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Books > Sport & Leisure > Transport: general interest > Aircraft: general interest
In a world without aircraft, to believe flight might be possible
required a certain kind of character. You had to be starry-eyed, a
possessor of practical ingenuity, nerves of steel and a level of
sanity that would be best described as deficient. In Mayday!, David
Darling tells the stories of the unconventional aviators across
history who have been willing to risk all to further their craft.
Meet Sophie Blanchard, a balloonist of nervous disposition whom
Napoleon charged with organizing balloon displays at all major
ceremonies in France. Then there's the daredevil stuntman Lincoln
Beachey, the dogfighter aces of WWI, the man who performed the
dance of death - switching planes in mid-air, the real "X-Men" who
flew at the edge of space, and the BASE jumpers who want to fly
without wings. The cast are eccentric, reckless and extraordinary,
and Mayday! is made up of their riveting tales, bizarre
contraptions, magnificent achievements and, sometimes, startling
folly.
The monograph devoted to the early versions of the Messerschmitt Bf
109, the most famous WW2 German fighter, discusses its origins and
development with coverage of changes made in its first prototypes,
A-D variants and their sub-variants. The combat use of the aircraft
in the Spanish Civil War, Polish campaign and Phony War is
thoroughly described with many first-hand accounts included. The
book also features short chapters on Bf 109 Ds in Swiss service and
camouflage and markings of early Bf 109s.
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