Book Description

The Genesis of Flight illustrates one of the most prestigious aeronautical history collections in existence, covering the history of man's dream of flight from antiquity to the advent of powered flight at the beginning of the 20th century. The items included are drawn from more than 20,000 objects that vividly reflect both humanity's vision and its fulfillment.

Five-thousand-year-old seals carved from semiprecious stones and used to inscribe clay tablets record the earliest conception of flight. Among the collection's thousands of books are priceless volumes printed before 1501. Many, such as Robert Hooke's Philosophical Collections (1682), are serious, scientific studies of the possibility of flight. Others are about imaginary voyages into space and to other worlds, including Ludovico Ariosto's Orlando Furioso (1547), Cyrano de Bergerac's account of a voyage to the moon first published in 1650, and, of course, the 19th-century classics of Jules Verne. More than 2,000 prints, portraits, engravings, etchings, woodcuts, and lithographs comprise a unique and arresting pictorial history of aeronautics. Important letters written by pioneers of flight-Montgolfier, Blanchard, Lunardi, Lilienthal, Count von Zeppelin, Santos-Dumont, Langley, and the Wright brothers-are to be found among the collection's manuscript holdings. There are also rare commemorative medallions, sheet music, posters, dime novels, postcards and postage stamps, early flight manuals, catalogues of aircraft equipment, match boxes, and children's games and toys-all recording, in one way or another, humanity's aspirations to fly.

The collection was assembled by Richard Gimbel (1898-1970), who began collecting while serving with the 8th U.S. Army Air Force in England during World War II, and continued after becoming curator of aeronautical literature at Yale University. The collection was donated to the United States Air Force Academy upon his death.

The contributors include Tom D. Crouch, National Air and Space Museum; Clive Hart, University of Essex, England; Paul Maravelas, University of Minnesota Libraries; Ellen Morris, University of Pennsylvania; Dominick A. Pisano, National Air and Space Museum; Holly Pittman, University of Pennsylvania; and Edward Rochette, American Numismatics Association. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

The Gimbel Collection
Widespread among mankind is the capacity to dream, to imagine, to visualize what might be and what could come to pass.And so it has been, manifestly, with dreams of flight.Since humans first took time to notice birds, bats and flying insects, man's mind has formed the wish to emulate them - to be able to fly - to rise above earth's surface, moving freely in air and space. Visual artists, painters, sculptors, and writers, have, over the centuries, depicted these dreams.From times many centuries before the mythology of Daedalus and Icarus have come historical depictions of imagined flights by man. A monumental collection of such depictions was assembled by the late Colonel Richard Gimbel.Scion of the founding family of Gimbel's Department Stores, Richard was a man of diverse interests, notable talents and tastes, and wealth sufficient to enable him to be a collector with uniquely wide sweep. Serving as a Colonel in the Eighth Air Force Service Command in England in 1943, Richard Gimbel became fascinated with those items which showed man's historic interest in personal flight. For the next thirty years of his life, he devoted increasing talents and capability to the collection of rare items related to man's flight.Retired Colonel Gimbel spent twenty years at Yale University as Professor of Air Science and Trustee of the Library.At the time of his death his personal collection of aeronautica, which he never catalogued, numbered over one hundred thousand items. Due in large part to the interest and influence of Charles Lindbergh, the Gimbel collection was willed to the Library of the United States Air Force Academy.There it resides today, an intellectual landmark, part of the professional education of Academy cadets, and, in the care of a permanent archivist, available to scholars and the public. This current book, The Genesis of Flight, is a fortunate collaboration of the Friends of the United States Air Force Academy Library, and The University of Washington Press.Seven highly-qualified contributors have given us the text of this superb volume on the Gimbel collection.Illustrations of some 300 of the collection's many items are shown in this edition.The writing, editing, printing, and binding of this book are all excellent. Cost of the book might be viewed as a bit pricey, particularly when compared to the prices of some of the content free drivel available in today's publishing world.But I view my new copy as one of the greatest bargains I have had the good sense to purchase lately. The purchase price of The Genesis of Flight covers not only the magnificent printed volume.Nested in the back interior cover is a compact disc, playable on your PC or MAC, This disc, with audio and video, provides a magnificent companion to the book.It gives the reader/viewer an unparalleled opportunity to immerse oneself in the Gimbel collection in all its fascination and informative value. I commend this book to anyone interested in aerospace, aeronautics, flight, art, or history. This is a great addition to the world's printed knowledge. ... Read more

Book Description

Close examinations of more than 40 airline and general aviation accidents provide life-saving lessons for pilots and other professionals concerned with aircraft safety. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Good General Accident Analysis
I am not sure what Shari Krause's Ph. D. is in, but I would guess psychology given the human factors emphasis evident in this book. Indeed, human factors play an overriding factor in many if not most accidents and she gives good and bad examples of Cockpit Resource Management (CRM) and Aeronautical Decision Making (ADM) in the numerous case studies in this book.

The book is designed in broad categories of accident types (for example, 'Weather' and 'Mid-Air Collisions'), which are further broken down by specific hazard type ('Thunderstorms' and 'Turbulence', for instance) and illustrated with case studies largely taken from NTSB reports. Most of the case studies are excellent, and her analysis is generally quite good, although her specific systems knowledge is occasionally not up to speed (for instance, in the L-1011 autoflight discussion of EAL 401, and in the hydraulic system discussion in the 737 rudder hardover accidents). The minor systems errors and misconceptions found in these sections would be virtually undetectable to someone who had not flown the specific aircraft in question, and at any rate are mere annoyances at worst. The overall level of analysis is good enough that trivial details don't take away from the greater points she makes.

Overall, the book is a quite comprehensive text and should be read by pilots and aviation personnel of all experience levels. Her discussions of weather accidents and runway incursions were superlative. Particularly well covered were icing and microburst accidents, though I think she went a little far in her discussion of 'giant anteater clouds'.

Distractions for me were what I thought were a relatively large number of typographical errors, including the very annoying, often repeated (likely spell check induced) "HIS" instead of "HSI". The systems quibbles were minor as well, but nonetheless a distraction in some instances. The effort to make the book 'current' by including the Air France Concorde accident was a mistake. The summary presented was evidently taken from a sole internet source and completely devoid of useful information.

On balance, I think this is an excellent effort, and should be read by all pilots, the earlier in their career, the better.

A fascinating and a valuable read
What one sees in second edition of Aircraft Safety : Accident Investigations, Analyses, & Applications, is a comprehensive look at why serious aviation accidents and events occur. Dr. Shari Krause looks at over 40 aircraft incidents and accidents, analyzes why they occurred, and offers suggestions to avoid future calamities.

