Greetings Loyal Airmen and welcome to this week's Flight Log.  Today we're going to be talking about one of the Air Chief's favorite classic heroes, Robin Hood.
 
                          
                                        Errol Flynn as Robin Hood
We don't recall the very first time we saw the movie, “The Adventures of Robin Hood,” starring the greatest screen swashbuckler of them all, Errol Flynn., but we know how much we enjoyed the experience.  In fact to this day it remains our second most favorite movie of all time.  It was our introduction to this classic hero who robbed from the rich to give to the poor, a man who became an outlaw rather than give in to immoral and unjust laws of his time. We never get tired of seeing his story told be it in cinema, television or the printed page.  In movies such stars as Douglas Fairbanks, Richard Todd, Sean Connery, Kevin Costner and most recently Russell Crowe have all taken a stab at playing this wonderful rogue. Still Flynn remains number one in our hearts. Which is why we were so excited last year when British writer, Ian Watson came to us with a brand new trilogy of the legend. 

                 
                             Map Showcasing lands in which the Robin Hood legend was born.
As it turned out, Ian lives only a short distance from Sherwood Forest and wanted to give the readers an historically accurate Robin Hood, but still filled with the same trademark action, adventure and romance we all expect to find in this ageless tale.  He delivered and lots more.  ROBIN HOOD – KING OF SHERWOOD is by far one of the finest books the Air Chief has had the pleasure of reading this year.  We bring this up now because this past week the Air Chief has been reading and editing the second volume in the trilogy ROBIN HOOD – ARROW OF JUSTICE and it is just a terrific as the first book. 

                
                      Cover painting by Mike Manley
When we first put ROBIN HOOD – KING OF SHERWOOD, we were lucky enough to recruit one of the finest artists in the country, Mike Manley, to do our cover.  The Air Chief thought you might like to see it without the logo and text on it to better appreciate Mike's gorgeous painting.  ROBIN HOOD – KING OF SHERWOOD was released in Feb.  We are also very thrilled to announce that Mike has signed on to do the cover for ARROW OF JUSTICE as well.  The Air Chief and his partner, art director Rob Davis, couldn't be happier.  It's much like getting an early Christmas gift.

And it's not too late to pick up a copy of this book.  All you need do is click on to the our Airship 27 dirigible logo to the left of this column and it will link you to our on-line store where this volume is on-sale.  Of course if you are so inclined, you can get it Amazon and Barnes & Noble if you prefer.  And might we humbly suggest, if you have any devoted readers in your family, or would like to fire up the reading bug in your children, you could not give them a better Christmas gift than ROBIN HOOD – KING OF SHERWOOD by Ian Watson.

      
                     Illo by Rob Davis
Of course like all Airship 27 pulp titles, this one had nine beautiful illustration, these by Rob. All of us agree, including the author, that they are some of Rob's finest work.  And before you ask, the answer is, yes, Rob will once again be providing the interior pieces for the new book.  Which, with fingers crossed, we will have out early next Spring.  But before that happens, Rob has to take care of an important health issue.  Next Monday, Dec. 6th he will be going to the hospital to have his prostate removed.  Rob is a spiritual guy and a positive one. Still he would so appreciate all your kind thoughts and prayers come Monday. And should any of you Loyal Airmen wish to send him a get-well card, please drop us a line and we'll pass along his mailing address. Those kind of simple things go a long way in making someone smile when the going gets a little rough.

Which is a good way to segue into our thanks to all of you who have been praying that the Air Chief's back problems will heal up.  We saw an orthopedic specialist this past week and he has us doing some walking exercises before we go back and see him again next week at which time he will schedule an M.R.I. Hopefully this will pinpoint the source of the ailment and we can get things squared away and back to normal. We will keep you posted as ever.

Again, as always, thanks for stopping by, and please, consider picking up ROBIN HOOD – KING OF SHERWOOD.  Your support is always appreciated.

Ron – Over & Out.