Sky Truck - Osprey Colour Series

Sky Truck is the result of more than ten years travelling to record the dwindling number of spirited operators who still use fleets of old transport aircraft, against all odds. Who want to fly a Sky Truck? In a world of jet technology the reasons for the continued operation of aircraft which most people believe passed away ages ago may not be clear, but they are many and varied. Airlines from Third World countries, for example, may have little choice or may not be able to afford to update their tired fleets. In the early 1980s, however, the situation has changed, leaving few that remain in this category. A substantial number of propellor-driven transports which have served with front-line airlines, particularly in Europe, have been forced out of service by increasing costs and the relative scarcity of avgas. Then there are smaller, more colourful cargo operators, often one-man bands running on less than a shoestring budget. They ply back-street cargo markets seeking work, and carry literally anything that will pass through their cargo doors. Finally, at the bottom end of the scale, but mass users of old piston-engined equipment, are the `dopers', hotly pursued by the DEA. Whether these giants of a past era retire with grace, are impounded, abandoned, or scrapped, or whether they are placed in a used-plane lot or terminate their careers in the side of a mountain or in some steamy jungle, their days are numbered. Sky Truck is a tribute to the great and often brave characters who struggle to keep their machines in the air...