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Books > Sport & Leisure > Transport: general interest > Aircraft: general interest
When the Soviet Union fell in December 1991, there were close to
3,500 assorted Soviet-built airliners that could be deemed
operational - more than there had ever been before. The vast
majority of these Antonovs, Ilyushins, Tupolevs, and Yaks flew for
Aeroflot, and were scattered far and wide at bases across the
Soviet Union. Thirty years later, they have almost all disappeared.
Now dominated by state-of-the-art Airbuses and Boeings, the world's
airports and airways will never be the same again without the
noise, smoke and charisma of these iconic designs from Soviet
times.This book follows the fortunes of the great Soviet airliners
over the last three decades and looks at what happened to this
immense fleet: the fragmentation of Aeroflot into a myriad of new
operators in the 1990s, the bankruptcies and consolidation of so
many airlines that followed, and then the slow, inevitable
disappearance of these aircraft from our skies. Illustrated with
220 photographs, most of which have never been published before,
and supported by many anecdotes, facts and figures, this book
conveys the nostalgia and wonder of this special, tumultuous time
in aviation history. 220 illustrations
In the dark days of World War I, when flying machines, radio, and
electronics were infant technologies, the first remotely controlled
experimental aircraft took to the skies and unmanned radio
controlled 40-foot high-speed Motor Torpedo Boats ploughed the seas
in Britain. Developed by the British Army's Royal Flying Corps and
the Royal Navy these prototype weapons stemmed from an early form
of television demonstrated before the war by Prof. A. M. Low. The
remote control systems for these aircraft and boats were invented
at RFC Secret Experimental Works commanded by Prof. Low, which was
part of the organization of 'back-room boys' in the Munitions
Inventions Department. These audacious projects of Low and his
contemporaries led to the hundreds of remotely controlled Queen Bee
aerial targets in the 1930s and hence to all the machines that we
now call 'drones'. Starting well before WWI and, for the lucky
ones, extending well beyond it, the lives of Archibald Low and many
of his contemporaries were extraordinary as were the times they
lived through. They witnessed many dawns, the coming of the oil and
plastics age and of domestic electricity. They experienced vast
social improvements and the pasturing of the working horse in favor
of motor transport. They were around for the first epic aircraft
flights and with the aid of the very technologies that had enabled
the development of drones, they saw air travel transformed from the
precarious to the routine. It is astonishing that the origins of
the first drones are not common knowledge in Britain and that the
achievement of these maverick inventors is not commemorated.
Compelling and dramatic insights into crucial moments inside the
cockpit. Discover the most sensational air disasters of recent
years. Transcripts of actual black box recordings of conversations
between captains, their crew, and air traffic control on the ground
reveal the final moments during which life-and-death decisions were
made. In some cases, disaster is averted; in others, the results
are fatal. Every one of these real-life stories contains heroism
and terror, and shows the sheer professionalism of those involved
when under extreme pressure. They enable the reader to get right
inside the cockpit and relive what happened, minute-by-minute,
second-by-second. Includes Air France Flight 4590, the famous
Concorde disaster in July 2000
The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 three-engine jet is one of the most
distinctive wide-bodied aircraft and since the early 1970s has been
operated by many airlines on medium- and long-distance routes
throughout the world. Successfully flying passenger service for
over 40 years, the DC-10 currently still flies for FedEx in an
airfreight delivery role. Filled with design and construction
information, background history, technical data, and rare images,
this book describes the exciting story of this aviation legend as
flown by such current and past airlines as Aeroflot, American,
Delta, Eastern, KLM, Lufthansa, Northwest, Pan Am, Qantas, SAS,
Swissair, United, and many others. Also, the US Air Force has been
flying the KC-10 Extender aerial-refueling tanker variant since the
early 1980s. Coverage of the follow-on MD-11 series of aircraft is
also included.
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * At the end of World War II, a band of aces
gathered in the Mojave Desert on a Top Secret quest to break the
sound barrier-nicknamed "The Demon" by pilots. The true story of
what happened in those skies has never been told. Speed. In 1947,
it represented the difference between victory and annihilation.
