War and Peace in the Air, the final book in the acclaimed five-volume Aviation Century series, explores the influence of aviation in the major wars and minor conflicts since World War II. The authors also examine the dangers of flight, including airborne disasters, accident investigations and threats from terrorism, and speculate on the myriad ways in which aviation will change in the near and far future. Included are:
- The introduction of the jet engine and the changes it brought in training, logistics and administration
- Improvements in weaponry, avionics and aircraft systems in the transformation of basic bombers and fighters
- The history of flight safety, from the first air fatality in 1908 to the disaster-prevention tactics introduced to defeat modern terrorist threats
- Profiles of 21st century aircraft, plus the future in aviation -- including collision avoidance systems, computer-driven air-traffic control, and the return of supersonic travel.
Rare archival photographs and newly photographed color images add to the entertaining and informative text. All the current photographs have been shot on site or in museums, collections or the field.
In this book, the authors of the widely acclaimed Aviation Century series profile 50 of history's most influential aircraft, their pilots and designers.
They begin with the Wright Brothers' 1905 Flyer, then move on to the birth of aerial warfare in World War I, the trailblazers of the interwar years, classic World War II aircraft, the jets of the Korean and Vietnam wars, modern commercial carriers, private jets, experimental designs and new combat fighters featuring stealth technology.
Featured aircraft in 50 Aircraft That Changed the World include:
Fokker E.111
Charles Lindbergh's Ryan NYP
Amelia Earhart's Lockheed Vega
Messerschmitt Bf 109
Supermarine Spitfire
Boeing B-17
Avro Lancaster
De Havilland Mosquito
Howard Hughes's Lockheed Constellation
Concorde
Learjet
Boeing B-52
Rutan Voyager
Hundreds of color and archival photographs enhance the informative and entertaining text.
Flying the Frontiers brings to life tales from the log books and journals of people for whom aviation is a way of life. These intrepid and independent pilots, engineers, aircraft salvagers, and smoke jumpers tell of their adventures and misadventures over the endless bush and forbidding barrens of Canada's North, allowing readers a rare glimpse at a unique way of life that has taken these men and women across Canada and around the world.
Told first-hand by the people who experienced them, these are wondrous tales of near-misses and amazing successes, heroism and foolishness, innovations and renovations, where the element of risk is part of every flight plan.
Flying the Frontiers tells of an era that has all but disappeared, and of people whose careers spanned the pioneer age in aviation. Many continue to fly today. Their stories are enhanced by more than seventy personal photographs that depict the airplanes they flew, the territory they covered, and the predicaments in which they found themselves.
Aviation Century The Golden Age is filled with tales of romance and adventure, of daring and bravado, as pilots break records, astound the public and prepare for war on a global scale. Their achievements became the stuff of legend, and their aircraft revered artifacts of a Golden Age.
Between the World Wars a new wave of aviation pioneers took the technological advances forged in the heat of battle and applied them to aircraft in exciting new ways. An unprecedented growth in the manufacture of affordable light aircraft occurred, providing ambitious, extraordinary individuals with the means to conquer the sky.
Aviators raced to be the first to fly over oceans, cross jungles and ice caps, look down on the continents' highest peaks, and travel distances faster than ever before. Many aviators died trying to achieve aeronautical immortality.
Aerial daredevils entertained a wide audience through flying circuses and air shows. The spirit of adventure thrived after World War II with larger air shows and more thrilling aerobatics.
In this book Dan Patterson's photographs of preserved and restored aircraft in museum and private collections are combined with rare archival photographs.
Forewords for Aviation Century The Golden Age are by aviation legends Alex Henshaw and Tom Poberezny.
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