Jet Age

Author: Sam Howe Verhovek
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 158333436X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 289

Book Description
The captivating story of the titans, engineers, and pilots who raced to design a safe and lucrative passenger jet. In Jet Age, journalist Sam Howe Verhovek explores the advent of the first generation of jet airliners and the people who designed, built, and flew them. The path to jet travel was triumphal and amazingly rapid-less than fifty years after the Wright Brothers' first flight at Kitty Hawk, Great Britain led the world with the first commercial jet plane service. Yet the pioneering British Comet was cursed with a tragic, mysterious flaw, and an upstart Seattle company put a new competitor in the sky: the Boeing 707 Jet Stratoliner. Jet Age vividly recreates the race between two nations, two global airlines, and two rival teams of brilliant engineers for bragging rights to the first jet service across the Atlantic Ocean in 1958. At the center of this story are great minds and courageous souls, including Sir Geoffrey de Havilland, who spearheaded the development of the Comet, even as two of his sons lost their lives flying earlier models of his aircraft; Sir Arnold Hall, the brilliant British aerodynamicist tasked with uncovering the Comet's fatal flaw; Bill Allen, Boeing's deceptively mild-mannered president; and Alvin "Tex" Johnston, Boeing's swashbuckling but supremely skilled test pilot. The extraordinary airplanes themselves emerge as characters in the drama. As the Comet and the Boeing 707 go head-to-head, flying twice as fast and high as the propeller planes that preceded them, the book captures the electrifying spirit of an era: the Jet Age. In the spirit of Stephen Ambrose's Nothing Like It in the World, Verhovek's Jet Age offers a gorgeous rendering of an exciting age and fascinating technology that permanently changed our conception of distance and time, of a triumph of engineering and design, and of a company that took a huge gamble and won.

Britain's Jet Age

Author: Guy Ellis
Publisher: Amberley Publishing Limited
ISBN: 1445649012
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 164

Book Description
A wonderful illustrated beginner's guide to the first generation of British Jet Aircraft.

Airlines of the Jet Age

Author: R.E.G. Davies
Publisher: Smithsonian Institution
ISBN: 194446607X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 1020

Book Description
Airlines of the Jet Age provides the first comprehensive history of the world's airlines from the early 1960s to the present day. It begins with an informative introductory chapter on the infancy of flight and the development of air-transport craft used during the First and Second World Wars, and then wings into the "first" Jet Age--the advent of jet airlines. It continues through the "second" Jet Age of wide-bodied aircraft, such as the Boeing 747 and DC-10, and closes with the introduction of the "third" Jet Age, which begins with the giant double-decked Airbus A380. This reference book is an unparalelled reference for aviation buffs, covering airlines around the globe and throughout the modern eras of human flight. The last book written by renowned airline historian R.E.G. Davies, Airlines of the Jet Age is the ultimate resource for information and insight on modern air transport.

Meteor Boys

Author: Steve Bond
Publisher: Grub Street Publishers
ISBN: 1910690651
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 241

Book Description
Through the first-hand experiences of pilots and ground crew, the author of Javelin Boys chronicles the history of the RAF’s first jet-engined aircraft. As Britain’s first jet fighter, the Gloster Meteor has had a remarkably varied and lengthy life. But while many books have focused on its development and service history, the time has come to hear the personal experiences of its air and ground crews. By interviewing over thirty veterans, author and Meteor veteran Steve Bond has written an incredibly detailed insight into this iconic aircraft, which is supported by anecdotes and accounts from those who knew it best. One example is Alan McDonald who described the Meteor as “a bit unforgiving if you got it wrong, as many pilots found out to their cost, especially on one engine, but I must admit I got to like it very much—it was a great adrenaline rush.” Alongside these entertaining anecdotes are details of the Meteor’s origins and developments. Starting with the first deliveries in 1944 working through to the present day, Bond documents the diverse role that the Meteor has had—from operations against the V1 and photo-reconnaissance missions to its use as a training machine and later as a display aircraft. The book also features photographs never seen before in print. This detailed history of this iconic and much loved jet fighter will appeal to all aviation fans. “Bond has done a great job with this book with many personal accounts of the people that were involved every day in the life of the Meteor. Highly Recommended.” —International Plastic Modelers’ Society/USA

The Jet Race and the Second World War

Author: S. Mike Pavelec
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 1573567191
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 249

Book Description
In the 1930s, as nations braced for war, the German military build up caught Britain and the United States off-guard, particularly in aviation technology. The unending quest for speed resulted in the need for radical alternatives to piston engines. In Germany, Dr. Hans von Ohain was the first to complete a flight-worthy turbojet engine for aircraft. It was installed in a Heinkel-designed aircraft, and the Germans began the jet age on August 27, 1939. The Germans led the jet race throughout the war and were the first to produce jet aircraft for combat operations. In England, the doggedly determined Frank Whittle also developed a turbojet engine, but without the support enjoyed by his German counterpart. The British came second in the jet race when Whittle's engine powered the Gloster Pioneer on May 15, 1941. The Whittle-Gloster relationship continued and produced the only Allied combat jet aircraft during the war, the Meteor, which was relegated to Home Defense in Britain. In America, General Electric copied the Whittle designs, and Bell Aircraft contracted to build the first American jet plane. On October 1, 1942, a lackluster performance from the Bell Airacomet, ushered in the American jet age. The Yanks forged ahead, and had numerous engine and airframe programs in development by the end of the war. But, the Germans did it right and did it first, while the Allies lagged throughout the war, only rising to technological prominence on the ashes of the German defeat. Pavelec's analysis of the jet race uncovers all the excitement in the high-stakes race to develop effective jet engines for warfare and transport.