After Hiroshima, the ability to deliver a nuclear device to its
target faster than one's enemy became the singular obsession of
American war planners. And so, in the earliest days of the Cold
War, a highly classified program was conducted on a desolate air
base in California's Mojave Desert. Its aim: to push the envelope
of flight to new frontiers. There gathered an extraordinary band of
pilots, including Second World War aces Chuck Yeager and George
Welch, who risked their lives flying experimental aircraft to reach
Mach 1, the so-called sound barrier, which pilots called "the
demon." Shrouding the program in secrecy, the US military
reluctantly revealed that the "barrier" had been broken two months
later, after the story was leaked to the press. The full truth has
never been fully revealed-until now. Chasing the Demon, from
decorated fighter pilot and acclaimed aviation historian Dan
Hampton, tells, for the first time, the extraordinary true story of
mankind's quest for Mach 1. Here, of course, is
twenty-four-year-old Captain Chuck Yeager, who made history flying
the futuristic Bell X-1 faster than the speed of sound on October
14, 1947. Officially Yeager was the first to achieve supersonic
flight, but drawing on new interviews with survivors of the
program, including Yeager's former commander, as well as
declassified files, Hampton presents evidence that a fellow
American-George Welch, a daring fighter pilot who shot down a
remarkable sixteen enemy aircraft during the Pacific War-met the
demon first, though he was not favored to wear the laurels, as he
was now a civilian test pilot and was not flying the Bell X-1.
Chasing the Demon sets the race between Yeager and Welch in the
context of aviation history, so that the reader can learn and
appreciate their accomplishments as never before.
This is a flying adventure book set within the framework of the
Cold War and told through the lens of the RAF Pilot's Flying Log
Book. Philip Keeble's logbooks cover ten different types of
aircraft: from learning to fly in a Chipmunk trainer in 1965, right
through to flying the Tornado F3 Fighter in 1994. These true tales
are told as anecdotal yarns, ones that put flesh on the bare bones
of a logbook in an exciting, amusing and self-deprecating way. The
narratives stir up memories of escapades and the events leading up
to them. They depict exciting sorties, dangerous emergencies,
stupid moments, funny occurrences, and operational practices, but
also show the balance and contrast of operating in the Cold War.
Keeble got into more than a few scrapes. He flew very high, very
low, and very fast with a foolhardiness that at times was culpable.
The memories of these events will make you chuckle, break out in a
cold sweat, and some may even cause a lump in your throat. The
author can vouch for the veracity of every single tale, even the
shocking ones. Strap yourselves in securely and hold on tight-for
this could be quite a ride.
Most people know the late Lee Wulff as the world's foremost salmon
angler. Few, if any, think of him as a skilled bush pilot and
explorer. But he was both, as Lee reveals in this extraordinary
memoir. Based on an unpublished manuscript that was rediscovered
only recently by his widow, Joan Wulff, this book tells the story
of Lee's years pioneering the Atlantic salmon and brook trout
fisheries on the remote coasts of northeastern Newfoundland and
Labrador. Having established a handful of outpost sporting camps by
boat, Wulff quickly realized that getting clients and supplies in
and out efficiently would require an airplane. So he cut a deal
with Piper Aircraft and learned to fly a new bright-yellow J-3 Cub
equipped with floats. Throughout the late 1940s and early 1950s, he
ferried his sports one-by-one into isolated lakes and rivers where
the fishing went beyond their wildest dreams. Soar with Wulff
through unpredictable mountain gusts, low over muskeg bogs, and
blind through thick fog and smothering darkness. Meet his sons,
Barry and Allan, and feel their father's pride as both become good
anglers and valuable contributors to the operation of the camps.
Get to know the warm, hard-working Newfoundlanders recruited as
guides and camp staff. And share salmon pools with some of World
War II's most notable generals, who fished with Lee during brief
breaks from the horrors of the European front. Bush Pilot Angler is
an unforgettable story of courage, flying, love, and fishing. It is
a fitting tribute to Lee Wulff, an extraordinary man who fought
tirelessly for the conversation of his beloved Atlantic salmon in
Newfoundland and throughout North America.
John Boyd may be the most remarkable unsung hero in all of American
military history. Some remember him as the greatest U.S. fighter
pilot ever -- the man who, in simulated air-to-air combat, defeated
every challenger in less than forty seconds. Some recall him as the
father of our country's most legendary fighter aircraft -- the F-15
and F-16. Still others think of Boyd as the most influential
military theorist since Sun Tzu. They know only half the story.
Boyd, more than any other person, saved fighter aviation from the
predations of the Strategic Air Command. His manual of fighter
tactics changed the way every air force in the world flies and
fights. He discovered a physical theory that forever altered the
way fighter planes were designed. Later in life, he developed a
theory of military strategy that has been adopted throughout the
world and even applied to business models for maximizing
efficiency. And in one of the most startling and unknown stories of
modern military history, the Air Force fighter pilot taught the
U.S. Marine Corps how to fight war on the ground. His ideas led to
America's swift and decisive victory in the Gulf War and foretold
the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. On a personal level,
Boyd rarely met a general he couldn't offend. He was loud,
abrasive, and profane. A man of daring, ferocious passion and
intractable stubbornness, he was that most American of heroes -- a
rebel who cared not for his reputation or fortune but for his
country. He was a true patriot, a man who made a career of
challenging the shortsighted and self-serving Pentagon bureaucracy.
