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Books > Sport & Leisure > Transport: general interest > Aircraft: general interest
In the early 1940s, Wolfgang Langewiesche wrote a series of articles in Air Facts analyzing the various aspects of piloting techniques. Based on these articles, Langewiesches classic work on the art of flying was published in 1944. This book explains precisely what pilots do when they fly, just how they do it, and why. These basics are largely unchanging. The book applies to large airplanes and small, old airplanes and new, and is of interest not only to the learner but also to the accomplished pilot and instructor. Today, several excellent manuals offer the pilot accurate and valuable technical information. But Stick and Rudder remains the leading think-book on the art of flying.
This work analyzes the evolution of the U.S. strategic air force
from 1945 to 1955. As commander of the Strategic Air Command (SAC)
from 1948 through 1955, Curtis LeMay shaped U.S. strategic forces
to survive the new world. He insisted that the Air Force have
access to atomic energy information for strategic planning. He
struggled to find, promote, and retain the most qualified pilots
and support personnel in the Air Force. This work describes the
evolution of Air Force strategic forces, describes the importance
of personnel to the SAC mission and how LeMay addressed the
problem, examines the development of specialized maintenance in
SAC, traces the transition from the B-47 to the B-52, and explores
the importance of intelligence and targeting.
After the First World War, airships were seen as the only viable
means of long range air transport for passengers and freight. In
Britain, this gave rise to the Imperial Airship Scheme of 1924 to
link the outposts of the Empire by an airship service. Conceived as
part of this scheme, the R.100 airship, built by private
enterprise, successfully flew to Canada and back in 1930. This is
the story of R.100, Britain's most successful passenger airship. It
is a tale of schemes and politics, over-optimism and rivalry. It
tells the full story of its design and construction under difficult
conditions, the setbacks and delays, personal antagonism and
financial constraint. Two years late and massively over budget,
R.100 flew and flew well, achieving her designer's ambition and
fulfilling the contract specification. Her Canadian flight in 1930
was the culminating success, but her ultimate fate was dictated by
the tragedy that befell her Government-built sister ship, R.101,
and economic expediency at a time of national economic depression.
Forced by federal regulations to retire at age 60, Jerry Sorlucco
had served as an airline captain for nearly forty years and was
probably the senior pilot on the planet. During that long career,
he flew everything from Dos to Boeing 767s. His memoir documents
that experience professionally, personally and to some extent
technically. Anyone with any curiosity about the life, work, gear
and training of an airline pilot will find something engaging in
this book. The story begins with an Italian kid from Brooklyn''s
early love of flying and ends with his final flight from Frankfurt
in 1997. Photographs of the aircraft Sorlucco flew, crewmembers,
and his friends and family enhance the lively narrative. Given the
sorry state of the airline industry, this story is especially
timely. Sorlucco discusses some of the reasons for the industry''s
collapse and offers some possible solutions. In fact, the entire
narrative is framed in its historical context, so the reader will
be constantly reminded of the wider world surrounding a personal
journey. A Good Stick is a must read for the thousands of fellow
pilots who shared an era with Jerry Sorlucco, for young pilots
trying to keep afloat in a sea of airline red ink, and for anyone
wondering what on Earth happened to America''s airline industry.
For the aficionado, the historical and technical data in the
narrative is not merely anecdotal; it is thoroughly researched and
accurate.
The How and Why of UFOs is the much anticipated sequel to Kenneth
W. Behrendt's previous groundbreaking work on the subject, Secrets
of UFO Technology. The present work begins with a detailed review
of the revolutionary anti-mass field theory explanation for UFO
propulsion and its secondary effects which is critical to
understanding how these craft can easily overcome the usual
limitations imposed by gravity and inertia upon our present massive
earthly air and spacecraft. This cutting edge theory is then
applied to several classic UFO cases to provide previously
unsuspected insights into them. Even the often overlooked topic of
small automated alien probes is explored as a highly detailed probe
case, personally investigated by the author, is presented and
analyzed in order to reveal the amazing interior structures of the
object sighted.After providing an analysis of the planets of origin
of advanced spacefaring extraterrestrial beings, the possible
reasons for their visitations to our Earth are considered. The
author then goes on to describe the most likely biological
mechanism behind the mental telepathy process that is the principle
mode of communication for most extraterrestrial beings and even
suggests a variety of simple methods that might actually allow
human researchers to communicate with the alien pilots of the UFOs
now operating in Earth's atmosphere All of this is only a small
sample of the many intriguing topics awaiting the reader in this
abundantly illustrated volume. The many revelations found in The
How and Why of UFOs are sure to delight and intrigue any student of
ufology who wishes to explore this fascinating subject at its very
deepest level.
The airline industry is in a state of radical restructuring as its
markets and key stakeholders (customers, airline labour and
management groups, governments, and the financial community) adjust
to the new aviation realities. Airline executives can be forgiven
for being overwhelmed by technology proliferation, zestful new
paradigm airlines, September 2001, business cycles, Iraq, SARS, and
animal diseases. The leadership challenge for all carriers is now
to select and execute appropriate business models, thinking both
'inside' and 'outside' the 'box', to turn conventional wisdom
upside down to achieve dramatic increases in productivity. Some
legacy carriers still need to create an effective strategy for much
larger cycles that encompass major discontinuities. Burdened by
past decisions, they are forced to fight with one hand tied behind
their back to 'convert volume to value', to survive and prosper.
Some new airlines have been at the forefront of shaping change,
developing a vision of the mass-market, assessing the customer
value of their core processes, and using a 'back-to-basics'
business approach. Both groups should take a sideways glance at
what works in other industries and implement those insights into
actions.
Down through the years with my unusual amount of engine failures,
over 18, most pilots with total engine failures usually died. Also,
how many 16 year old teenagers have thumbed and hopped the freight
trains to see the states from coast to coast and border to border,
starting with a twenty dollar bill? Not only is this an
interesting, fun read, but it has some simple rules that help to
keep pilots in general aviation alive, even the best. Before
retiring from the airline, I met a flight instructor that had
instructed at the same airport in Monroeville years before. He was
an excellent pilot. He told me he was ferrying airplanes all over
the world, even single engine aircraft. I was amazed that he would
fly over the ocean to reach some of the countries with a single
engine airplane. The last thing I asked him, "What will you do if
the engine quits?" He just laughed. A few years later his picture
was on the front page of a Pittsburgh newspaper. He was flying near
the Canary Islands and his engine quit. They never found him. So,
if you have any pilot friends, you may want to give them a copy of
this book if only to read the chapter on, "Staying Alive."
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