Krause concentrates on four probable accident cause areas (human factors, weather, mid-air collisions, mechanical failure) and highlights the perspectives of pilots, crewmembers, air traffic controllers, and the National Transportation Safety Board.

Many of Krause's conclusions center on two areas, pilot error and failure to properly use the technology. Many of these pilots are not some newbie's who read a for dummies book, or are recently certified via some technology boot camp. They are professionals that have spent thousands and tens of thousands of hours in the cockpit. These commercial pilots have physicals every six months, and spend significant amounts of time annual being retrained and tested.

These commercial pilots work in cockpits whose avionic hardware costs millions of dollars. Yet with all of this, these same pilots often don't think and attempt to land during an active thunderstorm, fly their airplane into mountains (officially known as CFIT (Controlled Flight Into Terrain), and more.

The book is fascinating and a valuable read.

Great book!
This book by Dr. Krause is a must-read for safety-oriented aviators from beginners to professionals. This book provides accounts of some of the more well-known aircraft mishaps and dissects each one for causes and chains of events. It also provides the reader an education on various human-factor and weather-related issues. It also covers human-performance issues involving more recent technological developments like EFIS cockpits and TCAS, without neglecting basic hands-on skills and flight discipline.

Waiting for the better sequel !
I have a mixed feeling about this book. The theorical part is far too theoratical and based on merily summing up important issues, where the reader more would have learned about about these sum ups, if they where accompanied with graphics or illustrations. But the descriptive analisis of accidents is one of the very best I have ever seen. Very profound details indeed by means of case studies. However I would have rated it 4 stars if more case studies were included.

The book is wonderful.
I read the hardcover version of this book and it is wonderful. Shari Stamford Krause is informative and descriptive down to the last datail that you would not get from the FAA or NTSB. She defines the circumstances in a way that anyone, whether a seasoned pilot or just an avid plane lover, can understand. Everyone should read this. ... Read more

Book Description

From 1955 to 1958, American and Soviet engineers battled to launch successfully the world's first satellite, as the first nation to do so would gain advantages in science, the Cold War propagandacontest, and the military balance of power.

The race to orbit featured two American teams led by rival Services--the army and the navy--and a Soviet effort so secret that few even knew it existed. Now, Matt Bille and Erika Lishock tell this story from both sides of the Iron Curtain, from the origins of spaceflight theory through the military and political events that shaped the modern world.

Some aspects of this story, such as the navy's NOTSNIK satellite project, are almost unknown. Even some details of well-known programs, such as the appearance of America's pioneering Explorer 1 satellite and the contributions made by its rival, Project Vanguard, are generally misremembered.

In today's era of space shuttles, Mars rovers, and the International Space Station, it is difficult to imagine just how challenging the first steps into space really were. Yet at the end of the race, not only had those first satellites been launched, but he resulting new technologies had forever changed life on Earth. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

What was the World Like Before Spaceflight?
The authors have written a fine historical synthesis of the period between the mid-1950s and the aftermath of Sputnik, focusing on the rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union to launch the first orbital satellite. This work makes an important contribution in focusing on this first satellite race, and the authors explore the mirror image nature of the two programs, how they played off of each other, and why that was necessary to the manner in which the race unfolded. By keeping the space race front and center they succeed in creating a focus that is compelling and often missed in other studies of the same era.

Bille and Lishock are at their best in probing the individuals who were the bearers of the spaceflight dream; many of whom seem to encounter obstacles (social, political, technical) at every turn, and then eventually surmount them to achieve success and plant the seeds for future accomplishment. At some level this represents a romantic narrative of transcendence, but one that is both evocative and powerful. The authors seem to suggest that it was the spaceflight true believers, rather than great nations locked in cold war rivalry or geopolitical machinations or the scientific method on each side, who were engaged in a race. Certainly they expressed frustration by the percerived foot dragging of their respective governments. Yet, Sergei Korolev in the Soviet Union and Wernher von Braun and others in the United States achieved the birth of the space age in this international race.

Everyone should realize, of course, that this work is a synthesis. It is not intended as a sophisticated theoretical work--although something taking a post-modern approach to the subject would be quite interesting. It is, instead, a narrative that seeks to create a unified discussion of the rise of the American and Soviet rocket states. That rise, as the authors show, had long antecedents going back to the very earliest years of the twentieth century in both nations and a sophisticated technological base that allowed that longstanding vision to become reality. The authors also do a credible job of explaining the development of the Soviet Sputnik and the American Vanguard and Explorer programs. These represented the major elements of the "first space race" suggested in the title. While there is little new in this discussion the authors do a good job of bringing together salient elements from a wealth of serious historical writing on the subject in the last decade. This represents the best narrative available synthesizing this story. ... Read more

Book Description

In his New York Times bestseller, Chris Kraft delivers an unforgettable account of his life in Mission Control. The first NASA flight director, Kraft emerged from boyhood in small-town America to become a visionary who played an integral role in what would become the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. It's all here, from the legendary Mercury missions that first sent Americans into space through the Gemini and Apollo missions that landed them on the moon. The great heroes of space are here, too-Alan Shepard, John Glenn, Neil Armstrong, Jim Lovell, and Buzz Aldrin-leading the space race that would change the course of U.S. history.

From NASA's infancy to its greatest triumphs . . . from the calculated gambles to the near disasters to the pure luck that accompanied each mission, Flight relives the spellbinding events that captured the imagination of the world. It is a stirring tribute to the U.S. space program and to the men who risked their lives to take America on a flight into the unknown-from the man who was there for it all.

"A highly readable memoir." (The New York Times Book Review)

"A rewarding look at the brief, shining moment when space pathfinders held sway over space warriors." (The Washington Post) ... Read more

Reviews (55)

An insider's candid account of NASA's evolution
After reading many books about NASA's early days including Moon Shot and Failure is Not an Option, I was expecting Flight to follow the same formula of a chronological mission-by-mission playback. Instead, I found what I think is one of the best accounts of how NASA evolved and became what it is today.

Though he does include the missions, each with their own difficulties, from Mercury through Apollo, Chris Kraft writes much more from a management standpoint. He describes how decisions were made and how design and planning was accomplished without going too much into the technical nitty-gritty. This is truly a behind-the-scenes look at the early manned spaceflight program.

Kraft starts the book with a description of of his boyhood and college years, explaining how he came to work for what was then known as NACA. Having been a part of NASA from the first days of the Space Task Group, he is one of a few who are in the best position to describe it's evolution. He is open and honest about his feelings toward various people in the industry and the agency itself as it has come to be today. He also gives Bob Gilruth the credit and attention he deserves as the true father of NASA.

