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

Vikings at Waterloo: The Wartime Work on the Whittle Jet Engine by the Rover Company

by David S Brooks

This is, sad to say, a dull book about an exciting topic. It concerns itself with the wartime development work on the Whittle jet engine done by the Rover, Lucas, and Rolls-Royce companies up to 1943 in the Waterloo Mill area of England.

Sänger: Germany’s Orbital Rocket Bomber in World War II

by David Myhra

Everyone knows NASA’s Space Shuttle. Many know the X-15 and -20. But few outside the rocketry community know the craft or the man that provided key theoretical underpinnings for their propulsion systems and the principle of the lifting body, Eugen Sänger.

Flying Cars, Amphibious Vehicles and Other Dual Mode Transports

by George W Green

This book lists just about everyone from 1900 to 2010 who has ever publicly stated an intention to build either a flying car, a car/boat combination, or any other land/sea/air multi-use vehicle. Green briefly summarizes what is known about each effort and in rare cases, its success or failure.

Chrysler Engines 1922–1998

by Willem L Weertman

Even if you have only a vague awareness of cars you’ve surely heard of the “Hemi.” And you probably know there is such a thing as a “Viper” with its snarling aluminum alloy V-10 (modified by Lamborghini, then Chrysler-owned). Or the exotic Chrysler Turbine Cars of the 1960s. . . . This book puts it all in context.

Legendary Car Engines: Inner Secrets of the World’s 20 Best

by John Simister

The engine as object of desire—all this book is missing is centerfolds! The point of this exercise is not to offer a clinically detached appraisal of engineering doohickeys but to give visual expression to the notion of an engine being the heart or soul of a car.

The Art of the Racing Motorcycle: 100 Years of Designing for Speed

by Tooth & Pradères

Taking up only a small footprint in a more or less open frame, pretty much all the bits that make a motorcycle go are plainly visible. There is an art to arranging them and an art to photographing them. Both are revealed in this excellent book.

Differentials: Identification, Restoration & Repair

by Jim Allen and Randy Lyman

Part history book, part school book, part mechanics manual, part encyclopedia, and part sales guide for aftermarket alterations, this 394-page softcover book is a gearhead’s dream . . . if you want to dream about differentials, that is. If not, it could be slow going.

James Allison: A Biography of the Engine Manufacturer and Indianapolis 500 Cofounder

by Sigur E Whitaker

You know rearview mirrors, four-wheel brakes, front-wheel drive, and maybe even balloon tires. But do you know that all these things, and many more, can be traced back to one of the businesses that sprang from the fertile mind of James Allison (1872–1928)?

The Romance of Engines

by Takashi Suzuki

Many readers of book reviews are chiefly interested in the review in order to determine whether or not they should buy the book. In this case, this reviewer can tell you that if you are at all interested in engines and their developmental history, you’ll want to know about this book!

German Aircraft Industry and Production 1933–1945

by Vajda & Dancey

This book is a compilation of statistical data gathered from German archives and previously published material. While the book is certainly not for everyone, it does contain a huge quantity of information. The authors’ conclusions in Chapter 12 on why Germany was destined to lose the air war are alone worth the price of the book.

Engine Revolutions: The Autobiography of Max Bentele

by Max Bentele

This German mechanical engineer/scientist used extensive hands-on testing and mathematical analysis of the resulting data to systematically track down problems in engines and to analyze the viability of proposed new engine concepts. He became an expert in gas sealing, starting his jet engine education by solving the exploding blade problem.

Advanced Engine Development at Pratt and Whitney

by Dick Mulready

Why is it that some “inside stories” sparkle and others fizz? While generally not a riveting read, all that changes when the liquid hydrogen hits the turbo pump and the fizz turns to fire, roasting NASA and Rocketdyne.

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