassed. There are a certain group of people in aviation who are very quick to remind you of your shortcomings with the quality of your landing, and they are the cabin crew.

The nose wheel had just come off the ground, when there were two almighty bangs and the aircraft yawed to the right. There was a large flash from the right-hand side of the aircraft. My immediate thought was that we had hit something on the ground, as it was dark and we could only see runway lights. As I assumed the landing gear could be damaged, it would be prudent not to retract it. Any damage could further damage the undercarriage bays which, in turn, could give us more problems when we tried to extend it again.

My grandfather’s idea was to swim across the river at night thus avoiding the various checkpoints. At the time, he thought this would be part of his escape route from Frankfurt to help him remain clear of German Army patrols and police. In the end, he decided that the current would be too strong for him, and he eventually managed to get a flight out of Frankfurt to Stockholm with the help of an official who turned a blind eye to his departure. The official was also a family friend.

A career in aviation and unearthing family history

About

Peter Herzberg

Brought up in the Lake District, a keen interest in anything involving aviation brought about a career of almost 45 years starting with light aircraft and then on to the airline industry becoming a training Captain with various airlines including Virgin Atlantic on the Boeing 747. It all started with a piece of furniture inherited from his grandfather. Following retirement a further investigation into his family history was started by a letter found after the death of his father. This in turn lead to the fascinating story of his family having to flee from Nazi oppression and make a new life for themselves in different parts of the world. The author is retired and lives with his wife Jan in the rural North of England.

Reviews

Praise forThat's Fast Enough

“Fascinating autobiography with a twist”

A fascinating story cataloguing how a young boy followed his dream to pursue a career in aviation. Through passion, hard work, motivation, and devotion the author imparts a lifetime of memories in an easy reading, self-depreciating and humorous style. The trials and tribulations of this son, husband, pilot, instructor and examiner and gentleman have been brought to colourful life. Thoroughly enjoyable, I read this in one sitting and a fine example of what can be achieved. Ends with an amazing family heritage postscript.

A. T.

“Three fascinating reads in one!”

A. N.

“Interesting Reading”

Having worked with the Author, many years ago, it was refreshing to read of his career and researching his Family History. A very enjoyable and informative read. Would highly recommend!

R.L.

“An intriguing read”

An intriguing read in all respects, this book combines a reflective and humorous account of a long and successful career in civil aviation with an insight into some dramatic family history under Nazi tyranny. The flying anecdotes include simple technical explanation and give the reader an appreciation of some of the typical ‘highs and lows’ encountered by many an airline pilot during their career path.

D.W.

“Entertaining, Educational and Exciting”

The author has written an amazing book about pursuing and achieving his childhood dream of becoming a professional pilot. The book follows his 40+ year career in aviation, giving the opportunity to look behind the scenes at the life of an international airline pilot. Nail-biting in places and hilariously funny in others, there's also a wicked plot twist towards the end as he uncovers a previously unknown part of his family history in a briefcase belonging to his late father.

T. R.

“Great reading for anyone with an interest in aviation.”

Great read of an autobiography from a now retired pilot who chased his dreams. Many humorous stories from 50 years of flying experience starting from a dream as a young child up to becoming a successful airline pilot, with many entertaining memories from training others to fly. Ends with a fascinating family history tale. Easy to read, even for those lacking knowledge in aviation.

S. M.

“Very enjoyable read”

This book teaches us never to give up on our dreams. From the heartwarming, often humorous stories from the author’s childhood, to making his dream of becoming a pilot reality this book was an enjoyable read. The author conveys well his days as a successful airline pilot. Then after retiring discovers the story of how family members fled, and survived the Nazi oppression.

A. C.

“Entertaining Page Turner”

This well written autobiography charts the life and career path of a successful airline pilot intertwinned with his own personal family history of persecution during the second world war. It is a very readable book that manages to be both informative and hilarious at the same time! Well worth a look.

R. C.

“Very interesting subject matter”

Lovely book well written, very interesting and humorous in places.

A. F.

That's Fast Enough

Flying, Family & Fleeing

by
Peter Herzberg

That's Fast Enough book by author Peter Herzberg

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