The only drawback I found to this book is that the chronology can get a bit confusing at times. Once the Space Task Group is formed, Kraft breaks the book up into Mercury, Gemini and Apollo. Because the programs overlapped, there is a bit of backpedaling at the start of each section which you have to keep track of - just something to keep in mind while you read.

This book is a must-read for anyone interested in early space flight, anyone who wants to revisit those years with an insider's look and anyone currently within NASA. Though all the other books about NASA's best years have their selling points - Flight should be at the top of any list.

Absolutely wonderful!
Anyone who is familiar with the numerous television documentaries about the early years at NASA knows about Chris Kraft. NASA's original flight controller, Kraft takes the reader on the journey of his amazing life story from a small town in Virginia to the top levels of management at NASA's Johnson Space Center. The reader will come away with an amazing appreciation for the contributions that Kraft gave to this nation as well as the numerous other unsung heroes that helped America get to the moon. As NASA's original flight conroller, Kraft was personally present for the most memorable moments in the history of space exploration including Alan Shepard's first trip into space in 1961 and John Glenn's historic orbital flight in 1962. Kraft takes the reader behind the scenes and shows what was really going on inside NASA that the public never knew about. The story he tells is amazing. The best part of this book is that Kraft acknowledges that the race to the moon was a team effort where everyone including managment, astronauts, mission control and contracters all contributed to this historic effort. Kraft was part of the story from the beginning and anyone interested in the least about the greatest story of the 20th century should and needs to read this fine book. It is well written, candid and an easy read.

Chris Kraft is not a pleasant man
I enjoy all the books on the space program and I am really glad that Scott Carpenter was able to tell his side of of the story in his book "For Spacious Skies" (which is very good). Chris Kraft makes Scott out to be a dopey day dreamer behind the controls of the Mercury Capsule. Chris ensures that the world knows that it was "his" decision alone to kick Scott out of the space program. Chris should have been more fair and point out that Scotty was overloaded with "space experiments". It was Scotty's flight that proved that you cannot overload the man in capsule with experiments and NASA never did it again in the "and on" flights. Give Scotty a break. He put put his life on the line while Chris played big shot engineer.

Mercury, Gemini, Apollo - MGA = Man's Greatest Adventure.
Chris Kraft is one of those brilliant rarities that can lead and design complex and difficult projects and has complete faith that the answer is just around the next corner.
He was the FLIGHT director of all three distinguished space programs beginning with Mercury and ending with Apollo.
Gemini was stuck in the middle and without Gemini, Apollo would never have landed on the moon.

It's so odd that many people STILL refuse to accept the facts that the USA DID in fact land on the moon on that fateful day, July 20th, 1969.
YES - 44 years ago Apollo 11 did so on the EAGLE at exactly 3:17:39.9PM CST in the United States of America.
Neil Armstrong's voice was clear over the radio, a quarter million miles away,
"Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed."
Armstrong was much admired in NASA for having a cool head under intense pressure and he was unanimously voted to be the first man to step foot on the moon.
At the time, it was unknown what the surface of the moon was made of...some scientists feared the top layer of the moon dust was one mile of soft sand that would collapse under any weight and swallow up the landing ship upon it's landing.
Thankfully, this did not occur, nor were there any life-threatning germs found on the lunar surface.

"One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."
Those words forever changed our world. Along with the lunar landing came many inventions that blessed our quality of life with many newfangled inventions like the super speedy computers and telemetry that could monitor heart rhythms of people.

Everyone got their due in this tell-all book and what a page-turner it proved to be. Kraft is a brilliant man who can tell it like it is and he sure lead an exciting and intellectual life.
It's sad that his family got the short end of the stick, but the nation recieved his best and most intensive labor.
Without Kraft, I seriously doubt that the US would have made the moon in 1969...I really do.
Read this book and understand the whole story....all the twists and turns and convolutions of the bueracracy.
It's interesting and I need to mention that initially, Kraft had a low interpersonal assesment of the genious scientist, Wernher von Braun. He disliked the fact that von Braun bombed Europe with his evil VH bombs --- he hated the fact that Hitler bossed von Braun around the way he did. But then later, he had to understand that a knife was held at von Bruan's throat and he HAD to do those evil things.....or Hitler would of had him executed or shot or whatnot.....Kraft later awarded von Bruan with his highest admiration because without von Braun, there'd very likely be no Saturn V moon rocket. It's statistics must NEVER be forgotten, insists Kraft, and here I will discuss it with you.
The Saturn V had 3 stages, the first was 33 feet in diameter.
It had 5 monster rocket engines and each one could produce 1.5 MILLION pounds of thrust! (That's 7.5 million pounds on this stage alone....)
Now add stage 2 : it was 30 feet in diameter and had 5 smaller engines that punched up 1 million pounds of thrust.
(uh let's see --- 5 more million pounds added to #1.)
Then the third stage was 22 feet across with no specified thrust given, but it was impressive!!!
Add the equation up and add some more millions to it and uh --- well -- you get the idea! That mutha kicked!!!
All this power was required to break free of Earth's gravitational field and launch Apollo into Earth orbit.
WOW! What a ride it must have been!
All this happened so long ago and before long, Americans took space travel for granted.
According to Kraft, we could have landed on MARS in the 1990's had we stuck to our high ideals and kept the NASA space exploration programs going at full tilt.
But politics and Viet Nam came into the picture and that was the piece of pie NASA needed to perform these unrealized dreams.
They went as far as Apollo 17 - that was as far as the budget and national interest allowed for them.
Kind of a shame to stop dreaming big....but I know other programs need our aid too.
Some people say we don't need space and we don't need to explore while world hunger is still a reality here along with homelessness and child abuse.
Maybe we should forgo it and take care of the more fundamental problems facing humanity here on Earth.
But after reading this quality book, it encourages one's intellect to reach for the stars and never stop thirsting for the truth about our universe and the many associated discoveries that will come with other great adventures up there in the mysterious cosmos.
I bought this book for a mere $3.98 and I wish I could share it with every person who is reading here at AMAZON dot com.
It's a wonderful book that you should endeaver -- it will bring you much discovery and knowledge.
Thank you Chris Kraft for living an exemplary life and sharing your brain power with all those programs that improved the world.

The story is worth reading from all who shared in it and have a point of view.

Young Guys Take On the World and Win -American Style
This is a modern and very much an American story where people are given the money and resources and are told to get the job done. This takes place of course at NASA under the intense glare of the international media. It was done under tough working conditions, with many technical and human challenges, with long hours, and tough deadlines to meet.

