Archive for Items Categorized 'Aviation', only excerpts shown, click title for full entry.
Queen of Speed: The Racy Life of Mary Petre Bruce
![Queen of Speed: The Racy Life of Mary Petre Bruce](https://speedreaders.info/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/QueenOfSpeed-100x150.jpg)
by Nancy R. Wilson
First to fly from England to Japan, first to cross the Yellow Sea, first woman to circumnavigate the world alone; first, first, first, record, record, record, on sea/air/land. What this lady accomplished in her 95 years on this Earth defies absolutely anything.
50 Years of the U-2
![50 Years of the U-2](https://speedreaders.info/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/50YearsU2-116x150.jpg)
by Chris Pocock
You cannot understand world events without understanding the U-2 spy plane that provided decision makers the raw data to deal with them! This thorough book leaves no questions unanswered.
French Aeroplanes Before the Great War
![French Aeroplanes Before the Great War](https://speedreaders.info/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/FrenchAeroplanes-116x150.jpg)
by Leonard E. Opdycke
From the days of the balloonists, France played a leading role in the advancement of aeronautics. This comprehensive book looks at some 700 examples, from drawing-board flights of fancy to actual airworthy machinery.
American Secret Pusher Fighters of World War II: XP-54, XP-55, and XP-56
![American Secret Pusher Fighters of World War II: XP-54, XP-55, and XP-56](https://speedreaders.info/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/AmericanSecretPusher--148x150.jpg)
by Gerald H. Balzer
These creative aircraft proposals are an example of aerodynamic theory being way ahead of engine development. They are also examples of the US trying to regain ground to European aircraft development.
X-Planes of Europe: Secret Research Aircraft from the Golden Age 1947–1974
![X-Planes of Europe: Secret Research Aircraft from the Golden Age 1947–1974](https://speedreaders.info/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/XPlanesEurope-105x150.jpg)
by Tony Buttler & Jean-Louis Delezenne
Showcasing European efforts, the aircraft in this excellent book did by and large not advance into production but some of the technologies they tested did—the lift fan, vectored thrust, supersonic flight, to name a few.
Secrets of the Spitfire
![Secrets of the Spitfire](https://speedreaders.info/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/SecretsSpitfire-104x150.jpg)
by Lance Cole
Adding a new chapter to the voluminous Spitfire literature, this book tells the story of a brilliant but quiet aerodynamicist whose seminal work is only in recent years being recognized.
Schneidige deutsche Mädel: Fliegerinnen zwischen 1918 und 1945
![Schneidige deutsche Mädel: Fliegerinnen zwischen 1918 und 1945](https://speedreaders.info/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Schneidige-98x150.jpg)
by Evelyn Zegenhagen
For women, even the sky has a “glass ceiling.” This book juxtaposes female German pilots’ desire to fly with the political and economic realities of the interwar years during which airmindedness and aviation blossomed.
The Handley Page Victor: The History and Development of a Classic Jet, Vol. 2
![The Handley Page Victor: The History and Development of a Classic Jet, Vol. 2](https://speedreaders.info/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Victor2-UK-103x150.jpg)
by Roger R. Brooks
After a last hurrah in the Falklands and then the first Gulf War, Victors were mustered out in 1993, after a long 30 years of service but with a relatively low 6500 flight hours. Specs and data here tell the story.
Soviet and Russian Testbed Aircraft
![Soviet and Russian Testbed Aircraft](https://speedreaders.info/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/SovietRussianTestbed-108x150.jpg)
by Yefim Gordon & Dmitriy Komissarov
From military and civilian aircraft to rocket components and technologies, this book presents key types and programs since the 1930s along with information on the flight test centers.
Brooklands
![Brooklands](https://speedreaders.info/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Brooklands_Wallace-97x150.jpg)
by P J Wallace
A mini history of the world’s first purpose-built banked motorsport venue and one of Britain’s first airfields.
Jacqueline Cochran: Biography of a Pioneer Aviator
![Jacqueline Cochran:
Biography of a Pioneer Aviator](https://speedreaders.info/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/JacquelineCochran-99x150.jpg)
by Rhonda Smith-Daugherty
Beautiful and testy, Cochran held more aviation records for speed, altitude and distance than anyone. Despite worldwide fame in her day and being a relentless self-promoter, her name today is overshadowed by another’s.
Experimental & Prototype U.S. Air Force Jet Fighters
![Experimental & Prototype U.S. Air Force Jet Fighters](https://speedreaders.info/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/ExperimentalPrototypeUSAirForce-145x150.jpg)
by Dennis R. Jenkins & Tony R. Landis
From 500 mph at the end of WW II to exceeding the sound barrier only two years later. Someone was busy . . . and technology advanced rapidly. 50-odd examples of the jet age are shown here.