Archive for Items Categorized 'Aviation', only excerpts shown, click title for full entry.
Spanish Republican Aces
by Rafael A. Permuy López
Spain’s 1936–1939 Civil War was a complicated affair—and not discussed for decades after. One small aspect of it, the aircraft flown by foreign and Spanish pilots on the socialist Republican side supported by Russia, is presented here.
Last of the Flying Clippers: The Boeing B-314 Story
by M.D. Klaäs
For the few years these magnificent flying boats operated they raised the bar—and putting the “air” into transatlantic airmail is only of the things Pan Am’s famous B-314 clippers were the first to accomplish.
Big Wings: The Largest Aeroplanes Ever Built
by Philip Kaplan
Splendidly illustrated with not only aircraft “stuff,” this book takes a sometimes nostalgic and always sympathetic look at two dozen big birds.
I Kept No Diary
by F.R. (Rod) Banks
If your motor requires high octane fuel it probably has high compression. Banks is the man who championed this technology—and a thousand other things—which is probably why he had no time to keep a diary. He was 80 when he wrote this book, and still working!
The Curtiss Hydroaeroplane: The U.S. Navy’s First Airplane 1911–1916
by Bob Woodling and Taras Chayka
The story of the first truly successful seaplane is here told against the backdrop of the all-important human factor: how people find each other, work together, and make the sum greater than its parts.
UFO Drawings From The National Archives
by David Clarke
Some say The Truth is Out There. Even if it is, so is a whole load of other stuff. Fake news is not news! This delightfully left-field book shows how the UFO phenomenon has been a rich seam mined by a diversity of Britons, ranging from the self-delusional to the unsettlingly sane.
A Complete History of U.S. Combat Aircraft Fly-Off Competitions
by Erik Simonsen
How do military aircraft make the cut to be selected for active duty? And the ones that didn’t, what would they have looked like if they had made it into service? On the latter score, this book is a winner.
Ilyushin Il-28
by Yefim Gordon & Dmitriy Komissarov
The first mass-produced Soviet jet bomber is worth a look for many reasons, both technical and historical.
Schneider Trophy Seaplanes and Flying Boats
by Ralph Pegram
Over a hundred different aircraft are covered here, along with a thorough look at the reasons for air racing, as well as technical developments and the historical/political picture.
Aviation Records in the Jet Age
by William A. Flanagan
A nicely curated and well written overview—more than a highlight reel but not an encyclopedia. You really will be amazed by how far we’ve come in a relatively short time.
The Blue Max Airmen: Manfred von Richthofen
by Lance J. Bronnenkant
Von Richthofen . . . that old chestnut. But wait—this is one of the few books worth having! A bit short, a bit flimsy, but sehr gut.
The Complete History of U.S. Cruise Missiles
by Bill Yenne
When missile launches make the news it’s never a good day, and when cruise missiles are involved, the doomsday clock moves closer to worry-time. This small book isn’t so much a complete history as a quick overview.