Loving's Love: A Black American's Experience in Aviation

Summary

Loving’s Love is the inspiring autobiography of Neal V. Loving, an aeronautical engineer, experimental aircraft designer, and true aviation pioneer. Despite racism that barred him from most aviation opportunities, as well as a near-fatal flying accident that resulted in the loss of his legs, Loving remained optimistic, ambitious, and resourceful. He triumphed over those who doubted and denied him to become the first African American and first person with bilateral amputation to be licensed as a racing pilot.

Loving designed and flew five aircraft throughout his lifetime, the first when he was a young high school graduate. This book centers on his midget one-seater racing plane, the WR-1 Loving’s Love that he flew from Detroit, Michigan, to Kingston, Jamaica—an impressive feat for a plane of its kind.

Describing his early days as a fledgling designer and his years as the owner of a flying school he opened to students of all races, Loving often refers to his personal creed, “No success without enthusiasm.” At age forty he enrolled as a full-time engineering student, going on to a long and distinguished career as an aerospace research engineer. Loving’s Love is the story of a man who exemplified the abiding love of flight that spurred the first barnstormers, and who left behind a triumphant legacy.