America owes Boyd and his disciples -- the six men known as the
"Acolytes" -- a great debt. Robert Coram finally brings to light
the remarkable story of a man who polarized all who knew him, but
who left a legacy that will influence the military -- and all of
America -- for decades to come. ..
Written by an accomplished military aviation author, this new study
is the result of many years of research, and will be essential
reading for all historians of the period and keen aviation
enthusiasts. There is growing interest today in the Cold War era in
British history. This new book provides a new study of Cold War
airfields that will be of interest to all those who study airfield
history and archaeology. This new title provides a background to
the Cold War airfields in Britain. Phillip Birtles gives readers an
airfield by airfield coverage of those in operation from the start
of the Cold War during the Berlin Air Lift in the late 1940s to the
end of the Cold War with the fall of the Berlin Wall at the end of
the 1980s. The book covers both RAF/FAA and USAF airfields in
Britain, and charts the changes that took place at these airfields
in this period including the development of aircraft from the first
postwar jet aircraft to aircraft types that are still flying today.
Alongside descriptive text outlining each airfield, the units and
aircraft operating from that airfield and its role in the Cold War
are also explained in great detail. Descriptive text is
complemented by almost 200 contemporary photographs, colour and
black and white, maps and airfield plans.
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The Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe ("Swallow") was the world's first
operational jet-powered fighter aircraft. Design work started even
before World War II began, but engine problems meant the aircraft
did not reach operational status until mid-1944. Compared with
Allied fighters of its day, including the jet-powered Gloster
Meteor, it was much faster and better armed. In combat, it proved
supremely difficult to counter due to its speed and the design was
pressed into a variety of roles, including light bomber,
reconnaissance and even experimental night fighter versions. The Me
262 is considered to have been the most advanced German aviation
design in operational use during World War II. The Allies countered
its potential effectiveness in the air by relentlessly attacking
the aircraft on the ground, or while they were taking off or
landing. This book provides a complete modelling guide with
numerous profiles, line drawings and photographs. This book is
written entirely in German.
It seems incredible that a mere 33 years separates the maiden
flights of the Barnes Wallis-designed R.100 airship from the
beautiful VC10 airliner. It is also remarkable that, in 2013, the
latter is still in service, albeit in dwindling numbers, but still
representing a company that was formed 102 years ago! Although the
VC10 was prefixed with BAC by the time of its entry into service,
the aircraft represents the rapid rise of Vickers, which actually
embarked on its first aeronautical project in 1908, before
establishing an official aviation department in 1911. Vickers
produced over 70 different types of aircraft during a 49-year
period, not including a host of sub-variants, the Wellington, for
example, having 19 alone. Not all were successful, but every one
contributed, however small, another nugget of experience, which was
either ploughed into the next aircraft or stored away for the
future. An ability to think outside the box', was another of
Vickers' fortes. A good example of this was not only employing
Barnes Wallis, but having such faith in his ideas, which must have
seemed quite radical at the time, especially his perseverance and
ultimate success with geodetic construction. Wallis had no shortage
of critics and many dyed in the wool' employees of Vickers, during
the early days, left the company because of his ideas. However,
history has shown us that he was right about geodetics, and like
Hawker with its Hurricane and Supermarine with its Spitfire, only
God knows what the RAF would have done without the Wellington at
the beginning of the Second World War. This book gives readers an
insight into the aircraft produced by Vickers, as well as a history
of the aircraft company itself.
The incredible true story of the origin of human flight, by the
Pulitzer Prize-winning author David McCullough. On a winter day in
1903, in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, two unknown brothers
from Ohio changed history. But it would take the world some time to
believe what had happened: the age of flight had begun, with the
first heavier-than-air, powered machine carrying a pilot. Who were
these men and how was it that they achieved what they did? David
McCullough, two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize, tells the
surprising, profoundly human story of Wilbur and Orville Wright.
Far more than a couple of unschooled Dayton bicycle mechanics who
happened to hit on success, they were men of exceptional courage
and determination, and of far-ranging intellectual interests and
ceaseless curiosity, much of which they attributed to their
upbringing. In this thrilling book, McCullough draws on the immense
riches of the Wright Papers, including private diaries, notebooks,
scrapbooks and more than a thousand letters from private family
correspondence to tell the human side of the Wright Brothers'
story, including the little-known contributions of their sister,
Katharine, without whom things might well have gone differently for
them.
The first half of the 20th century saw the birth of the aeroplane
and its development as an instrument of war and commerce. Within
five decades, contraptions barely able to take to the air had given
way to jet-powered aircraft, a rate of technological advance
unparalleled in any other field. With carefully colourised images,
this book chronicles the wide variety of aircraft produced in
America before 1950, portraying them in their full glory once more.
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