Concorde - named for the English and French word for 'unity' - was like no other aircraft. It is perhaps the most iconic airliner of all time, its name a byword for speed, comfort and extravagance. It captured the public's imagination and hearts, instilling them with a fervent passion. Concorde: An Icon in the News is a look at both the plane and its people. Using photos from Mirrorpix, one of the world's largest picture libraries, it tracks the airliner from the Anglo-French drawing board to the final flight, through the eyes of the people who loved it most.

For over seventy years the name Swissair stood for all things Swiss on the airways. The 'flying arrow' emblem of Switzerland's national airline represented a company with deep financial reserves, enabling it to invest in the latest jets and the most modern technology. Yet from the 1970s onwards world events brought about a dramatic reversal in its fortunes. A new strategy of growth through investment in many other airlines misfired when these carriers became a loss-making burden, and the decision of the Swiss population to remain outside the European Economic Area restricted the airline's opportunities for increasing passenger uptake. By 2001, in the wake of the collapse in traffic following the 9/11 atrocities, the carrier was reliant on government loans for its continued survival, and in 2002 Swissair ceased all operations, its routes and equipment being resurrected by rival Crossair. The humiliation did not end there. In 2007 Swissair's entire former management board stood trial on charges relating to mismanagement, making false statements, and forgery. Commercial aviation author Charles Woodley has pieced together the story of Swissair's rise to a glittering reputation for quality and reliability, and the factors leading to its downfall.

A must-have A-Z guide with fascinating facts, figures, quotes and statistics from the high-flying world of aviation, From Airbus to Zeppelin has it all. D is for Desert Island Discs: just what would Dambuster Guy Gibson have liked while marooned on his desert island? E is for Everest: did you know that two Scotsmen were the first to fly over the magnificent mountain? F is for Faster than the sun: which aircraft was the first to fly faster than the Earth's rotation? A must-read for anyone interested in the world of aviation - and may win the reader a pub quiz or two!

September 1940: In the midst of the Second World War, The Luftwaffe unleashed a series of devastating raids on Southampton, all but destroying its Spitfire factories. But production didn't stop. Instead, manufacturing of this iconic fighter moved underground, to secret locations staffed by women, children and non-combatant men. With little engineering experience between them, they built a fleet of one of the greatest war planes that has ever existed. This is their story.

When the Wright brothers finally took to the air in the Wright Flyer in 1903, it was the realisation of one of humanity's oldest dreams. From there on in, the sky really was the limit, and the early twentieth century was a time of pioneering technical skill and bravery, as men took to the air in primitive, experimental flying machines. Soon, various organisations sought to encourage innovation in the design and construction of aircraft by pitting them against one another in races offering trophies and cash prizes. Most prestigious among them was the Schneider Trophy, launched in 1913 by French industrialist Jacques Schneider to promote the development of seaplanes. The race was fiercely competitive, and many of the pilots were First World War veterans who were willingly putting their lives on the line once more. Crowds flocked to spectate and winners were feted. Aircraft designers were brought together from across the globe, resulting in the rapid sharing, or perhaps stealing, of new technology and ideas. Year by year, dramatic improvements in the winning speeds - often breaking records - charted the progress made, and this eventually had a great impact on the development of fighter aircraft in the Second World War and the future of the air industry alike. Eighty-five years since the British entry won the final 1931 Trophy, this highly illustrated volume brings to life the 'quest for speed' once more.

Design, build, and pilot custom drones no prior experience necessary! This fun guide shows, step-by-step, how to construct powerful drones from inexpensive parts, add personalized features, and become a full-fledged pilot. DIY Drones for the Evil Genius: Design, Build, and Customize Your Own Drones not only covers safety, mechanics, drone design, and assembly, but also teaches the basics of Aerospace Engineering. You will discover how to add video transmitters, GPS, first-person view, and virtual reality goggles to your creations. The book walks you through the FAA licensing process and takes a look at advanced concepts, such as artificial intelligence and autonomous flight. * Learn about aircraft parts, control mechanics, and safety practices * Become an expert pilot-even handle flips and high-speed maneuvers * Pick the perfect parts for your high-performance drone * Find out how to solder and start assembling your drone * Program the aircraft, calibrate the motors, and start flying! * Add LED lights, GoPro mounts, and self-balancing camera gimbals * Explore the world of first-person-view (FPV) drones and high-speed racing * See how artificial intelligence can be put to use in the drone industry

