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

Trailblazer in Flight, Britain’s First Female Jet Airline Captain

by Yvonne Pope Sintes

“Airworthiness” of a different kind is the topic here: can—should—a woman be at the helm of a commercial airliner? You’ll shudder at some of the reactions in her time (1950s), and then you’ll shudder some more because glass ceilings are still very real today.

Polish Aviation Museum Cracow

by Jaroslaw Dobrzyński

The whole purpose of this publisher’s new series of which this book is the first, is to (a) bring the museum to people who can’t see it in person and (b) provide a reference-level documentation of a museum’s holdings. The text gives basic history and vital stats along with some commentary as to how the item came to be in the museum and, if applicable, what work was done to it here.

Convair Advanced Designs

by Robert Bradley

Loosing faith in progress? Feeling down by too much “been there/done that”? Well, prepare to be amazed and entertained by two books that look behind the curtain. Not everything here is a flight of fancy; some of these machines were totally viable but just didn’t get green-lighted.

Early Soviet Jet Fighters

by Yefim Gordon & Dmitriy Komissarov

Today’s Su-47 Berkut stealth fighter seems impossibly advanced considering how rocky the Soviets’ start in the jet game was. Lots of new photos and material from previously classified sources shed light on a poorly documented but important chapter of aviation history.

Cosmos, The Infographic Book of Space

by Stuart Lowe & Chris North

Space. You know it’s out there, but sizes, distances, temporal relationships are impossibly hard to visualize. Not anymore.

Tupolev Tu144: The Soviet Supersonic Airliner

by Yefim Gordon, Dmitriy Komissarov, Vladimir Rigmant

This icon of Soviet national prestige did take to the skies before the Concorde but ended up having a much shorter service life. Of the few publications devoted specifically to this aircraft, this book is the most complete yet.

The Douglas B-18 and B-23: America’s Forsaken Warriors

by Dan Hagedorn Sr. & Dan Hagedorn Jr.

Jack of all trades, master of none. That’s history’s verdict, but is it deserved? The authors have spent years researching the subject and many of their arguments have generic application to the question of institutionalized bias and uncritical journalism.

B-17 Gunner

by Craig A. Kleinsmith

Fifty-nine missions, that’s three years, three years of wondering if you’ll make it back. Shot down over Germany and taken prisoner, Eyer managed to keep a secret diary—and stay alive.

Transatlantic Airships: An Illustrated History

by John Christopher

From luxuriously appointed people-hauling “pond hoppers” that actually flew, to proposed atomic-powered leviathans replete with helipads this book takes a look at how to cross vast distances.

Secret Wings of World War II

by Lance Cole

Not a new subject at all; except, Cole takes it to places readers may find difficult to follow. “Polarizing” is the word; “interesting,” sure.

Junkers Ju 52: A History 1930–1945

by Robert Forsyth & Eddie Creek

From Brazil to China, the German Ju 52 proved its mettle, first as a pioneering airliner and then as the indomitable warhorse. Many books have been written about its many roles, this is one of the best.

Building the B-17 Flying Fortress

by Bill Yenne

Well-trodden ground, you think. Turns out there’s a whole lot left to see. Aside from its photographic riches this book is a good synopsis of not only all B-17 variants and manufacturing blocks but also the overall development of the bomber as a strategic tool.

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