Sure the Mission Control team headed by Kraft was supported by a cast of thousands and many suppliers, but they (ultimately) had to manage the flights and make the decisions, and do the things that were required to make the operation a success. Only the very best people can lead in this technical environment. They must be the brightest and have the ability to garner respect from their fellow workers. Age is not a factor in selecting the people, those decisions are based on raw talent and drive. In this pressure cooker environment Kraft rose to the top.

That is what this book is about. It is a group of young guys with lots of energy and the smarts have to come up with and execute a winning plan and then solve all kinds of problems with no prior or at least limited experiences.

But Kraft and his team did it with the world watching. This book conveys this great achievement by a young group of managers and engineers.

Four or five stars. Great story.

Jack in Toronto ... Read more

Book Description

The Truth Begins Here

Award-winning journalist Jim Marrs has uncovered compelling new evidence to suggest that alien life forms have not only visited our planet in the past, but are among us right now. Drawing on numerous eyewitness accounts, highly classified CIA reports, and his own meticulous research, he marshals an impressive array of facts to confirm the reality of UFOs...as well as the depth of the government campaign to keep America in the dark. Here is information unavailable in any other single source, including intriguing insights into:

• The 1947 Roswell crash and the U.S. military's efforts to suppress all public inquiries.

• Detailed accounts of UFO landing sites in South America and of abductions in the U.S.

• Vivid descriptions of UFOs by Apollo astronauts--in their own words.

• Tantalizing clues to the alien timetable for revealing their plans here.

• And much, much more!

Includes 4 pages of incredible photographs

"You may find yourself watching the skies a little more intently, or even checking under the bed before you go to sleep."
--Ft. Worth Star-Telegram ... Read more

Reviews (68)

A great reference book for the novice.
Good read but Nothing New except excelleent writing and organization of material by the Author. Had I not read every other book in this genre, I would have liked this book a lot better. If you haven't bought a general review of UFOs, Alien Contact, and Secret Government Conspiracy, then I'd say buy it. However, Dr. Paul Hill's Unconvential Flying Objects has lenghty details about the crafts and sightings that will please both the novice and scientist. Brad Steiger's Alien Rapture is in a category all by itself in combining an exciting novel with newly released documents and detailed description of the flying triangle as well as why the government(s) have kept the secret and what is at stake. I've read all three of these selections from Amazon and read all the reviews before buying. For the first timer, this is an excellent general guide to read.

A Must Read!!!
Alien Agenda by Jim Marrs is an excellent book for people studying the UFO subject for the first time. This book contains a good overview of all basic UFO subjects. The author covers a lot of ground: Ancient Astronaut theory, Roswell, abductions, sightings, close encounters of the 4th kind, goverment cover-ups, etc. The book details UFOlogy and a plain and simple manner that it's easy to understand. Plus, the book is fun to read. Jim Marrs didn't write this book for entertainment; he's a serious author who doesn't take UFOlogy lightly. Mr. Marrs is a professional journalist and highly respected. This book should be in the personal library of anyone interested in the UFO topic.

A disaster
Someone should write a book about why Marrs continues to write books about things he can't prove. Not only is this badly written, but Marrs does a fabulous job of presenting only 1 side of the argument--his own. "Witness testimony" is all fine and dandy, but why is that Marrs can't ever come up with proof for his claims? Oh wait, the U.S. Government covers it all up. Good Lord, do people really buy into that garbage, or do they just want to believe it? The latter is my opinion. Until Marrs can show pictures of these "aliens", his arguments will continue to be shot down. Maybe the Majestic 12 has all those aliens over for Sunday dinner, but I suspect the truth lies in the hyperactive imaginations of "eyewitnesses" and "experts".

Easy to read
This book is not full of rhetoric but loads of reference and witness testimony. It was easy to read as the words flowed and every sentence made sense. Even the skeptic will find credible detail to this controversial phenomenon. There are some surprises as the title of the book suggests. If you want something more than cliche stories of alien abductions and flying saucers, this book will likely do the trick.

Probably the most thoughtful book on subject.
This book by far exceeds others in clarity, honesty, and breath. The book lays its position on the line to let us know just where it stands, namely, skeptical of official, establishment answers to the ufo dilemma. Yet the book does not present a hardcore conspiracy theory. It's commentary is historically informed, smart, and subtle. Time and again, when you think all has been said about crop-circles, cattle mutilation, Billy Miers, etc., this book goes beyond simple, black-and-white analysis to reveal the true complexity of the ufo matter. What this all means, of course, is that as Marrs says toward the end of the book, ufologically speaking things have come to a head. Indeed, this is the one shortcoming of this type of book: there would seem to be no way forward after ufos have subsumed so many mysteries from bridges on the moon to animal multilations in Montana. What's left to the agenda? The book doesn't ask this question explicitly but unlike so many other ufo books, it brings us to the edge where this question must now be asked. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Like cheap, shiny space suits and bug-eyed rubber monsters, nuclear-powered spaceships today seem like little more than laughably naïve 1950s science fiction tropes. It might have been otherwise--and still could be. George Dyson, son of supergenius physicist Freeman Dyson, wrote Project Orion to share some of his father's amazing research with the world. Much had been kept secret for years, but Dyson's unique insider status permits great depth and breadth on this important tale. Conceived in the wake of Sputnik, Project Orion was a true vision of '50s engineering: a huge 40-person ship powered by hundreds of tiny atomic bombs, capable of much greater lift and efficiency than chemically driven rockets. Struggles between NASA, the military, Congress, and other parties doomed Orion, but Dyson has gathered hundreds of documents and interviewed most of the researchers and engineers who worked together, trying to reach "Saturn by 1970." His knack for storytelling makes the book a quick, delightful read; even the staunchest anti-nuke activist has to admit that lighting a cigarette off a parabolic mirror facing a bomb test is pretty cool. By the end of the 20th century, technology had caught up with the vision of Orion--it's considered one of our best bets for long-distance space transit. Whether or not that could ever happen politically, Project Orion is a compelling exploration of scientific imagination. --Rob Lightner ... Read more

Reviews (20)

The Limits Of The Possible
Imagine a nuclear bomb powered spaceship, envisioned in the late 1950's, able to reach the Planet Mars in a few weeks travel time, or Saturn in a year or so, carrying perhaps a thousand ton payload. A detailed engineering design was produced in the 50's and 60's of a ship capable of just that! George Dyson, in this volume, takes readers back in time to that exciting era where the sky was literally the limit. Many physicists are depicted, some unknown and some famous, as are the associated politics, and many technical details also. Project Orion, as it was named, was to be powered by small fission bombs ejected out the back of the spaceship and exploded some distance away, the explosion wave front would collide with a working medium which in turn would hit a pusher plate on the spaceship at high velocity thereby imparting thrust. In fact, this concept is the only method, I believe, that combines high specific impulse with high thrust, using existing technology....it could open up the solar system to colonization. Many thousands of small fission bombs would be required on most missions. The authors father, Freeman Dyson, actually worked on this project for a time, and George Dyson presents here a fascinating account, hard to put down at times.

