Foreword by Captain Ed Owen

The aviation industry is in a horrendous state of change right now. We desperately need bigger, faster, quieter, more economical airplanes and a more efficient air traffic control system. But what is needed even more than any of these things is more and better aviation humor. Thats right, humor. Where would we be without humor?

Flying airplanes is a very serious business, but there is also much that is comical about it. Chicken Wings has, in a unique and absolutely fascinating way, captured both these aspects of the aviation scene.

Remember the movie Top Gun? In spite of a very weak story line, it had a lot going for it otherwise: great flying scenes, super music, and dynamite cinematography. But the thing that made the movie truly memorable was the fact that anybody who has ever flown an airplane, even if they werent military, knew the characters in the movie, knew them personally.

The same is true with the guys (chickens) in Chicken Wings. If you have spent any time at all around airplanes, you know every one of them. And whats more (and this is a scary thought), you recognize a little of yourself in them. Youll fall in love with them as you watch them struggle through the daily business of getting airborne.

And Chicken Wings, unlike Top Gun, does not suffer from a weak story line. Mike and Stefan have created a whole new concept in aviation humor, wherein truly incredible artwork is used to present situations that will make you laugh out loud and then pause to think, Yeah, I remember a guy who did that once. Because the cartoons are so well done, you will recognize expressions, gestures, and postures that tell a whole story all by themselves.

In the style of aviators everywhere (chickens are aviators of a sort, arent they?) the dedicated employees of Roost Air commit those special aviation moments in a way that is all too true to life and downright hilarious. Professional pilots in particular may even find themselves, after recovering from sidesplitting laughter, reflecting on the fact that there are lessons to be learned from the antics of the gang at Roost Air.

Chicken Wings should be in the lounge area (and restroom) of every FBO in the nation and on the bookshelf of every pilot and aviation enthusiast, because more good humor is what we need to keep it all in the proper perspective.

Captain Ed Owen
Author of This Is Your Captain Speaking
www.urcaptainspekin.com



Stefan Strasser lives and works in Vienna, Austria as an experienced cartoon artist and illustrator. He actually has obtained what one could call a decent education (a masters degree in international trade), but rather opted for drawing instead of finding a real job. Chicken Wings is now his most important project, but you can find his work in various other magazines and newsletters.

Michael Strasser lives and works in California as an accomplished helicopter pilot. After gathering many years of varied experience in aviation as a commercial pilot, aircraft mechanic, and flight instructor, Mike is now the chief pilot for a helicopter company and heavily involved in fighting the nations wildland fires. You can guess where most of the ideas for Chicken Wings come from.


Chuck the pilot is bright, colorful and full of ambition. He flies everything and anything, likes to tell stories, wears his sunglasses all the time, has a big watch and a big mouth. The typical pilot. He is known and feared by air traffic controllers because of his one-of-a-kind sense of direction and knowledge of radio procedures.

Julio the mechanic is a really great guy. He can fix everything from a helicopter turbine engine to Sally's coffee machine. He doesn't talk too much and doesn't really like pilots a lot. They tend to break "his" planes and never treat them the way he would like. His nickname "Sparks" has originated from an unlucky hand with electricity, so he's not very proud of it.

Sally the secretary and dispatcher of Roost Air is a very nice and good looking girl. For a chicken at least... She makes a killer coffee that can keep pilots awake for two nights in a row. Sally is always motivated and in high spirits, but unfortunately, aviation seems to be sort of a foreign language to her.

Hans the boss is a big and heavy chicken who inherited the company from his uncle and used to run a yogurt factory before. He has a slight German accent which he cant always hide and usually has little clue of what is really going on. It almost seems like his resourceful management strategies are the main cause of things going wrong and turning complicated. Sounds familiar, you say?