It’s holiday season 2025, and as we give thanks this Thanksgiving for the many blessings we have received – including surviving another year, and recovery from a devastating plane crash! It allows us to feel what Duke must have felt as he cheated death in the Skies of France and Libya – despite overwhelming odds and adversity against the Imperial German Air Force and the Red Baron.
Reflection on the past year also helps us understand the pain and challenges that survivors of crashes and combat wounds endure to return to full function as the world around them continues its course.

The printed novel, e-book or audio book would make an aviation, history, or adventure-loving family member a wonderful holiday or Christmas gift.
It transcends the joy of flying and aerial victories as well as the tragedy of recovery from life threatening wounds, showing all readers the dynamics and determination it takes to win – and also what it takes to survive in a world at war.

I would like to send out happy holiday wishes to all with prayers for love, joy and peace – with special wishes for a full recovery to my dear friend Trevor who is mending down under from a serious plane crash.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS 2025!

There’s a unique kind of thrill that comes from holding a finished novel in your hands—especially when it’s just arrived, fresh from the press. I’m excited (and honestly, a little emotional) to share that a brand-new shipment of Sky Raider has landed at LegendaryFlying.com.

This book has been a labor of love, inspired by the legends of the air and the unsung heroes who lived for the skies. I wrote Sky Raider to capture not just the action of flight, but the spirit behind it—the risk, the brotherhood, the freedom, and the cost.

If you’re passionate about aviation, history, or just love a good story with grit and altitude, I hope this novel resonates with you. And if you’re anything like me, there’s nothing better than getting lost in a story while the hum of a hangar—or the distant rumble of engines—fills the background.

I can’t wait for you to read it. Thanks for your support, and here’s to the next great adventure—on the page and in the skies.

✈️
—Thomas

2023 was an incredible year for SKY RAIDER! Author Thomas Upson’s presentation of “Who Killed the Red Baron?” received top billing at Sun ‘n Fun and OshKosh. The book is available at both bookstores, so when you attend these air spectaculars in 2024, be sure to grab a copy! We also had a great time with book signings at countless airshows and fly-ins around the country, including the Florida Keys. Meeting & signing books alongside Vietnam Naval Ace Duke Cunningham was a highlight of OshKosh AirVenture. We always enjoy seeing our aerobatic friends at the shows, especially David Martin, Mikey, and Kirby. Keep an eye out for Dr. Upson at the next fly-in and airshow! He’s always happy to sign a copy of SKY RAIDER for you! Happy Holidays & looking forward to a wonderful 2024!

Dear Sky Raider Readers,

Spring is here and the flying season is off to a Legendary start!

We were fortunate to be invited to attend Sun ‘n Fun 2023 and participate in Authors’ Corner 3/28-4/2/2023!

The Florida Air Museum was amazing and an excellent location for the event and were such kind hosts.
 It was the perfect spot to present back-to-back talks on the 105 year old controversy of WHO KILLED THE RED BARON?
With such excellent weather – the camping was epic as were the air shows, especially the Saturday night airshow spectacular!
Great big thank you to Nick and his team at Sun ‘n Fun where you can buy signed copies of SKY RAIDER at the Air Museum Book Store.

Our main character Duke Thomas was also lucky to survive two April combat tours in the skies of the Western front in both 1917 and 1918.

 April 1917 was made infamous by the Red Baron and his Flying Circus which created such devastation in the skies : it was called BLOODY APRIL.  Allied pilots had a life span of less than 3 weeks but fought on bravely, including Duke!

April 21, 1918 was also made famous when the Red Baron was killed in aerial combat. The circumstances of his death still remain mysterious to this day. He landed his DR1 Fokker Triplane intact behind enemy lines with his dead hand having to be pried from the stick with a single gunshot wound to the chest. But who shot the fatal round???

 Duke was also in aerial combat in April 1918 flying his Sopwith Triplane!? Don’t miss this chapter!!

The mystery of WHO KILLED THE RED BARON was the topic of presentation at Sun ‘n Fun and will also be discussed at Oshkosh 2023. Mark your calendars for July 24-30 with authors corner book signing and presentation dates TBA.

Fly safe and enjoy the spring weather.

TU

Dear readers,

We continue discussing the adventures of Duke Thomas in SKY RAIDER as he enters combat in France in early 1917 with the Lafayette Escadrille in Chapter One.

The German Imperial Air Force had just finished its period of the “Fokker Scourge”, the time when the Germans were winning the war in the air, and was about to begin “Bloody April” which lasted until May of 1917.

Part of the reason for the German success was related to the ability to fire straight through the propeller, due to an innovative synchronization gear developed by aircraft designer Anthony Fokker. This led to the first confirmed aerial victory by Lt. Kurt Wintgens, flying an Eindecker Fokker monoplane in July 1915. He was firing a SPANDAU Machine gun through the propellor, thanks to Fokker’s gear design, and would go on to become an ace and a recipient of the Iron Cross and Blue Max prior to his death.

When Bloody April began, the Germans not only had an excellent Albatros D1 but also greater fire power with TWIN SPANDAU machine guns, which were belt fed as opposed to single non-synchronized drum fed Lewis gun, commonly used in the Allied Air Force at that time. The drum on the Lewis had to be replaced by the pilot in combat when ammo ran out, whereas the SPANDAU could fire continuously.

Somehow Duke survives the odds,

and as the war progressed, the better design and greater fire power of Germany was matched by the allies, but not without major losses.

Enjoy the adventure.

TU

Dear readers,

Todays blog discusses the collective American squadron N 124 insignia placed on all the aircraft: an Indian head.
Initially it was described as a Seminole Indian head that was adapted from the head printed on the Savage Arms Manufacturing Company and was used until ~February 1917 when a new emblem was adopted.

The new emblem was designed by Pilot Sergeant Harold Willis, a decorated fellow Escadrille pilot who was the first squadron member to survive being shot down and later escaped captivity. It was now a Sioux Indian head thought to represent the famous Chief Sitting Bull and is represented by a sketch drawn by B Delles  on page 3 of Chapter One in Sky Raider.
Sitting Bull, a Hunkpapa Lakota leader, was Chief of the confederated Lakota tribes which included the Northern Cheyenne that defeated General Custer and the 7th Calvary at the Battle of the Little Bighorn in June 1876. He refused to surrender and led his band to Canadian/British  territory in 1877. He finally returned to the US and surrendered in 1881. Prior to his death in 1890 by agency police at the age of 59, he was in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show.

Each aircraft also usually carried a personal mark or emblem of the pilot in command, such as their initials or favorite drawing. 

Enjoy the adventure!

T

Dear Current & Future Readers,

Continuing in Chapter 1, this blog post reveals why Savannah plays an important role in our main character Duke Thomas’s life!
Savannah was the founding city and capital of the 13th and last British colony in North America. Duke’s great great … grandfather was the captain of the good ship Anne, which brought the settlers to the colony. He was granted land on which he started a plantation to support his family.
Duke’s forefathers felt a deep connection to the land and to America, and fought to obtain independence with honor in the American Revolution. They later fought for their state with honor and with much sacrifice in the War of Northern Aggression, commonly known as the Civil War.
Duke grew up with the same traditions that General Robert E. Lee memorialized in his famous quote: “Duty then is the sublimest word in the English language. You should do your duty in all things. You can never hope to do more, you should never wish to do less.”
This is why he volunteers to risk his life in Europe against the tyranny of Imperial Germany. He felt it was his duty to leave his home in Savannah and offer his skills as a trained pilot, volunteering in the Lafayette Escadrille to protect the French people in WWI.

Enjoy the Adventure!