'Autogiro Pioneer' is an account of the life of Jack Richardson (1899-1987), based on his memoirs, edited by his son. In the 1930s he worked for Juan de la Cierva, the inventor of the Autogiro. He was the first person to obtain a commercial pilot's licence as an Autogiro pilot, and later the first fully-trained helicopter pilot in the British ......
Flying commenced at Ramsgate Airport in June 1935 and popularity was increased by Sir Alan Cobham's National Aviation Day which was held on 1 August 1935. The airfield was obstructed during the war, not reopening until 27 June 1953. This book charts the airport's story from its inception through to closure and demolition of the Art Deco terminal.
Captain Marendaz, pilot with the RFC, was a controversial manufacturer of record-breaking sports cars and aircraft between the wars, his cars being driven by Kaye Don, Gwenda Stewart and the parents of Stirling Moss. He was detained by the Government under 18B Regulations in 1940, later emigrating to South Africa for a number of years.
RAF 100 celebrates and commemorates 100 years of the Royal Air Force with access to rare RAF archives, Mike Lepine uses photographs and documents to bring the story of the people, planes and missions to life as never before.
Mira Slovak was born in Czechoslovakia and survived the Nazi and Russian occupations. Disliking communism, he hijacked a plane and escaped. He worked for the CIA and befriended Bill Boeing Jr. When Boeing began racing hydroplanes Mira became Bill's driver, winning many races. He then switched to airplanes and continued to win!
The 25 Most Influential Aircraft of All Time conveys the fascinating progression of flying technology from flimsy wood-and-fabric biplanes to thunderous supersonic wonders. Aviation's most historically relevant and arguably most influential aircraft - planes like the elliptical-winged Spitfire, the blisteringly-fast X-15, and the ubiquitous ......
The American Aircraft Building Programme of the First World War
A comprehensive study of the American Aeroplane building programme of WW1, its promises, its performance, and its failure, together with a summary of what went wrong, and why, including a brief history of military aviation in America prior to the war and details of the Liberty engine and each aircraft type selected for production.
The book covers seventy defunct British airlines that have disappeared from our skies since 1946. They ceased trading for various reasons, from financial difficulties to industrial takeovers. It looks at both international and domestic airlines, and has a whole host of famous names, who are gone, but not forgotten.
Umberto Nobile was an airship designer and pilot who became an Arctic explorer. In 1926 he flew the airship 'Norge' from Rome to Teller in Alaska, by way of the North Pole. He returned to the Arctic in 1928 with the airship 'Italia' and disappeared on 25 May the same year. This is the story of the 'Italia', put into the context of the airship age.
