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-   -   What's your favorite aviation book? (https://vansairforce.net/community/showthread.php?t=11441)

flybill7 10-05-2006 09:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jonbakerok
With all due respect to the Wright Brothers achievement of simply demonstrating that flight was possible, the planes we fly actually owe a heck of a lot more to Glen Curtis than the Wright Brothers. He invented everything from the aileron to the seaplane (and even the motorcyle twist grip) -- all on an elementary school education.

The Wright Brothers did a lot more than simply demonstrate flight was possible. Systematically, using the scientific method, they literally invented the airplane. They divided the problem into different components, addressing each and then solving it in turn.
1) They determined the previous work done on calculating lift was junk, so they built a wind tunnel and developed accurate lift tables for different airfoils. They "knew" how much lift they could expect from the airfoil they used.
2) They developed 3-axis control, critical to true flight.
3) They understood that they could use gravity to "power" their early designs; i.e., the gliders. They were experienced pilots, learning on fly using the gliders before they ever started with the power.
4) There was almost no worthwhile information available on propellers, so they figured it out themselves, and built a very efficient propeller from theory, not trail and error.
5) Kitty Hawk was just proof of concept. The only reason the underpowered Wright Flier got airborne on December 17th was because of the strong winds and cold temperature. They spent 1904 and 1905 perfecting the Flier. By the end of 1905 they could stay aloft for hours and maneuver at will.

Not until the Wright Brothers finally revealed the airplane to the public in 1908 did aviation take off. Aviation owes much to Glen Curtiss but as someone once said he "stood on the shoulders of giants".

Toddav8r 10-05-2006 11:32 AM

Jimmy Doolittle called him the "greatest stick and rudder pilot that ever lived".

Yeager called him "the greatest pilot he ever saw".

I'm absolutely amazed that this thread is 5 pages long and nobody has mentioned R.A. "Bob" Hoover's book, FOREVER FLYING. Wow what a good read.

Todd Farnsley
RV-8 (Wings)
Fort Wayne, IN

jonbakerok 10-05-2006 12:24 PM

We need a "Bookshelf"
 
Doug, I just had an idea.

How about if you captured all these great book titles and created a virtual bookshelf. You could put in links to the books for sale on-line and maybe even get Amazon or Barnes & Noble to kick in some ad bucks. People could vote for their favorites and you could rank them.

And how about a separate bookshelf for "how to" books.

Same idea for all the great airplane movies from that other thread a few months ago.

Ironflight 10-05-2006 03:39 PM

I like the "bookshelf" idea!
 
There is no way I could EVER pick a favorite book - I like way to many of them, and this list has brought back reminders of ones I had forgotten....Jon is right - someone should capture all of these titles!

Headed back to Houston tomorrow....

Paul

the_other_dougreeves 10-05-2006 08:50 PM

"Free Flight", Douglas Terman. "Flight of the Intruder" is a close second.

Bryan Wood 10-05-2006 09:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toddav8r
I'm absolutely amazed that this thread is 5 pages long and nobody has mentioned R.A. "Bob" Hoover's book, FOREVER FLYING. Wow what a good read.

Todd Farnsley
RV-8 (Wings)
Fort Wayne, IN

Totally agree. Great Read...

Two others that are hard to put down are the story of Max Conrad "Into the Wind" which chronicles his life and record breaking flights. For those who have not heard of him do a google search and you'll be amazed by his exploits. Most of his records were in Piper Comanches, but some in other Piper models. Example: Casablanca to Los Angeles, approx 60 hours in the air. There are many, many more. This book can be bought on line for around $2 now. Best two dollars you can spend to read about flying.

Another great one is the story of the atomic bomb missions written by Charles Sweeney who flew on both missions. I can't recall the name, but searching Sweeney's name should produce the title. There were approx. 6 months of extreme training for this mission and the stories are facinating.
I loaned mine out so many times it fell apart, litterally.

Best,

Scott_F 10-06-2006 05:45 AM

I'll throw in another vote for "Fate is the Hunter" and also give mention to one I haven't seen in this thread yet - "North to the Orient" by Anne Morrow Lindbergh. She was a master of descriptive writing and offers a slightly different perspective than the pilot authors. Also, if you'd like to sample some of the authors mentioned but don't know where to start, check out "Wild Blue - Stories of Survival from Air and Space" edited by David Fisher and William Garvey (Thunder's Mouth Press/Balliett & Fitzgerald Inc.). It's a collection of exerpts from many of the books mentioned in this thread.

Jim P 10-06-2006 12:10 PM

I'm Stunned
 
I haven't seen Fredrick Forsythe's "The Shepherd" on this list. It's a short read and is definately worth the couple hours. It may have the best twist in any aviation story.

Jim

n5lp 10-06-2006 01:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scott_F
..."North to the Orient" by Anne Morrow Lindbergh. She was a master of descriptive writing and offers a slightly different perspective than the pilot authors...

Let's make it clear that although Anne may have not been PIC on this flight, she was, most assuredly, a pilot, as well as a wonderful writer. I believe she held the first glider license of any female in the US.

Barry 10-06-2006 01:49 PM

2 Books worth a read
 
Two books well worth a read although not mentioned in the previous posts as they are perhaps not well known in the US are the following:

The first one is by the French WW2 ace Pierre Clostermann. The English translation is "The Big Show" or if you can read French it is "Le Grand Cirque". This book is often considered the best one to come out of WW2. It covers Mr Clostermann's exploits in the RAF as he became one of the highest scoring allied aces during the war.

Another interesting book is "A Test Pilot's Story" by Jeffrey Quill. Mr. Quill was the chief test pilot for Supermarine during the second world war. Apart from the initial Spitfire test flying by Mutt Summers he test flew every version of the Spitfire and Seafire. He gives an interesting insight into how the various models flew. It is also interesting to learn that the Spitfires as they came off the production line often had a heavy wing problem, like some RVs, and they had to "tune" the ailerons during the initial flights.

Barry RV6A F-PRVM


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