PLUNGING INTO THE JAWS OF DEATH . . . EVERY DAY After being mortared his first five nights in Vietnam during Tet, 1969, Richard D. Spalding was ready to fly Cobras with the Centaurs, 3rd Squadron, 4th Cavalry, 25th Infantry Division. The Cobra an AH-IG gunship helicopter armed with rockets and machine guns and cannon was the first U.S. Army helicopter designed as an attack helicopter, and Spalding soon found himself pitched into a fierce new kind of aerial warfare. When not providing support for dicey LRRP missions, the Cobra became the killer half of hunter-killer teams.This is his story--bloody, graphic, and raw filled with all the fear and fearlessness, danger, tension, brotherhood, and sacrifice that comprised America's heroic hell in Vietnam.

Centaur Flights - a must read, December 16, 2008 By RAMBO (FL) ~ Richard "Dan" Spalding is a true American hero, and it is reflected in Centaur Flights. Why hero? As Dan tells the story, he does not seek glory but fights for the mission and his fellow soldiers. He is candid about his own failures, and modest about his achievements in the fog of war. Dan was awarded 3 DFCs (Distinguished Flying Crosses), and those don't come cheap. This is not a slickly written, over-produced PC novel. It is a real account, by a real warrior. I highly recommend it if you want to read the real deal.

A GREAT READ, March 3, 2000 By A Customer ~ While Mr. Spalding does not expose his intermost thoughts and emotions, he nontheless give a true and inspired accounting of his piece of the Vietnam Helicopter war. There have been many books written about this aspect of the war, and all have their own unique perspective. However, there is "something" about this straight forward no nonsense narrative that grabs the readers attention and keeps it. I have read this book 7 or 8 times. If you read a lot of Vietnam books, you will not be disappointed.

Haunting account of a Cobra Pilot, April 25, 1999 By A Customer ~ I have read many books with regard to the Vietnam Conflict. Some books have been quite analytical while others seem like something out of a Sgt. Rock Comic. For some reason Spalding's excellent work draws you into the conflict in a way that's difficult to describe. You sense the technical challenges required of a Cobra driver and the skills needed to deploy the deadly Cobra platform. When I first picked up the the book I thought "Well, looks like another shoot-em up." It's not, it will haunt you.

Pulse Pounding action in a hot LZ!, November 5, 1997 By Latto@Wantree.com.au (Australia) ~ Dan Spalding has been through the meat grinder of Combat flying in Vietnam and come out the other side with a real cracker of a story. From page one Spalding immerses the reader in the world of military aviation during the most volatile period of modern history. The action and tactical descriptions are brilliant and will satisfy the most ardent of military historians as well as providing an insight into this unique style of Helicopter combat. We roll in with Spalding as he Hoses down AAA with miniguns, launches rocket attacks on bunkers and rescues grunts from the approaching VC, all described in the vivid detail of a veteran who lived the tale. While the action is top notch, personal involvement with the Author is low. There seemed to be a reluctance to share many of those anecdotes and comradely observences most war pilots include in there tales. While this lack of pathos does not detract from the overall story it does leave the reader with a feeling of being an observer rather than a participant.Centaur Flights is no "Chickenhawk", but the book more than holds its own when compared with its contemporaries.Definately reccomended reading for air combat buffs and Vietnam historians. Bravo Centaur 4-4! More please!