Early Flying Days in Hong Kong

About the Book

This is a story of a pilot’s life in the Far East in the 25 years from 1957 to 1982. A story of a man of great determination with great humour and zest for life.
This is also a story of Cathay Pacific Airways from the early days of three propeller driven aircraft, struggling to survive, through to a major international airline operating over one hundred heavy jet aircraft including 747s. It covers the period when Hong Kong was starting to emerge from the war years through to becoming a world trading centre. It is a book about aviation and characters, Hong Kong and people. It should probably have an R18 rating, yet it is not fiction and tells it the way it happened. Which doesn’t always make for an easy read, but it does make for a good one.

About the Author

Leonard Dudley Cadogan Cowper was born in Auckland, New Zealand and raised by his mother and grandparents from humble beginnings. He learnt to fly with the New Plymouth Aero Club in 1950, joined the NZ Air Force two years later, and then Cathay Pacific in 1958.