The Orion project was eventually shelved, largely due to it's use of nuclear bombs, but also partly due to NASA's reliance on chemical powered rockets, but it seems clear that with appropriate safeguards, nuclear powered spaceships, advanced descendants of Orion, will someday ply the spaceways between the stars.

Orion
This engrossing account details the Cold War effort by young Manhattan Project veterans to design and fly an ocean liner-sized spaceship driven by atomic bombs that was to reach Mars and Saturn by the early 1970s. Dyson, son of physicist Freeman Dyson, relays the fifties-style Space Age optimism of the undertaking, and mirrors his account of militaristic bureaucracy vs. benign research with an insider's portrait of the now-aging participants. A-bomb designer Ted Taylor, admitting he may have helped set loose a Pandora's Box of nuclear ills, nonetheless considers Orion to represent the last spirit in that myth-the one political circumstances have yet to set free. Although this is an entirely factual eulogy (Orion required tiny, terrorist-sized nuclear weapons; likewise any spaceport it launched from would, by definition, be subject to a nuclear attack), it may also be the best science fiction novel of the year, and-like much science fiction-may yet come true.

Khorosho!
Loved it. Very detailed and always sober recollections. Lots of helpful photos, diagrams and schematics.

A thriller for any (especially aerospace) engineer.

Point Summary of Proposed Theoretical Adjustments to Orion
1. It is not a pusher-plate but a type of cannon that should contain the blast. The cannon could be described as a pusher-plate with walls on it, obviously to focus the energy released by the blast. Failing to focus the blast would also destroy many more satellites than is necessary (EPP) and is also very wasteful of the energy release. The number of explosions required to give propulsion would thus be much less.
2. The cannon is an ancient device but invented in a remarkable piece of history where the Chinese failed to develop its effective application. Unfortunately the English language does not have an alternative and less warlike term for a hollow tube with one end sealed by a pusher plate. America, the inventor of a new super "gun-powder", the atomic bomb, thus is repeating history by accidentally side-stepping the challenge of physical containment. The pusher-plate concept seeks to avoid the challenge of physical containment, a mistake. It is to be suggested "the inventor of new and overwhelming explosion will fail to develop its most significant application because of an over-whelmed sense of what the challenge of physical containment will involve".
3. Orion should never take off from the ground, but would be built in space. It would test the efficiency of our ability to push payload into space, but would limit all tests to outer space orbits and beyond where solar radiation is an existing malignant factor. As such it could be said to be a "green technology" in that malignant radiation releases in space are already a natural occurrence. The test apparatus being non-tether able in such an orbit would require from the very beginning a pilot and massive counter-thrust chemical engines to return the test for inspection.
4. deleted to fit word count.
5. It should not be assumed that the human being suffers the same intolerance to G force in space in exactly the same proportions as it is experienced on earth until real time data can be gathered. Acceleration is measured as a factor of time squared. Clearly relativity in space may work in our favour and allow travel under more G than is possible than on earth, something required if we were to reach the stars within an economic time period.
6. Our world without Project Orion is in danger of dispensing with the only natural theory of the non use of nuclear weapons. If we miss the point that such explosions have an economic potential for use in space, perhaps because we proceeded initially with an alternative theory of non-use so-called "MAD", then we are left at an evolutionary disadvantage. That a weapon is "horrible" is not an adequate theory of non-use, as many wars have inadvertently proved with other new technologies. That its use in war would mean a loss of its economic opportunity and value in space, is a significant deterrent. The Orion Project book by Dyson mentions NASA commenting it would be a useful way to dispose of or to consume fissile material. More than that it is an essential theory of non use of such materials and would hopefully when demand consumption in space increased to a certain level, call upon the dismantling of thermonuclear weapons to free up the atomic cores for use in the profitable area of space propulsion.
7. Project Orion once constructed in space, like the first cannons made in many pieces, would have the potential to actually lift or pull heavy objects into space. The bizarre "free energy" idea of the "sky hook" thus has a new and powerful application. If the cannon in orbit were to weigh 500 tonnes it would we might hope be able to lift 20 times its own weight, the dangling sky cables being supported by high altitude weather balloons. The environmental costs of currently pushing payload into space would thus be super ceded forever by a new capability to pull (as in a building site crane or harbour tug) 10,000 tonnes into orbit in one go by firing atomic explosions harmlessly away from earth at an angle to it.
8. The number of explosions estimated as needed for interplanetary travel by Orion is far too high. The frictionless, weightlessness of space means that following Newton's F=MA the acceleration would strictly not diminish over any amount of time. However again relativity would likely introduce some gradual diminishment of acceleration over the time period. The expectation of the requirement of one explosion a day in space would not be unreasonable until proven otherwise to maintain acceleration and hence gravity levels. This of course assumes that the pusher-plate has been given some containing walls and is not discharging energy willy-nilly across the heavens.
9. Occam's razor theorem highlights the essence of simplicity in invention. By determining to use a cannon/tube/canister rather than a pusher-plate with complicated hydraulics and ejection procedures, we can draw from a near millennium's wealth of experience in the development of the cannon to musket, then rifle. The use of cartridges and their subsequent ejection is likely to provide engineers with more insight on how an interplanetary craft can be efficiently powered, than the noble but essentially misguided attempt by Orioneers to re-write centuries of physical containment into riding shock waves. When it comes to the challenge of physical containment in space, it maybe like testing a light bulb in orbit, but we must face up to the challenge of physical containment in space. This route has seen many hundreds of years of development tests and failures since the dawn of the original gunpowder age. As such it is much more likely to result in ultimate success, rather than by re-inventing the wheel as "square" as the original Project Orion concept has with a "pusher-plate" sought to do.

Poor book saved by amazing subject
What was/is amazing about the Orion project is the fact that as far as we can tell it would have worked. By worked, I mean it would have made our current space shuttle and space station projects look like covered wagons in the age of autos. If history had taken just a slightly different direction, we could have had several building size bases on the moon by the early seventies, probably sent manned expeditions to Mars and even beyond by the 80's.

