Come take a flight with Pan Am Captain Bill Travis - from Tennessee farm boy to high school dropout, working in the Detroit car factories, to professional pilot and captain for Pan Am. Hear from the cockpit of a Pan Am Boeing 747 what really goes on behind the scenes: the banter, the problem passengers, the celebrities, the scary moments. This is not a story of how one man got lucky and achieved his dream - Bill had a method - and in this book he shares it with the reader alongside the fascinating story of his life. Much more than just a reminiscing retiree, Captain Bill shares the secrets of his success - a success that continues to this day. Not a man to slow down, Bill followed up his piloting with a career as a professional musician, running his own 17-piece dance orchestra in San Francisco. Now living in Phoenix, Arizona, Bill divides his time between managing his own real estate business and writing. Read his first book, "Pan Am Captain: Aiming High" and be inspired by the journey of Captain Bill Travis. He will motivate you to Aim for High Goals

Ron Gluck, bush pilot and international relations liaison, glances back in time, anecdotally revisiting flying, language gems, and conversation slices occurring from 1963 to 2007 in Papua New Guinea, Cameroon, Washington, D.C., and New York City.

He flew five thousand accident-free hours mostly in single engine planes over uncharted mountainous terrain of Papua New Guinea and later in charted Cameroon. The safety he attributes to God's grace and to superb maintenance by fellow JAARS specialists.

The incidents revisited were central to events that took place but were never scrutinized. Dismissed as coincidence, they were accepted as "how things worked out." In his review, Gluck suggests a continuing role of the Creator in the world today in ways seldom discussed, but alluded to with these questions.

Is not the living God, maker of heaven and earth, still involved in weather, ideas, timing, and answering prayers?

Doesn't He who gives life also sustain heartbeats and breathing in every living being, including those reading this profile?

"What a precious manuscript ...just now finished reading it and did not want it to end."

--Linda Hancock, librarian

"Reading your book at same time as John 7:18. You've glorified Him."

--Kenneth Gray, PhD, Economic Research Service, USDA, retired

"Your Lamnso story showed how Bible translators have given one isolated culture after another a giant step forward, reducing their speech to texts that can then be read by others. No wonder the Lamnso were thrilled, and deeply grateful "

--Robert Park, professor emeritus of law, the George Washington University

The four volumes of the encyclopedia of Cameroon aviation law are intended for students, lawyers, judges, scholars, and readers of all backgrounds with an interest in aviation law and to provide the definitive corpus of relevant national and regional legislation, including global aviation treaties and legislation, to enable all readers, without exception, to develop the background, knowledge, and tools to understand local, regional, and international aviation law in a contextual fashion. The first volume has a detailed text of country legislation, including national cases and materials, while the second volume focuses on international aviation law treaties, international cases and materials, and Aircraft Refueling Indemnity (Tarbox) Agreements.

Much has been written in the West on the history of the Soviet space program but few Westerners have read direct first-hand accounts of the men and women who were behind the many Russian accomplishments in exploring space. The memoir of Academician Boris Chertok, translated from the original Russian, fills that gap. In Volume 1 of "Rockets and People," Chertok described his early life as an aeronautical engineer and his adventures as a member of the Soviet team that searched postwar, occupied Germany for the remnants of the Nazi rocket program. In Volume 2, Chertok takes up the story after his return to the Soviet Union in 1946, when Stalin ordered the foundation of the postwar missile program at an old artillery factory northeast of Moscow. Chertok gives an unprecedented view into the early days of the Soviet missile program. With a keen talent for combining technical and human interests, Chertok writes of the origins and creation of the Baykonur Cosmodrome in a remote desert region of Kazakhstan. He devotes a substantial portion of Volume 2 to describing the launch of the first Sputnik satellite and the early lunar and interplanetary probes designed under legendary Chief Designer Sergey Korolev in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He ends with a detailed description of the famous R-16 catastrophe known as the "Nedelin disaster," which killed scores of engineers during preparations for a missile launch in 1960.

The Rockford Register-Republic newspaper carried the headline in January 1945: "Aboard a Flying Fortress which appeared a flaming torch, spewing gasoline from its load of 15,000 gallons and trailing fire like a comet, a bomber crew which included LtCol Fred J. Ascani, Rockford pilot, continued its run over a Ploesti oil field target and came through safely. . . " This was only one of 53 WWII missions flown by the talented aviator and reported by American newspapers. Truth be told, Ascani's contributions to the development of airpower would be covered extensively by the media right up until he retired from the United States Air Force in 1973. History would remember MGen Ascani, not only as the 1951 World Speed Record Holder, but also as a tough and demanding task master, who recognized the dangers of emerging aviation technology. He was a devoted flyer who wanted to experience the thrill of every new engine and airframe designed to free man from the bonds of earth. He would contribute to the "Golden Age of Flight Test," develop the process by which the fledging USAF would turn experiments into combat system and then go on to direct the XB-70 program, technology later used to build the world's first reusable space craft: the space shuttle. By the time he retired from the USAF in 1973, he had logged some 6288 hours of flying time in an incredibly unique variety of aircraft. Mentor Inbound is his story as told to and recorded by Sheryl Hutchison.

