Gone West...

'Spin Doctor' Bill Kershner dies at 77

Pilot, flight instructor, and aviation author William K. Kershner, 77, died
January 8 in Sewanee, Tennessee, after a prolonged battle with cancer.

He soloed an Aeronca Defender from Clarksville, Tennessee's Outlaw Field - a
grass strip at the time - in 1945 at age 16. After four years flying
Corsairs in the Navy, Kershner worked as a corporate pilot, flight-test
pilot, and special assistant to William T. Piper Sr., then president of
Piper Aircraft. With the help of his wife, Betty - who typed his handwritten
manuscripts - Kershner authored and illustrated a series of five highly
regarded flight manuals; his Student Pilot's Flight Manual alone has sold
more than 1 million copies.

Kershner contributed often to AOPA publications, including AOPA Pilot and
AOPA Flight Training. More than 8,000 spins...