On a Cushion of Air

On a Cushion of Air PDF Author: Robin Paine
Publisher: Robin Paine
ISBN: 0956897819
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 716

Book Description
This is the story of how private foreign enterprise in the form of Swedish Lloyd and Swedish America Line, who formed a British company called 'Hoverlloyd', galvanised the British Government in to supporting this new concept in transport through the formation of a British Rail subsidiary called 'Seaspeed'.

Cross-Channel Aviation Pioneers

Cross-Channel Aviation Pioneers PDF Author: Bruce Hales-Dutton
Publisher: Air World
ISBN: 1526775603
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 291

Book Description
The stories of the daredevils who attempted to fly over the English Channel—a history filled with triumphs, tragedies, and colorful characters. On July 25, 1909, a dapper, mustachioed Frenchman flying a flimsy, diaphanous airplane changed the status of a great nation. “England is no longer an island,” declared the Daily Mail. Lord Northcliffe, the newspaper’s proprietor, had put up the £1,000 prize for the first flight of the English Channel by the pilot of an airplane. In securing the prize for one of aviation’s most celebrated firsts, Louis Blériot had beaten his Anglo-French rival Hubert Latham. Six days earlier, Latham had become the first airman to make a forced landing on water when the engine of his elegant Antoinette monoplane failed while he attempted the crossing. This book explores the triumphs, tragedies, and many milestones in cross-channel flight, beginning back in July 1785 when John-Pierre Blanchard and John Jeffries made the first crossing, by balloon. Other flyers quickly followed Blériot so that Pierre Prier made the first non-stop London-Paris flight in April 1911 and Harriet Quimby became the first woman to fly the Channel a year later—though her historic accomplishment was overshadowed by the Titanic catastrophe. The book also charts other events in cross-Channel aviation such as the midair collision between the UK and France that led to a rudimentary system of air traffic control; the first cat to make the flight; the popular car ferry services of the 1950s and 1960s; and the coming of the jets—providing a colorful history of the era before the debut of the famed Channel Tunnel.

The Hovercraft

The Hovercraft PDF Author: Ashley Hollebone
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0752490516
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 233

Book Description
The hovercraft was first created in 1959, when Sir Christopher Cockerell came up with a prototype that crossed the English Channel. The SRN1, the first ever hovercraft, is now proudly housed by the Science Museum and this very British invention enjoys an active role in many arenas, from travel, leisure cruising and racing to lifesaving and transporting goods. This detailed book delves into the history of the hovercraft, from the early days of its development through to the commercial and military applications of the craft. It looks into the exciting world of hovercraft leisure, cruising and racing from amateur to Formula 1, and also explores the important role the hovercraft plays in rescues whether on water or delivering aid around the word in places that helicopters can't reach. Finally, it details the types of hovercraft in use today, and what the future holds. The hovercraft is more than a product of 1960s Britain: it is one that has pushed the boundaries of transport as we look into the future and we have the back-shed culture of Britain to thank for its invention.

British Canals

British Canals PDF Author: Joseph Boughey
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0752487116
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 451

Book Description
The first edition of British Canals was published in 1950 and was much admired as a pioneering work in transport history. Joseph Boughey, with the advice of Charles Hadfield, has previously revised and updated the perennially popular material to reflect more recent changes. For this ninth edition, Joseph Boughey discusses the many new discoveries and advances in the world of canals around Britain, inevitably focussing on the twentieth century to a far greater extent than in any previous edition of this book, while still within the context of Hadfield's original work.

Watts My Line?

Watts My Line? PDF Author: David Dixon
Publisher: Redline Books
ISBN: 095443577X
Category : Airplanes in art
Languages : en
Pages : 218

Book Description
This is the story of Lawrie Watts and his amazing technical artworks, illustrations, and cutaway drawings of motorcycles, motorcars, aircraft, and farm machinery. He was drawing amazingly complex machinery with meticulous attention to detail way before the development of CAD. Lawrie is not just an artist; he's a designer too. An example of his designs was the Enfield-powered Dreamliner.

Shadows on the Water

Shadows on the Water PDF Author: Allan Scott-Davies
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0750952776
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 251

Book Description
This fascinating volume takes a look at some of the strange and unexplained hauntings reported across Britain's canal and waterways network: echoes in dark tunnels; stone steps stained red with blood spilled long ago; ghostly footsteps accompanying barges beneath a bridge... Mixing long-established ghostly tales with first-hand accounts, Allan Scott-Davies presents a grisly collection of supernatural stories. From the screaming ghost near Market Drayton to the Roman soldier in Chester guarding the canal, the drowning man at Lapworth and the white lady of the Hatton flight, all is revealed with a map of locations and, for some of the more haunted sites, a guided tour map. This illustrated book is sure to delight lovers of the waterways and paranormal alike.

Inventing the 20th Century

Inventing the 20th Century PDF Author: Stephen van Dulken
Publisher: NYU Press
ISBN: 9780814788127
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 260

Book Description
It's the perfect gift book for every inventor and tinker in your life!"Remarkable . . . get the book for yourself. It'll hold you for many hours." (Wall Street Journal)"A fascinating compendium for trivia seekers." (Publishers Weekly)>"Highly entertaining . . . " (Boston Globe)

British Inventions

British Inventions PDF Author: Great Britain. Central Office of Information
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Inventions
Languages : en
Pages : 44

Book Description

James May's Magnificent Machines

James May's Magnificent Machines PDF Author: James May
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
ISBN: 1444717987
Category : Humor
Languages : en
Pages : 207

Book Description
Our world has been transformed beyond recognition, particularly in the twentieth century, and so were our lives and our aspirations. Throughout James May's Magnificent Machines, our Top Gear guide explores the iconic themes of the past hundred years: flight, space travel, television, mechanised war, medicine, computers, electronic music, skyscrapers, electronic espionage and much more. But he also reveals the hidden story behind why some inventions like the Zeppelin, the hovercraft or the Theremin struggled to make their mark. He examines the tipping points - when technologies such as the car or the internet became unstoppable - and gets up close by looking at the nuts and bolts of remarkable inventions. Packed with surprising statistics and intriguing facts, this is the ideal book for anyone who wants to know how stuff works and why some stuff didn't make it.
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