But this book is not a great treatment of the subject. There is a lot of technical discussion but little organization. Characters come and go, various memos are written, and people write techical papers on building two story high shock asorbers. All well and good but what is missing is the real story and a unifying analysis of the project to propel a spaceship by riding atomic detonations.

The author has done a valuable service by bringing this fascination program to our attention. In addition, it is very clear that chemical rockets have serious limitations. Mankind is unlikely to make much movement away from the earth without a revitalized Project Orion. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (1)

Still One of the Best Books on the Subject
Often ignored, the ability to control just where a spacecraft is pointed is absolutely critical to space flight. Without such controls, the Hubble telescope doesn't point in the right direction. The spy satellites don't point at the ground and the re-entry rockets don't point you in the right direction to come home.

The first Explorer and Sputnik experiences proved that what we thought we knew about the classical analysis of Newton and others were wrong, or at least incomplete. The realities of space flight intruded into the carefully developed mathematics of classical mechanics.

This book reflects the lessons learned and gives a rigorous mathematical introduction to the dynamics of spacecraft control. This is an augmented reprint of the original edition published in 1986. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Good information, hard to read.
There is a lot of good information (basically everything youwant to know about designing a helicopter) in this book, but plan tospend a lot of time looking back at previous equations and what the symbols stand for. The symbols change throughout the book making it more confusing. If you want information on in-depth details about design, this book can help. If you are just curious about helicopters, I'd go with a less detailed book. ... Read more

Book Description

Today aircraft combat survivability is now an established design discipline for U.S. military aircraft. More importantly survivability is now an essential part of the U.S. Department of Defense acquisition process. Furthermore, improving public health, safety, and survivability is now woven throughout the civil and commercial sector. From infant car seats to the design of aircraft cargo bay structures that can withstand internal bomb blasts, the government is taking the lead in establishing survivability standards.

Approximately 10,000 copies of the first edition were sold in five printings. It remains the only book of its kind and is required reading for anyone involved in design of air combat vehicles.

The extensively illustrated second edition of the textbook presents the fundamentals of the aircraft combat survivability design discipline as defined by the DoD military standards and acquisition processes. It provides the history of, the concepts for, the assessment methodology, and the design technology for combat survivability analysis and design of fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft, UAVs, and missiles. Each chapter specifies learning objectives; stresses important points; and includes notes, references, bibliography, and questions.

The Fundamentals of Aircraft Combat Survivability: Analysis and Design on CD-ROM is included with your purchase of the hardcover. The CD-ROM gives you the portability and searchability that you need in your busy environment. It is considerably smaller and lighter than the textbook so it is available when you are away from the office or traveling. It can also be searched to quickly locate a particular word or phrase.

Professors! To receive your solutions manual, e-mail your request and full address to custserv@aiaa.org. ... Read more

Book Description

This edition of this this flight stability and controls guide features an unintimidating math level, full coverage of terminology, and expanded discussions of classical to modern control theory and autopilot designs. Extensive examples, problems, and historical notes, make this concise book a vital addition to the engineer's library. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Good Fundamentals Book by a Talented Writer
This is an excellent book for the modern fundamentals of aircraft control design. Most subjects are clearly treated with just the right amount of illustrations and examples. The author makes good effort of explaining procedures without resorting to function calls from some software package. The last of the book devotes relatively little space to modern control theory. I would hope this talented writer would create something more advanced in the future that would expand on his treatment of the state observer and the use of the cost function.

An excellent introductory book. Highly readable.
The best aspect of this book is the simplicity in the exposition of ideas and concepts while giving more than enough information for an introductory book. Fully worked out examples are frequent throughout the chapters and helps even further in getting good grasp of new materials. If the reader has taken introductory courses in Vibration and/or Feedback Control, the book should be an easy read. The book is roughly divided into two parts: The flight dynamics part and control part. In the flight dynamics part, the explanation smoothly leads the reader from equation of motion to the concept of stability derivatives and how they relate to dynamic stability. The derivatives are very well explained and then summarized in tables for a quick reference. In the control part, the author starts from the classic linear feed back control and proceeds to the modern state space method and introduces optimal control design using linear quadratic regulator. The control part is an amazing time saver. I have never seen a more efficient introduction to optimal control as applied to aircraft dynamics. If the reader wants a full fledged treatment of optimal control of aircraft, the materials presented here are far from enough, but as an introductory book, this is an excellent exposition that lets the reader get to pace quickly and have straight forward perspective on the subject. Although there were some blatant typos, it is an excellent work and I highly recommend the book.

A lot of info on aircraft control in a small textbook.
I found this textbook to include a large amount of concisely presented material on all aspects of aircraft stability and control and feedback control system design. It covers everything from the atmosphere, to development of forces and moments and equations of motion, to estimation of stability derivatives, analysis of dynamics and modes of motion, and handy reduced degrees of freedom. It also includes many examples of designing autopilots and stability augmentation systems. I really liked the examples which included both classical and state variable methods. Each chapter also has several interesting example problems. I would recommend this text for anyone in the field of aircraft or missile flight controls. The only dissappointing aspect of the text is what I consider an excessive number of typographical errors. I would caution anyone not to use the equations or formulas without first checking the derivation. The derivations are clear and concise enough that the reader should be able to find these errors. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Good book - very bad index
The books structure is very instructive, its index is the badest I've ever seen. Useless as a reference book.

Nice Try
This is a very good book for indepth information into the working of jet and rocket propulsion. However, as a student in aerospace engineering, I find it lacking examples of any kind throughout the entire book. Without examples it is very difficult to take in and understand fully what the author is discussing. Unless you already know a good deal about engines, this might not be the book for you.

An excellent book
I must say i was highly impressed with this text. Not only did it cover the material required, it also managed to clear up the confusion the resulted after every lecture with the prof. In fact, i learned airbreathing engines and rocket systems almost soley from this book.

Not Worth the Money
As a student, I found this book to be inadequate and rather frustrating. Lack of example problems causes extreme weakness in material coverage. Problems at the end of each chapter are confusing at best and require extensive guidance from a qualified professor. Also the book is far overpriced. I would definitely prefer to use another book for my class.

