De laatste helden — De oorlog was bijna afgelopen. Toch vochten zij hoog in de lucht hun duel op leven en dood.—

Martin Caidin ( September 14th, 1927 - March 24th, 1997 ) was born in New York City ( New York, United States ). At the age of 15, he lived on his own in New York, where he met the astronomer Carl Sagan ( 1934 - 1996 ). 

Martin Caidin began writing fiction in 1957. His best - known novel is Cyborg, which was the basis for The Six Million Dollar Man franchise. Some other books with movie tie - ins include The Final Countdown and novels featuring adventure - archaeologist Indiana Jones : Indiana Jones and the Sky Pirates ( 1993 ) and Indiana Jones and the White Witch ( 1994 ). 

During 1961, Martin Caidin was one of the pilots of a formation flight of Boeing B - 17 Flying Fortresses across the Atlantic Ocean, likely the last such flight, from the United States to England via Canada, the Azores and Portugal. He recounted this journey in his book Everything But The Flak. 

Martin Caidin bought and restored to full airworthiness the oldest surviving Junkers Ju 52 aircraft ( Ju 52 / 3m, Serial No. 5489 ) which he named " Iron Annie ". He was pilot - in - command of " Iron Annie " on November 14th, 1981, when 19 people walked on one of its wings, a world record. After touring extensively among shows of vintage military aircraft, or warbirds, " Iron Annie " was sold to Lufthansa in 1984. 

Additionally, Martin Caidin wrote an aircraft manual for the Messerschmitt Bf 108, which has been approved by the Federal Aviation Administration as the standard manual for the plane, and twice won the Aviation / Space Writers Association Award for the outstanding author on aviation. Martin Caidin also established a company with the purpose of promoting aeronautics to young people. 

( source : Wikipedia )