Empire of the Clouds

Author: James Hamilton-Paterson
Publisher: Faber & Faber
ISBN: 0571271731
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 306

Book Description
In 1945 Britain was the world's leading designer and builder of aircraft - a world-class achievement that was not mere rhetoric. And what aircraft they were. The sleek Comet, the first jet airliner. The awesome delta-winged Vulcan, an intercontinental bomber that could be thrown about the sky like a fighter. The Hawker Hunter, the most beautiful fighter-jet ever built and the Lightning, which could zoom ten miles above the clouds in a couple of minutes and whose pilots rated flying it as better than sex. How did Britain so lose the plot that today there is not a single aircraft manufacturer of any significance in the country? What became of the great industry of de Havilland or Handley Page? And what was it like to be alive in that marvellous post-war moment when innovative new British aircraft made their debut, and pilots were the rock stars of the age? James Hamilton-Paterson captures that season of glory in a compelling book that fuses his own memories of being a schoolboy plane spotter with a ruefully realistic history of British decline - its loss of self confidence and power. It is the story of great and charismatic machines and the men who flew them: heroes such as Bill Waterton, Neville Duke, John Derry and Bill Beaumont who took inconceivable risks, so that we could fly without a second thought.

Jet Age Aesthetic

Author: Vanessa R. Schwartz
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 030024746X
Category : Design
Languages : en
Pages : 229

Book Description
A stunning look at the profound impact of the jet plane on the mid-century aesthetic, from Disneyland to Life magazine Vanessa R. Schwartz engagingly presents the jet plane’s power to define a new age at a critical moment in the mid-20th century, arguing that the craft’s speed and smooth ride allowed people to imagine themselves living in the future. Exploring realms as diverse as airport architecture, theme park design, film, and photography, Schwartz argues that the jet created an aesthetic that circulated on the ground below. Visual and media culture, including Eero Saarinen’s airports, David Bailey’s photographs of the jet set, and Ernst Haas’s experiments in color photojournalism glamorized the imagery of motion. Drawing on unprecedented access to the archives of The Walt Disney Studios, Schwartz also examines the period’s most successful example of fluid motion meeting media culture: Disneyland. The park’s dedication to “people-moving” defined Walt Disney’s vision, shaping the very identity of the place. The jet age aesthetic laid the groundwork for our contemporary media culture, in which motion is so fluid that we can surf the internet while going nowhere at all.

Jet Pioneers

Author: Tim Kershaw
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0752494996
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 110

Book Description
In April 1941 Britain's first jet left the ground at a grass airfield 4 miles from Gloucester Cathedral. It was the start of a revolution in air travel, military and civilian. During the 1940s Britain's first-ever jet aircraft, the world's first jet fighter in squadron service and the first jet to hold the world air-speed record were all designed, built and flown in the Gloucester and Cheltenham area. The story of Frank Whittle's invention and dogged development of the jet engine is well known. But the account of how his invention was put into the air has never been fully told. This book tells the story of how the men and women of north Gloucestershire made Whittle's engine fly.

Aircraft Museums of the United Kingdom

Author: Frank E. Hitchens
Publisher: Andrews UK Limited
ISBN: 1785384503
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 273

Book Description
Aircraft Museums of the United Kingdom has been written for the aviation enthusiast with an interest in aircraft from the past. Aircraft range throughout the museums from 1909 up to recent years. Thirty-five museums are listed within this book and each is presented on its merits for the aircraft displayed. A brief description of each museum describes aircraft of special interest, museum presentation and lighting quality for photographing the aircraft. Also included is a list of aircraft held by each museum with over 300 photographs included, plus address and contact details for each museum. The aircraft museums are all part of the UK's aviation heritage to be preserved for the enjoyment of the present and future generations. All are worth a visit for their exhibits of aircraft from days gone by.

Jet Man

Author: Duncan Campbell-Smith
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1788544684
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 618

Book Description
The story of Frank Whittle – RAF pilot, mathematician of genius, inventor of the jet engine and British hero. 'Wonderful' David Edgerton, TLS 'A fascinating account' Aeroplane Monthly 'Casts new light on the intense, heroic character of Frank Whittle' Leo McKinstry '[A] thorough dissection of the evolution of the jet engine... I recommend this mighty tome unreservedly' Journal of Aeronautical History 'A long overdue corrective of an extraordinary man' James Hamilton-Paterson 'A fine, deeply researched book' Military History Monthly In 1938, a thirty-one-year-old RAF pilot and engineer named Frank Whittle – given special leave to pursue his own startlingly original concept of flight – presented the Air Ministry with a written proposal for a revolutionary jet-powered fighter aircraft. A ready response might have changed the course of history, but Whittle got no reply. In this gripping and insightful biography, Duncan Campbell-Smith charts Whittle's success at building a pre-war jet engine against all the odds – and tracks his desperate struggle to have it launched into active service against Hitler's Luftwaffe. It arrived too late – but nonetheless transformed the future of aviation.