Only by God's Grace and Duct Tape

By Opie Votipka

My father, like most men who served in WWII, rarely discussed their experiences in life and

especially during their time in combat. I wrote this book for my children, my descendants

and relatives to pass along my adventures and for them to see how God worked throughout

my life to mold, protect and guide me to become the man I am today. As you read this book

you will see how a young farm boy was blessed with the opportunity to fix and fly on the new

UH-60 Blackhawk and be selected for pilot training when no one thought it was possible.

You will be amazed to see how I went on to fly the AH-1 Cobra, F-16C, F-15E and was given

the opportunity to lead 120 Air Force paratroopers for the largest combat jump since WWII.

I will discuss my transition to become an airline pilot and how my career path was very

nonstandard. When you finish the book, you will understand how God's Grace protected

me from a helicopter crash, during a small aircraft crash, flying NVGs in the treetops and

diving at the ground during bombing runs as 700mph, parachuting with hundreds of troops

into confined areas, the many other situations I found myself in. I am not a perfectionist but

what I call an 80% solutions guy and Duct Tape is my "Go To" tool to get things fixed "Good

Enough" to get the mission accomplished. I hope my descendants and anyone else who reads

this book will see that "If you do the Right things for the Right reasons which are moral and

legal" God will guide and protect you.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0FBFB6RV4
• ISBN13: 9798893916737
• Release Date: May 2025
• Publisher: Citiofbooks, Inc.
• Length: 354 Pages
• Weight: 1.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.0" x 9.0"