
Tales of the Cessna 195
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed

Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $19.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Roland Sickenberger
About this listen
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 LarsonListeners also enjoyed...
-
Hauling Checks
- A Satirical Aviation Comedy
- By: Alex Stone
- Narrated by: Ray Lesniewski
- Length: 5 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
I’m a cargo pilot. In the industry, I’m known as a “Freight Dog.” I fly canceled checks and other types of high-value cargo around the country, mostly at night, in airplanes that are older than I am. Flying freight - or “work” as we call it - in small, twin-engine aircraft is a lesser known side of the aviation world. Our day starts when banker’s hours end. Thousands of flights move millions of pounds of work from city to city every night while the rest of the country is asleep.
-
-
12 year old write this?
- By Banditt on 06-20-19
By: Alex Stone
-
Dangerous Lessons and Guardian Angels
- An Airline Pilot's Story
- By: P. J. Spivack
- Narrated by: Tom Lennon
- Length: 7 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is an action-packed, true adventure book that spans 35 years of airline flying. There are stories about transporting guns to Biafra in order to help the Independent Nigerians, flying cargo up and down the Berlin Air Corridor during the Cold War, as well as missions deep into Russia. Many of the stories in this book will put you on the edge of your seat; for example, when the author is forced to make a death-defying landing of a four-engine jetliner in total fog.
-
-
Excellent book - great aviation experiences...
- By Mark on 06-08-17
By: P. J. Spivack
-
CFI! The Book
- A Satirical Aviation Comedy
- By: Alex Stone
- Narrated by: Ray Lesniewski
- Length: 3 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An underpaid, overworked certified flight instructor cheats death while attempting to teach a cast of incompetent student pilots to fly at a skeezy South Florida flight school; all in the quest to build flight time so he can get a “real job” at an airline. The planes break, the regs break, metal gets bent, students are lost at sea, and a Top Gun wannabe student, who has 400 hours of flight instruction, still hasn’t made his first solo flight.
-
-
Entertaining and Funny
- By Jeff Meyers on 03-11-19
By: Alex Stone
-
Yeager
- An Autobiography
- By: Chuck Yeager
- Narrated by: Chris Browning, Pamela Dillman, David Stifel, and others
- Length: 14 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
General Chuck Yeager was the greatest test pilot of them all - the first man to fly faster than the speed of sound...the World War II flying ace who shot down a Messerschmitt jet with a prop-driven P-51 Mustang...the hero who defined a certain quality that all hotshot fly-boys of the postwar era aimed to achieve: the right stuff. Now he tells his whole incredible life story with the same “wide-open, full throttle” approach that has marked his astonishing career.
-
-
Just an Amazing Life
- By John on 05-08-20
By: Chuck Yeager
-
The Last Bush Pilots
- By: Eric Auxier
- Narrated by: Thomas Block
- Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Author, airline captain, and popular blogger Eric Auxier brings Alaska bush flying to life in his second novel, The Last Bush Pilots. Exhilarating flying, tall tales, and larger-than-life characters abound in a wild land that truly is America's Last Frontier. Two young pilots, Daniel "D.C." Alva and Allen David Foley, take on the world's most dangerous flying: the Alaska bush. But Mother Nature - and a sexy Native Alaskan - stand in their way.
-
-
Fun book... if you can stand the narrator
- By Piotr Pawlikowski on 03-27-18
By: Eric Auxier
-
The Killing Zone, 2nd Edition
- How and Why Pilots Die
- By: Paul A. Craig
- Narrated by: David Marantz
- Length: 12 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This survival guide for new pilots identifies the pitfalls waiting inside the killing zone, the period from 50 to 350 flight hours when they leave their instructors behind and fly as pilot in command for the first time. Although they're privately certified, many of these unseasoned aviators are unaware of the potential accidents that lie ahead while trying to build decision-making skills on their own - many times falling victim to inexperience.
-
-
Dry
- By Wade on 08-13-19
By: Paul A. Craig
-
Hauling Checks
- A Satirical Aviation Comedy
- By: Alex Stone
- Narrated by: Ray Lesniewski
- Length: 5 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
I’m a cargo pilot. In the industry, I’m known as a “Freight Dog.” I fly canceled checks and other types of high-value cargo around the country, mostly at night, in airplanes that are older than I am. Flying freight - or “work” as we call it - in small, twin-engine aircraft is a lesser known side of the aviation world. Our day starts when banker’s hours end. Thousands of flights move millions of pounds of work from city to city every night while the rest of the country is asleep.
-
-
12 year old write this?
- By Banditt on 06-20-19
By: Alex Stone
-
Dangerous Lessons and Guardian Angels
- An Airline Pilot's Story
- By: P. J. Spivack
- Narrated by: Tom Lennon
- Length: 7 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is an action-packed, true adventure book that spans 35 years of airline flying. There are stories about transporting guns to Biafra in order to help the Independent Nigerians, flying cargo up and down the Berlin Air Corridor during the Cold War, as well as missions deep into Russia. Many of the stories in this book will put you on the edge of your seat; for example, when the author is forced to make a death-defying landing of a four-engine jetliner in total fog.
