Smithsonian Frontiers of Flight

Illustrates and analyses the pioneering achievements in aviation racing and record-setting aircraft. There are short biographies of the key pilots and designers with pictures of the aircraft described. Focuses upon two distinct but complementary aspects of aviation. Why "The Risk Takers?" There were a staggering 32 aviation fatalities in 1910; CS Rolls (co-founder of Rolls-Royce) was the first to perform a non-stop return crossing of the English Channel; but his Wright Flyer would break up in mid-air a month later. This book illustrates and analyzes all such pioneering achievements in precise technical detail; with short biographies of the key pilots and designers.