"By the Seat of My Pants" is the autobiography of one of the most remarkable aviators who ever lived, Dean Cullom Smith.

Smith shares with the reader the full range of experiences he had in the world of aviation beginning with his enlistment in the U.S. Army Signal Corps in July 1917, age 17. He was promoted to the highest non-commissioned rank in the Signal Corps and went on to be an aviation cadet. He proved an adept pupil during flight training, so much so that with just 57 flying hours in his logbook, Smith became a flight instructor and received a commission as a Second Lieutenant.

Lieutenant Smith then applied for transfer to a combat unit in France. But the Army felt that his talents were best used on the home front. So, for the remainder of the First World War, Smith trained pilots for combat in fighters (which were then known as 'pursuits'.).

By March 1919, Smith received his Army discharge and did a spell of barnstorming. Then he joined the U.S. Postal Service and was instrumental in establishing airmail service throughout the country.

The book details many of his experiences as an airmail pilot and his later work as a pilot with the Byrd Antarctic Expedition of 1928–1930.

"By the Seat of My Pants" is a book that will thrill any reader with a zest for adventure.