-
-
Excellent book - great aviation experiences...
- By Mark on 06-08-17
By: P. J. Spivack
-
CFI! The Book
- A Satirical Aviation Comedy
- By: Alex Stone
- Narrated by: Ray Lesniewski
- Length: 3 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An underpaid, overworked certified flight instructor cheats death while attempting to teach a cast of incompetent student pilots to fly at a skeezy South Florida flight school; all in the quest to build flight time so he can get a “real job” at an airline. The planes break, the regs break, metal gets bent, students are lost at sea, and a Top Gun wannabe student, who has 400 hours of flight instruction, still hasn’t made his first solo flight.
-
-
Entertaining and Funny
- By Jeff Meyers on 03-11-19
By: Alex Stone
-
Yeager
- An Autobiography
- By: Chuck Yeager
- Narrated by: Chris Browning, Pamela Dillman, David Stifel, and others
- Length: 14 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
General Chuck Yeager was the greatest test pilot of them all - the first man to fly faster than the speed of sound...the World War II flying ace who shot down a Messerschmitt jet with a prop-driven P-51 Mustang...the hero who defined a certain quality that all hotshot fly-boys of the postwar era aimed to achieve: the right stuff. Now he tells his whole incredible life story with the same “wide-open, full throttle” approach that has marked his astonishing career.
-
-
Just an Amazing Life
- By John on 05-08-20
By: Chuck Yeager
-
The Last Bush Pilots
- By: Eric Auxier
- Narrated by: Thomas Block
- Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Author, airline captain, and popular blogger Eric Auxier brings Alaska bush flying to life in his second novel, The Last Bush Pilots. Exhilarating flying, tall tales, and larger-than-life characters abound in a wild land that truly is America's Last Frontier. Two young pilots, Daniel "D.C." Alva and Allen David Foley, take on the world's most dangerous flying: the Alaska bush. But Mother Nature - and a sexy Native Alaskan - stand in their way.
-
-
Fun book... if you can stand the narrator
- By Piotr Pawlikowski on 03-27-18
By: Eric Auxier
-
The Killing Zone, 2nd Edition
- How and Why Pilots Die
- By: Paul A. Craig
- Narrated by: David Marantz
- Length: 12 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This survival guide for new pilots identifies the pitfalls waiting inside the killing zone, the period from 50 to 350 flight hours when they leave their instructors behind and fly as pilot in command for the first time. Although they're privately certified, many of these unseasoned aviators are unaware of the potential accidents that lie ahead while trying to build decision-making skills on their own - many times falling victim to inexperience.
-
-
Dry
- By Wade on 08-13-19
By: Paul A. Craig
-
The Aviators
- Eddie Rickenbacker, Jimmy Doolittle, Charles Lindbergh, and the Epic Age of Flight
- By: Winston Groom
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 17 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Gifted storyteller Winston Groom, the best-selling author of Forrest Gump, has written the fascinating story of three extraordinary heroes who defined aviation during the great age of flight: Charles Lindbergh, Eddie Rickenbacker, and Jimmy Doolittle. These cleverly interwoven tales of their heart-stopping adventures take us from the feats of World War I through the heroism of World War II and beyond, including daring military raids and survival at sea, and will appeal to fans of Unbroken, The Greatest Generation, and Flyboys.
-
-
Too much a hagiography
- By Joseph Valenzi on 09-08-15
By: Winston Groom
-
Stick and Rudder
- An Explanation of the Art of Flying
- By: Wolfgang Langewiesche
- Narrated by: Jason Leikam
- Length: 14 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Stick and Rudder is the first exact analysis of the art of flying ever attempted. It has been continuously in print for 33 years. It shows precisely what the pilot does when he flies, just how he does it, and why. Because the basics are largely unchanging, the book therefore is applicable to large airplanes and small, old airplanes and new, and is of interest not only to the learner but also to the accomplished pilot and to the instructor himself.
-
-
It is a must for pilots
- By Gyorgy Gulyas on 11-20-21
-
Race of Aces
- WWII's Elite Airmen and the Epic Battle to Become the Master of the Sky
- By: John R. Bruning
- Narrated by: Brian Troxell
- Length: 16 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1942, America's deadliest fighter pilot, or "ace of aces" - the legendary Eddie Rickenbacker - offered a bottle of bourbon to the first US fighter pilot to break his record of 26 enemy planes shot down. Seizing on the challenge to motivate his men, General George Kenney promoted what they would come to call the "race of aces" as a way of boosting the spirits of his war-weary command.
-
-
Boring, confusing storyline, some technical details wrong
- By ATM on 04-09-20
By: John R. Bruning
-
Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge: FAA-H-8083-25B
- Federal Aviation Administration
- By: Federal Aviation Administration
- Narrated by: Airman Audio
- Length: 21 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge provides basic knowledge that is essential for pilots. This handbook introduces pilots to the broad spectrum of knowledge that will be needed as they progress in their pilot training. Except for the Code of Federal Regulations pertinent to civil aviation, most of the knowledge areas applicable to pilot certification are presented. This handbook is useful to beginning pilots, as well as those pursuing more advanced pilot certificates.
