Searching for the Summer

“Each year, I would seek out the approach of spring, for it would mean the onset of better weather, which promised the long days of summer. This meant more motor biking and better flying. ... My life was an ever-hopeful weather-watch: constantly scanning the forecast and the clouds for good conditions that meant a dry, warm ride or a smooth, trouble-free flight. I always looked for and expected the best. I had everything to live for, and all was well in my garden. And then it all went terribly, tragically wrong.”

After an accident on his motorcycle left pilot Martin Lloyd badly disfigured, he was told he would never fly again. But despite his brokenness, Martin was determined to overcome his injury and pursue his passion for flight. Join him on his journey from the depths of tragedy to the heights of triumph as he goes Searching for the Summer. 

About the Author

From the age of six, when he received a model airplane as a gift from his aunt Gillian, Martin Lloyd dreamed of joining the Royal Air Force.  At the age of twenty, that dream came true. 

At the age of seven, Martin had felt stoked within him a burning passion to become an airline pilot, so after fourteen years in the RAF, he became a commercial pilot for Manx Airlines (Isle of Man). Soon after, tragedy struck: Martin lost his right leg and the use of his right arm in a terrible motorcycle accident. He was stripped of his pilot’s license and was told he would never fly again.

Defying the odds, however, he went on to become the first disabled flight instructor in Europe, then the chief flying instructor at Anglo American Aviation in El Cajon, California. Today, he is head of training at the American Aviation Academy, where he teaches flying and is a flying examiner.