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

In his memoir Loving emerges as a person of extraordinary ability with an unwavering faith in a dream and an almost fanatic work ethic. He spent his adolescence in Depression-era Detroit where he learned to fly at a time when blacks were not even admitted to many airports. In 1944 he lost both legs in the crash of a glider he had designed. He then ran a flying school and designed and built the one-seater racing plane he nicknamed ``Loving's Love,'' which is being restored for permanent display at the Experimental Aircraft Association's Air Education Museum in Wisconsin. Loving also studied aeronautical engineering at Wayne State and, on graduation, worked for 20 years as an aerospace research engineer. Although he relates his numerous experiences with racism, he nevertheless seems to have found both his personal life and his career thoroughly satisfying. Photos not seen by PW. (Apr.)