Review of "Mechanics and Thermodynamics of Propulsion"
This book is an excellent source of information for a wide range of propulsion systems, both airbreathing and rocket. The book focuses on the basic principles of thermodynamics and aerodynamics in the early chapters and then later deals with the various forms of aerospace propulsion systems. Three chapters are reserved for turbojet engines, dealing with the compressors and turbines. Several chapters are dedicated to rocket proplusion, including the principles of staging and structural design. Overall this book is well written and is intersting to read. It is a good mixture of the presentation of the equations relating to the field as well as presenting these concepts in a digestable format. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Modern Navigation, Guidance, and Control Processing
This text has alot of good and useful information although it probably could be better organized.One issue I take with the author is that he references other books in the series throughout his text as having much more detailed information on topics (e.g., "discussion on thestability analysis of a guidance loop is discussed in the first book of theseries").Where are the other books.There are 5 books identifiedbut only two have been published.I purchased Volume II and would likeVolume I but as far as I can tell it still does not exist!Volume II waspublished in 1991!Will Volume II ever be published (i.e., Modeling,Design,Analysis, and Simulation of NGC Systems)?In the software businessmarketing practices such as this were called "vaporware."I knowalot of other folks in my industry who would be interested in purchasingsome of the other books that are supposed to be part of this series. ... Read more

Book Description

The book is a detailed history of the evolution of the U.S. civil space program from the February 1, 2003 space shuttle Columbia accident to the release of the Presidential Commission report on Moon, Mars, and Beyond on June 2, 2004. During these extraordinary 16 months, nearly every element of NASA’s leadership was placed under a political microscope, with the result that the space agency set upon a new course of reorganization, resulting withPresident George W. Bush’s announcement of an entirely new space policy for the U.S.

The book begins with a comparison of all of the previous U.S. space policies, beginning with President John F. Kennedy’s selection of a manned lunar landing goal in May, 1961. Using declassified tapes and records from the Kennedy Library, his administration’s internal debates over what would become the Apollo project are detailed. President Richard M. Nixon’s decision to build a reusable space shuttle, and the placing of the shuttlecraft at the center of NASA’s programs, are also detailed. How and why President Ronald Reagan chose a permanent space station as his major civil space goal is recounted as well, as is the failure of President Bush’s father to launch a return-to-the-Moon and Mars initiative in 1989.

With this as the backdrop, the book describes the last decade of space policy under President Bill Clinton, and the inside story of the leadership of NASA by administrator Daniel S. Goldin. Using previously unreported stories of the inner workings of Goldin’s NASA, the book shows how the once proud space agency fell into disarray during the 1990s decade.

With the election of President George W. Bush in 2000, the book takes the reader into the inner councils of the new Bush presidency in the months after the September 11, 2001 attacks as Bush himself chooses a long-time family friend to head up NASA-Sean O’Keefe. For the first time, the private conversations between Bush and his senior staff over NASA’s future are told, including Bush’s charge that O’Keefe transform the broken space agency. O’Keefe’s internal battles within NASA to institute reforms are told, ending with an agency on the mend-on the morning of February 1, 2003 when space shuttle Columbia fell from the skies above Texas. In a virtual minute-by-minute recounting, the events of that tragic day are told from the inside of O’Keefe’s inner circle for the first time. Based on extensive, on-the-record interviews with O’Keefe and his top managers and leaders, the book gives the reader the feeling of being present as the details of the space disaster unfold. In the weeks and months following the event, the reader learns of how NASA struggled to reform its failed safety program, and what the secret debates were inside the Bush administration on how to accept the recommendations of the Columbia accident board-or to fight them publicly.

While NASA struggles to reform itself to continue human space exploration and repair the damaged shuttles, a quiet and largely unknown review begins at the White House as to what the nation’s purpose in space should really be. Working independent from NASA for many months, the story of how a handful of young staffers, supporters of space, work in secret to devise a series of potential space policy pathways. Others, outside the space program are solicited for their views as well. As the cause of the Columbia accident becomes clear, Bush moves to forge a new framework for an expansive space vision. The book brings the reader into these deliberations as a ‘fly-on-the-wall’, as one-by-one options for space exploration are studied-and rejected as either too expensive or too risky. As the summer of 2003 draws to a close, the policy process appears to be headed towards recommending manned lunar exploration as the new goal for the U.S. space program. But as the process draws towards a conclusion and a recommendation, Bush himself enters the picture, ordering the space vision reshaped to include other destinations in the solar system beyond the moon. Thus the moon becomes a location to craft new technologies that would provide a technology boost to industry as well as open space beyond earth orbit to traversing astronauts.

But beside the debate on where to go in space was another debate on how to pay for it. The book brings the reader into the deliberations on how to retire the fleet of winged space shuttles, exit the space station, and virtually reform the space agency to free up billions to pay for the new space plan. By fall, 2003 planners are ready to propose to Bush a bold space exploration agenda, blending new generations of space robots with space voyaging astronauts and a new series of manned spaceships resembling Wernher Von Braun’s original space goals.

The book takes the reader inside the Bush White House on December 19, 2003 when, in secret, the President adopts the new space plan for America. Then, the book reconstructs January 14, 2004 when Bush makes his speech announcing his vision for NASA-as Vice president Dick Cheney speaks in California at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. But no sooner does the new plan become public waves of criticisms roll over NASA about another policy decision- abandon the Hubble Space Telescope. The book gives previously unreported details on how the Hubble decision was reached-and how NASA scrambled to defend its choice. The book also takes readers to Capitol Hill as the new policy faces withering criticisms from Republicans and Democrats alike. While the plan supporters battle for its survival in a crucial election year, the book also takes the reader into NASA headquarters, as the first contracts and studies on what would be called 'Project Constellation'aredeveloped, giving readers a first look at possible designs for the new ships. The book also tells how NASA gained the crucial support of former moonwalker Neil Armstrong, and why the reclusive American space hero agreed to come forward to help rescue the plan from political defeat.

The book ends with the June 2, 2004 report of the Presidential Commission appointed by Bush to vet the NASA plan. Calling for a massive restructuring of the civil space program, the book ends with how NASA was secretly planning to ‘one up’ the commission-by announcing a new plan of its own to redesign the American space program to get back to the moon-and to go to worlds beyond.

Main Points

The inside story of how NASA responded to the 2003 Columbia accident in never-before-reported detail

The secret deliberations within NASA on how to make way for a new goal such as manned lunar and Mars flight

The story of the major U.S. political figure who came to NASA’s aid during the debates, and whose support became crucial to helping get Bush on board

The role of the president himself in shaping-and reshaping-the space plan

How NASA reached the decision to abandon the space shuttle and station to free up funds to pay for the new plan

How the Sean O’Keefe administration built a quiet political coalition to support the proposal-and why it almost came undone during the critical weeks following the Bush announcement

What it was like at the helm of U.S. civil space as tragedy gave way to an unexpected opportunity, told from the insider’s unique perspective in a you-are-there- in- the- room style with Sean O’Keefe and his inner circle, battling over options to save NASA-and what President George W. Bush really believed the space program should do for America.