-
-
Amazing!!!
- By pat on 09-18-21
-
The Wright Brothers
- By: David McCullough
- Narrated by: David McCullough
- Length: 10 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize David McCullough tells the dramatic story behind the story about the courageous brothers who taught the world how to fly: Wilbur and Orville Wright.
On December 17, 1903, at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Wilbur and Orville Wright's Wright Flyer became the first powered, heavier-than-air machine to achieve controlled, sustained flight with a pilot aboard. The Age of Flight had begun. How did they do it? And why?
-
-
Disappointing
- By Sara on 07-10-16
By: David McCullough
-
From F-4 Phantom to A-10 Warthog
- Memoirs of a Cold War Fighter Pilot
- By: Steven K Ladd
- Narrated by: Jeff Bolton
- Length: 12 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
You do not have to be an aviation aficionado to enjoy Colonel Steve Ladd’s fascinating personal tale, woven around his 28-year career as a fighter pilot. This extremely engaging account follows a young man from basic pilot training to senior command through the narratives that define a unique ethos. From the United States to Southeast Asia; Europe to the Middle East; linking the amusing and tongue-in-cheek to the deadly serious and poignant, this is the lifelong journey of a fighter pilot.
-
-
What an excellent book!
- By Randy on 03-30-22
By: Steven K Ladd
-
Unforgettable
- My 10 Best Flights
- By: Lane Wallace
- Narrated by: Lane Wallace
- Length: 4 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Former Flying Magazine and EAA Sport Aviation editor Lane Wallace has flown plenty of unique flights, from the Swiss Alps to Key West, from a Piper Cub to a U-2 spy plane. In this fascinating book, she recounts her 10 best - in the process, she reminds all pilots why we fly. Written with Lane's trademark style and sense of wonder about the world she experiences and explores, and filled with insight about the emotions and life lessons flying evokes, it's ideal for both pilots and non-pilots.
-
-
Why do we fly
- By Nick Xidis on 05-22-17
By: Lane Wallace
-
11-22-63
- A Novel
- By: Stephen King
- Narrated by: Craig Wasson
- Length: 30 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On November 22, 1963, three shots rang out in Dallas, President Kennedy died, and the world changed. What if you could change it back? In this brilliantly conceived tour de force, Stephen King - who has absorbed the social, political, and popular culture of his generation more imaginatively and thoroughly than any other writer - takes listeners on an incredible journey into the past and the possibility of altering it.
-
-
I Owe Stephen King An Apology
- By Kelly - Write Well Academy on 04-16-12
By: Stephen King
-
Punk's War
- The Punk Series, Book 1
- By: Ward Carroll
- Narrated by: Paul Heitsch
- Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Punk’s War reveals the inner workings of the US Navy as only an insider can. An authentic and riveting thriller, it is a highly acclaimed novel of a fighter pilot’s experience in the era just before 9/11. As the US military enters another postconflict period, the themes of leadership during crisis and accomplishing the mission make Punk’s War more relevant than ever.
-
-
I think I served with these guys
- By Willard O Kirste on 05-13-22
By: Ward Carroll
-
Hogs in the Sand
- A Gulf War A-10 Pilot's Combat Journal
- By: Buck Wyndham
- Narrated by: Jim Seybert
- Length: 15 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The mighty, iconic A-10 Warthog was first thrust into battle in Operation Desert Storm. The men who took it through walls of flak and surface-to-air missiles to help defeat the world's fourth-largest army were as untested as their airplanes, so they relied on personal determination and the amazing A-10 to accomplish their missions, despite the odds.
-
-
Weak
- By KL on 12-29-22
By: Buck Wyndham
-
Betty Greene
- Wings to Serve (Christian Heroes: Then & Now)
- By: Janet Benge, Geoff Benge
- Narrated by: Rebecca Gallagher
- Length: 4 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Betty Greene coaxed her Grumman seaplane to two thousand feet..... Suddenly, silence—total silence. The plane engine had stopped! Her passengers gasped, but Betty knew she must remain calm. They had only a slim chance for survival: the twisting jungle river below them.
-
-
A Soaring Story
- By Irene Turner on 01-22-23
By: Janet Benge, and others
-
Cowboys of the Sky
- The Story of Alaska's Bush Pilots
- By: Steven C. Levi
- Narrated by: Dennis McAtee
- Length: 2 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This audiobook explores the 70-year history of aviation in the rugged terrain of Alaska, where bush pilots transported supplies, personnel, mail, wildlife, and criminals.
-
-
Narrator was just awful
- By Ben C on 11-08-23
By: Steven C. Levi
Probably could have had a different title.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
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.
Great stories.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
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.
An Exemplary Example of Niche Market Book
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Thank you Mr. Larson for writing and publishing your personal history.
Oldie but a goodie
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Is there anything you would change about this book?
More personal storiesHas 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.”For aviator buffs.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
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.
Great for Aviation Enthusiasts
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
a good flight of a book with plenty of turbulence.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Needs a new title
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
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.
Like listening to stories from a friend
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
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.
An true aviation life story
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.