Have You Read? The Running Man: Flying High for the Glory of God

By Capt. Orville Rogers (Braniff, Ret.) with Barbara Norris

Editor’s note: Capt. Orville Rogers and his running prowess were highlighted in the September 2013 “Our Stories” column.

In The Running Man: Flying High for the Glory of God, Orville Rogers takes the reader on a journey from his birth through his current age of 99. He started running at age 50 and is a world-champion runner who loves to compete and set records. Orville is planning to enter a national track meet in March 2018 for 100-year-olds.

Orville has been passionate about flying since watching Charles Lindberg fly over his school when he was 10 years old. He learned to fly during his senior year at Oklahoma University. During his flying career, Orville trained World War II bomber pilots. He also flew for Braniff Airlines and retired after 31 years. His Braniff career was interrupted in 1951 by the Korean Conflict. Orville was called back to serve in the Strategic Air Command where he flew the world’s largest and most complicated airplane at that time, the Convair B-36 bomber.

Laced throughout the book, Orville talks about some of his lows and highs during his 99 years and how he’s prevailed. As a bonus, he relates a beautiful love story about his wife of almost 65 years, Esther Beth, and his wonderful extended family.—Reviewed by Capt. Don Dyer (Braniff/US Airways, Ret.)

This article was originally published in the November 2017 issue of Air Line Pilot.