Note:
This book was written with the full cooperation of NASA and the Bush administration, but has not been and will not be reviewed by them or pre-approved in any way. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Review From An Alt.Spacer
The book chronicles the processes around the evolution of the new vision for space that has been presented over the past year. But it isn't presented as a chronological history. Instead it follows themes and particular actors (O'Keefe to a great degree) that make it difficult at times to understand which events coincide with others. I've personally been paying close attention to this history so I know some of the context. If you don't know that context there are sections that will be very confusing. It delves deeply into NASA from the late Clinton administration straight through to post CAIB. At times it almost feels as though it were two books: the first half being a history of NASA and its reactions to Columbia and the other being a history of the Bush administrations efforts to reform an agency.

Often books that have multiple authors feel disjointed as prose shifts from one style to another. The book suffers from that to a certain degree but not to the point of distraction. It is fairly to easy to determine who wrote particular sections. Frank adds color and description. Keith's sections have the same feel as NASA Watch itself: fact filled paragraphs listed in sections roughly associated with a theme but which often don't relate to each other directly. One almost expects to find permalinks and posting dates next to each individual paragraph in each subheading. But overall the flow works and it doesn't distract from the narrative and the analysis. A graphical timeline in an appendix would have helped immensely.

I did find it rather amazing at how recent some of the text was. The section that mentioned the Space Exploration Alliance's Moon-Mars Blitz sounded almost as if it was about to discuss how the actual event went even though it happened only 6 days ago. Book printing must be an insanely fast process these days. The book did seem to be a bit rushed since there were some obvious typos and printing errors that a final read by someone could have caught. But that's just the old typesetter in me trying to get out of its cold dark cage.

I was fairly disappointed in the fact that the book seemed to focus almost exclusively on NASA. Burt Rutan received one paragraph. The sections of the Aldridge Commission report on changing the way NASA approaches contracting seems to have been misunderstood. Indeed, the entire analysis of the Commission's report seems to have been done without actually consulting anyone on the commission and to have been compiled completely from publicly available information. The Space Exploration Alliance received almost a page but there seemed to be no reporting on anything any of the member organizations were saying through SEA. As I neared the end of the book I found myself actively skipping whole pages attempting to find some mention of the more wide ranging policy suggestions that the Commission had made. Sure, I'm biased since I consider myself part of the "alt.space" crowd, but the laser-like focus on NASA and nothing but NASA was disappointing.

What will be interesting is to see whether or not this book dispels some of the "Bush just did this for a publicity stunt. He doesn't really care about space" nonsense that seems to come from "left" field. I'm sure some will accuse Frank and Keith of carrying water for the Administration but the level of verifiable detail will make it obvious that those accusations are marginal at best. One never gets a hint of "infatuation" that being around power can create.

I would recommend the book, but don't expect it to be as comprehensive as the dust jacket makes it sound. I would hope that both Frank and Keith take the opportunity to round out their analysis and coverage by looking at how the entire space industry, "alt" or otherwise, had input into and is being affected by the new vision.

Interesting book, shame about the cover.
This is a very interesting book with much in the way of unique insight into what could be an historic moment in the space program, or not, depending on what happens next.

The book is really let down by the cover though, which is an almost identical copy of Doolan and Burgess's space book "Fallen Astronauts" . This is going to cause no end of confusion on book shelves in the science section of book stores, and perhaps even online if Amazon pair them as a 2-for-1 special buy. What a shame the publishers could not pick a new image that has not already been used on another recently published space book. ... Read more

Amazon.com

An eminently practical example of how human engineering can be informed by the billions of years of biological structural evolution.

From the smallest gnat to the largest aircraft, all things that fly obey the same aerodynamic principles. This book offers an introduction to the mechanics of flight and, beyond that, to the scientific attitude that finds wonder in simple calculations and forges connections between, say, the energy efficiency of a peanut butter sandwich that fuels your body and that of the kerosene that fuels a jumbo jet. It is the product of a lifetime of watching and investigating flight by an always wise and often witty scientist and writer. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

More comprehensible? Impossible.
Since years I love the aviation, only for curiosity I bought this book, and in one morning I've enjoyed too much and learnt a lot about aerodynamics, fuel consumption, the migration of birds(really interesting), the forces in skating! etc. It is a book with of 120 pages really educative and comprenhensible, all questions I made in my mind reading the book were answered a few pages ahead. If you are interested in planes, want to know how simple they fly, even loose the fear, and learn all this in easy way and learn about more things you never thought in relation with planes, this is your book. Is any commision for me??hahaha.
Enjoy it.

Fun and instructive
This delightful little book is an introduction to some major aspects of flight.Not all of them.There isn't much on strength of materials, for example.This book concentrates on the fundamental issues of how much power it takes to fly and what size a flying machine ought to be to make optimal use of its power.What makes the book so much fun is the inclusion of flight characteristics of birds and insects.

Tennekes starts with a chart of weight versus cruising speed for the insects, birds, and planes.Next, he discusses wing sizes.Then fuel consumption, strategies for takeoffs and landings, and gliding.

The author concludes with some praise for the design of the Boeing 747.All commercial passenger planes are best off flying as fast as possible without getting too near the speed of sound, so Mach 0.9 is best.These planes are best off flying high enough to take advantage of the cooler air and good weather: a height of 10 kilometers is ideal.To match the cruising speed with the optimal wing loading at that height, one gets an airplane which is roughly the size and shape of a Boeing 747.

I highly recommend this book.

I finally understood aircraft !
It's a pity that Tennekes moved to the USA, State College, Pennsylvania. If he had stayed in Holland and become a professor in Delft, graduating in aerospace engineering would have been much easier for me. This guy loves aircraft more than mathematics ! The best place to read this book is during a long trip on a 747

An exciting book about how things fly
This a fascinating look at how things fly. Insects, birds and airplanes all obey the same aerodynamic principles. With a few simple equations and copious examples the author explains lift, drag, wing loading, cruisingspeed and other aerodynamic concepts.

His descriptions of how birds fly,how much energy their flight requires and how they meet the challenge is asexciting as any adventure story. We learn that the pectoral muscles ofbirds can metabolize fats directly(Human muscles burn sugars which theliver must first convert from fat). But flying is hard work. After 12 hoursof cruising a migrating swan will clock 650 miles and lose more than akilogram of body weight. Thus the importance of bird sanctuaries. Migratingbirds must feed to continue their journies.

Moving on to airplanes welearn that the Concorde uses 70 tons of kerosene to cross the oceancarrying 100 passengers. The 747 uses the same amount of fuel but carries350 people and 30 tons of freight. This book explains why.

This book isfilled with fascinating