Archive for Items Categorized 'Aviation', only excerpts shown, click title for full entry.

Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird

by Steve Pace

Being able to travel at an altitude of 16 miles and cover 33 miles a minute is an unmatched achievement for a manned airplane even today, some 50 years after someone first dreamt up the Blackbird. Among its many records is the faster-ever New York London time (1974): 1:54:56 hrs which translates to 1806.96 mph!

Flying the SR-71 Blackbird: In the Cockpit on a Secret Operational Mission

In the Cockpit on a Secret Operational Mission

by Col. Richard H. Graham

As aircraft historian Jay Miller rightly says in his Foreword, this book is the “missing link” in the existing literature on the Blackbird, “arguably the most significant aircraft of our time.”

Lockheed Blackbird: Beyond the Secret Missions

by Paul F Crickmore

In automotive terms the Blackbird is a veritable hot rod, doubling, almost trebling the altitude and flight envelopes of the best fighters of its day, such as the F-100 Super Sabre and F-101 Voodoo.

Sunderland Over Far-Eastern Seas: An RAF Flying Boat Navigator’s Story

by Group Captain Derek Empson

This autobiography is the first account of post-WWII operations conducted by Sunderland flying boats assigned to the British RAF’s Far East Air Force Flying Boat Wing (FEFBW). Empson was 21 and a newly minted RAF navigator on his first tour of duty with just 450 flying hours under his belt.

Avro Vulcan (Darling)

by Kev Darling

Among the several aviation books Kev Darling has done, this one is probably the topic for which he has the greatest affinity: he spent almost half his 20-year life as an RAF engineer on the Vulcan.

Concorde: A Photographic History

by Jonathan Falconer

You might be looking at the 18 feet of Concorde books on your bookshelf and wonder what could there possibly be that’s new under the sun? Been there, done that. Not so fast there . . .

Concorde (Darling)

by Kev Darling

With over 20 years of RAF engineering background and over 20 aviation books since 1986 under his belt, Darling knows his way around an aircraft. Since seeing the first production examples being built at Filton he’s kept an eye on this plane and harbored a desire to learn more about it.

Vulcan Units of the Cold War

by Andrew Brookes

As all titles in this series this slim paperback combines a brief but solid overview of the subject by an expert with first-hand commentary by various personnel, archival photos, and the hallmark set of color profile drawings. Not only is author Brookes an ex-Vulcan pilot, he also held various command posts.

Concorde (Beniada)

by Frederic Beniada & Michel Fraile

Spectacularly large photos of a spectacularly high-flying plane at a spectacularly low price! It is a tribute to the plane and the people who built and crewed it, not an all-inclusive nuts and bolts history.

The Engines of Pratt & Whitney: A Technical History

by Jack Connors

The title of the book may not be showstopper but the book is commendable on all counts that matter to a reader: it is written in an uncommonly engaging style, introduces new material to the record, makes it easy for the reader new to the subject to develop an interest in it.

Peace was Their Profession—Strategic Air Command: A Tribute

by Mike Hill, John M. Campbell & Donna Campbell

The title is derived from the Strategic Air Command’s motto “Peace is Our Profession” which insiders—who have earned the right—often amend to include “War is Our Hobby.” An alternate version is “Peace Through Strength—Victory Through Devastation.”

Box Top Air Power: The Aviation Art of Model Airplane Boxes

by Thomas Graham

This book presents about 170 examples of [a] “exemplary works” (in other words not everything under the sun) that [b] the author deems “artistically superior” (read: other people may have made other choices) of [c] predominantly US model kit makers (for European/Japanese kits look elsewhere).

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