At a May 1981 "Proseminar in Space History'' held at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum (NASM) in Washington, DC, historians came together to consider the state of the discipline of space history. It was an historic occasion. The community of scholars interested in the history of spaceflight was not large; previously, well-meaning but untrained aficionados consumed with artifacts had dominated the field, to the exclusion of the larger context. At a fundamental level, this proseminar represented a "declaration of independence'' for what might be called the "new aerospace history.'' In Retrospect, it may be interpreted as marking the rise of space history as a recognizable subdiscipline within the field of U.S. history. Bringing together a diverse collection of scholars to review the state of the art in space history, this proseminar helped in a fundamental manner to define the field and to chart a course for future research. Its participants set about the task of charting a course for collecting, preserving, and disseminating the history of space exploration within a larger context of space policy and technology. In large measure, the course charted by the participants in this 1981 proseminar aided in advancing a very successful agenda of historical research, writing, and understanding of space history. Not every research project has yielded acceptable results, nor can it be expected to do so, but the sum of the effort since 1981 has been impressive. The opportunities for both the exploration of space and for recording its history have been significant. Both endeavors are noble and aimed at the enhancement of humanity. Whither the history of spaceflight Only time will tell. But there has been an emergent "new aerospace history'' of which space history is a central part that moves beyond an overriding concern for the details of the artifact to emphasize the broader role of the spacecraft. More importantly, it emphasizes the whole technological system, including not just the vehicle but also the other components that make up the aerospace climate, as an integral part of the human experience. It suggests that many unanswered questions spur the development of flight and that inquisitive individuals seek to know that which they do not understand.

NASA SP-2009-1704. Steven J. Dick, Editor. Based on a symposium held on October 28-29, 2008 at NASA. Scholars turn a critical eye toward NASA's first 50 years.

This stylishly illustrated book looks back at the future of air travel and is as sleek and elegant as the Concorde aircraft it celebrates—now in an enlarged edition.

When the first commercial Concorde flights zoomed off the runways in Paris and London in the late 1960s, crossing the Atlantic in just under three hours, they established a new standard for luxury flight. Powered by 38,000 pounds of thrust and easily recognizable with its delta wing and drooping nose, the Concorde jet embodied the pinnacle of aviation technology and industrial design. It quickly became the preferred mode of transatlantic flight for superstars and business moguls alike.

Opening with a lively history of the jet and how it changed travel, the book focuses on the look and feel of the Concorde. Photos of the jet's evolving interiors show how the original, starkly designed cabin gave way to luxury seats and interiors designed by the likes of Raymond Loewy, Sir Terence Conran and Andrée Putman. Filled with fascinating historical and technical background, and drawn from the author's personal collection of more than one thousand Concorde-related objects, this elegant book offers rarely seen historical photography and firsthand contributions from the people who helped create the Concorde experience from take-off to landing and beyond.

Tiger 747 tells the story of the Boeing 747 in service with the Flying Tiger Line, Seaboard World and Federal Express, with an individual history of the thirty-four jumbos operated. An in-depth historical essay covers the history of the airline, starting with the American Volunteer Group pilots in China in World War 2 that evolved into a fly-by-night cargo outfit in the propliner era, growing in size and sophistication until the Flying Tiger Line was a global brand in air cargo in the golden days of the jet age; with an in-depth look at Seaboard World and Fedex who make up a vital part of the story. A second epic chapter covers the 747 from the early days of the Boeing Airplane Co in the early days of powered flight right up to the latest models, with an emphasis on the 747 Classic. This unique book also includes technical information and descriptions, and pilot and crew memories. An essential addition to every aviation enthusiast's bookshelf.

WWII - 1944 - Th e Pacifi c War Zone In the Pacific Fleet Replacement Pilot Pool at Pearl Harbor, Ensign Bruce Weber receives training in the new Grumman Hellcat fighter planes. He is then assigned to a fighter squadron aboard a carrier. Bruce demonstrates exceptional airmanship skills, shooting down several enemy aircraft. After he has accounted for more than a dozen enemy planes, squadron enlisted personnel repaint their hero's plane with white engine speedring and tail to resemble a bald eagle. During the first few months of the deployment, three of Bruce's close friends are shot down by Kenji Okada, a Japanese super ace known as "The Osprey." Okada flies a Distinctively painted Zero. Bruce swears vengeance and searches for the Osprey on every flight. The two aces eventually meet. The dogfight is long and difficult but Bruce finally shoots Okada down. Returning to the carrier, Bruce lands almost out of fuel just before the ship is disabled by a Kamikaze. Fire decimates the aircraft and the ship is out of action. Both are ordered back to the states, their fighting days over at least for a while.