The end of the Second World War not only brought peace to a war-weary population but also delivered a plethora of surplus transport aircraft, crew and engineers, which could be easily and cheaply repurposed to 'lift' the mood of the British population. The dream of sun-drenched beaches in exotic places suddenly became a reality for thousands of pioneering tourists taking advantage of the air-travel revolution of the 1950s. From their humble beginnings flying holidaymakers to campsites in Corsica in war-surplus Dakota aircraft to today's flights across the globe in wide-bodied Airbuses, Flying To The Sun narrates the development of Britain's love-hate relationship with holiday charter airlines. Whilst many readers today will be more familiar with names like Ryanair and Easyjet than Clarksons or Dan-Air, this charming book serves as a fond reminder of those enterprising airlines and companies that ushered a new age of travel.

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and artificial intelligence (AI) are gaining the attention of academic and industrial researchers due to the freedoms that UAVs afford when operating and monitoring activities remotely. Applying machine learning and deep learning techniques can result in fast and reliable outputs and have helped in real-time monitoring, data collection and processing, and prediction. UAVs utilizing these techniques can become instrumental tools for computer/wireless networks, smart cities, military applications, agricultural sectors, and mining. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Multidisciplinary Applications Using AI Techniques is an essential reference source that covers pattern recognition, machine and deep learning-based methods, and other AI techniques and the impact they have when applied to different real-time applications of UAVs. It synthesizes the scope and importance of machine learning and deep learning models in enhancing UAV capabilities, solutions to problems, and numerous application areas. Covering topics such as vehicular surveillance systems, yield prediction, and human activity recognition, this premier reference source is a comprehensive resource for computer scientists; AI engineers; data scientists; agriculturalists; government officials; military leaders; business managers and leaders; students and faculty of higher education; academic libraries; academicians; and researchers in computer science, computer vision, pattern recognition, imaging, and engineering.

Modeling Aircraft is a new book from Aaron Skinner and his team of experts at FineScale Modeler. Receive the most up-to-date information about scale aircraft modeling that's difficult to get anywhere else. Tackle 15 projects that focus on the World War I era of aircraft through the present. Each detailed photo-driven, how-to project is accompanied with supporting captions to ensure your success. In this book you will learn more about: Finishing, Masking, Using cast resin parts, Reproducing natural metal finishes, Working with photo-etched metal parts and much more.

A series of books that provide, for the first time, the detailed information every pilot needs to know about the aircraft they are flying. Each book in the series covers all aspects of a popular aircraft type and is illustrated throughout with photographs and diagrams.

When the expansion of the RAF began in 1934, Air Commodore Tedder observed that the established order of school training not only failed to produce operational competence, but left so much to be done by the operational squadrons that they could only attain passable military efficiency after an uphill struggle. He proposed to raise the standards of school instruction so that pilots would leave the facility as operationally competent pilots, although it would mean lengthening the period of instruction as well as revising the syllabus. It was against this somewhat sorry background of training and logistical problems, as well as having the clouds of war firmly visible on the horizon, that the decision was taken to form a new RAF Training Command on 1 May 1936; an organisation derived from the ashes of the former RAF Inland Area. This book will tell the story - in words and pictures - of RAF Training Command from 1 May 1936 until it was separated into Flying Training Command and Technical Training Command on 27 May 1940. Both commands were then transferred into the newly re-established RAF Training Command on 1 June 1968, until it was then absorbed into RAF Support Command on 13 June 1977.

It's hard to imagine a history of British engineering without Rolls-Royce: there would be no Silver Ghost, no Merlin for the Spitfire, no Alcock and Brown. Rolls-Royce is one of the most recognisable brands in the world. But what of the man who designed them? The youngest of five children, Frederick Henry Royce was born into almost Dickensian circumstances: the family business failed by the time he was 4, his father died in a Greenwich poorhouse when he was 9, and he only managed two fragmented years of formal schooling. But he made all of it count. In Sir Henry Royce: Establishing Rolls-Royce, from Motor Cars to Aero Engines, acclaimed aeronautical historian Peter Reese explores the life of an almost forgotten genius, from his humble beginnings to his greatest achievements. Impeccably researched and featuring almost 100 illustrations, this is the remarkable story of British success on a global stage.