The Speed of Air : Four-Thirty Press, LLC : 9798987810019 : 09 May 2023 : When a severe thunderstorm pounces on 26-year-old auto mechanic Willard Custer, corners him in a barn, and then pops the barn's roof in a shocking display of atmospheric power, Willard's life is permanently altered. The banjo-picking son of a West Virginia blacksmith with an unfinished high school education, Willard conceives of a device that will employ the "speed of air" to shorten an aircraft's takeoff and landing (STOL) and, he believes, revolutionize the aircraft industry. This book tells the story of how Custer, charging into a world for which he has no preparation, secures the necessary patents and funding to build four unique aircraft. Then he publicly demonstrates their astonishing STOL and slow-flight capabilities, gaining converts among engineers, pilots, and business leaders. Over four decades, he guides two companies and spawns four others. He engages scientists, manufacturers and pilots in seven Am