Reviews (4)

A Qualitative Treatment of Flight Mechanics
This book is a good read on flight mechanics but is somewhat cursory in it's treatment of topics. The author's style makes for easy reading, albeit spelling and grammar is very British. The examples, graphs and what mathematics is presented in the book are in metric units. For the size of the book the author covers a broad range of subjects. He has a fluid style and an easy way of describing what can be a complex subject.

The book, in my opinion, would not be appropriate as a college text on flight mechanics, but could be appropriate for some aviation technical courses. It is a good introductory text for pilots and homebuilders interested in gaining a qualitative grasp of the subject. For engineers, a more suitable text would be a book by the same title, "Mechanics of Flight", by Warren F. Phillips. This could easily be a companion text to that book or other more quantitative treatises on the subject.

wan to to understand flight ?- this is the book!
This book is probably considered a classic - first released in 1972. its still published thirty years later.

Mr. Kermode has taken something as complex as flight and describes it in such a way to make it informative and interesting.

I bought this book while I was doing a private and commercial flying licence and it proved invaluable in explaining many concepts in a way that made sense.

I beleive this book is worth every cent I paid for it - buy it!

Bravo! I found the book!
I am currently a senior technician in the Air Force and am sitting for Liscenced Aircraft Engineers examination. Never have I seen a book that explains its content in details yet easily digestable. All I can say is that Mechanics of Flight is a diificult subject but not anymore after reading this book. An extra BONUS...all questions from the examinations are actually covered extensively.

The Best
The Best book for Budding Aeronautical engineering Students and proffesional pilots. Easy to read, all the information you need. ... Read more

Book Description

Roger E. Bilstein's Flight in America has won acclaim as the foremost history of one of the twentieth century's landmark achievements—human flight. In this revised and expanded third edition, Bilstein chronicles changes in military, commercial, and space aviation in the 1990s.He offers a glimpse of the developments one might expect in the new millennium.

Richly illustrated and splendidly written,Flight in America charts the manifold ways in which the airplane has touched virtually every feature of American enterprise, history, and culture—leisure and business travel, commercial transportation, national defense, and imaginative literature. More than 125lively photographs document the beauty offlying machines and the daring of the men and women who invented, built, and flew them. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

The Making of a New Aerospace History, and it's Most Welcome
No one writes better syntheses of major topics in the history of air and space than Roger E. Bilstein, now retired from the University of Houston-Clear Lake. "Flight in America" is one of those exceptionally powerful syntheses that lays out a broad master narrative of the subject. Originally published in 1984, this work has now been through three editions, each refining and expanding the work to incorporate new understandings and broader perspectives. Indeed, "Flight in America" is THE place to start in any serious investigation of the development of air and space in the United States. Along with two other broad interpretive works-"Enterprise of Flight: The American Aviation and Aerospace Industry" (Smithsonian, 2001) and "Testing Aircraft, Exploring Space: An Illustrated History of NACA and NASA" (Johns Hopkins, 2003)-"Flight in America" offers a comprehensive narrative of the subject.

In this volume Bilstein progresses chronologically from the time of the Wright brothers, barnstorming, and early military aviation to the rise of aviation as a business, the advent of airlines, and the technological progress of the airplane. He then spend considerable effort discussing the role of the airplane in World War II before moving into post-war developments with jet airliners, global military reach made possible with aircraft, and the beginning and development of the space age. In every sense, he offers a satisfying survey of aerospace issues that is useful both to students and scholars alike.

At a fundamental level, "Flight in America" represents an attempt to help coalesce a "New Aerospace History." Like the "New Western History" or the "New Social History" that has been so important in the last twenty years, this approach represents a significant transformation that has largely been, although not exclusively, taking place in the field. Specifically, the "New Aerospace History" is committed to relating the subject to the larger issues of society, politics, and culture, taking a more sophisticated view of the technology than historians previously held. In the past, many writers on aerospace history held a fascination with the machinery, which has been largely anthropomorphized and often seen as "magical."

The "New Aerospace History" embodied in this work moves beyond a fetish for the artifact to emphasize the broader role of the air- and spacecraft, and more importantly the whole technological system including not just the vehicle but also the other components that make up the aerospace climate, as an integral part of the human experience. This is not to be understood as lacking an interest in the artifact, or being artifactless. Rather it is an affirmation that one moves through reason and study to a larger understanding. It suggests that many unanswered questions are present in helping the development of modern flight, and that inquisitive individuals seek to know that which they do not understand. This assumption arises within historians and is based on their understanding of humans, for technological systems are constructions of the human mind or minds.

This work emphasizes, therefore, research in aerospace topics that are no longer limited to the vehicle-centered, internalist, style of history that had gone before. "Flight in America" offers all of us an opportunity to immerse ourselves in this truly challenging new approach to the field. Highly recommended.

WHAT A WONDERFUL BOOK!
This is one of those books that you look for, but seldom find. It is written so that it is easily read, easily understood, and easily absorbed. It is well researched, full of interesting facts and personal stories, and never lets up the pace of delivering an interesting, informative and educational narrative. I found it so much fun to read and understand, that I finished the entire book in three days, then read it again to reap what I might have missed the first time through. The author did an outstanding job of compiling and presenting complicated facts, dry figures, and personal stories into one very interesting and fun narrative. I recommend this book highly to anyone who wants to know every step of the race to flight history in the United states from the Wright brothers, to space exploration. The author managed to include almost every detail in this history of flight that you could ever want to know and still keep the story line from becoming boring, or slowing down once throughout the entire book. This wonderful work would be worth twice the asking price. I am glad that I found it, and am really glad that I now own it as part of my historical collection. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A Classic!
This book is a real classic. You will see how rocket wizzard and space visionary Wernher von Braun and his colleagues imagined a manned mission to Mars with the technology available in the mid 20th century. With today's knowledge and financial horizon, von Braun's vision looks pretty oversized, and the surface of Mars certainly is very different from what they believed 50 years ago. The very value of this book is that it simply showed how such an extensive mission could be made feasible -- that it is possible to send people to Mars without fancy technology of science fiction writers. The authors use some calculus and diagrams to explain the complicated flight dynamics for sending a spacecraft to another planet and landing on its surface.
Today we know that a mission to Mars will not look like von Braun's "Mars Project" but it is good to know that most of the basics haven't changed. Buy this book together with Robert Zubrin's "Case for Mars" and you'll see the progress within half a century.

A book for the true space junkie.
Do you wonder how they did it? How they actually figured out how to get to the moon? Well, this is Von Braun's plan for getting to mars using the technologies available in the early 1950's and it shows the detailed thinking necessary to figure out how to make it all work. Lots of math and diagrams. My vote for the best book of the century. To give you some idea, I already own this book, a 1962 edition. It is getting too precious to thumb through. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Theory of Flight: The Fundamentals of Aeronautical Design
To say the text is a classic work on the subject is an understatement. It offers a lucid introduction to the many concepts of aeronautical design that traditionally challenge students. It is a required text for those wishing to advance their understanding of theoretical aerodynamics and its profound implications toward applied aircraft design. Though prerequisite knowledge of aeronautics will augment the text, none is assumed by the author and the mathematical derivations presented within are complete. Most of the empirical data and equations are still quite valid although the text was printed decades ago, before aerodynamics attained its current level of analysis. Anyone involved in the development of subsonic conventional aircraft will want to add this to their research library as a valuable reference. ... Read more

Book Description

Aircraft structures must be designed to ensure that every part of a given material is used to its full capacity; today's designs employ cutting-edge composite materials to meet those needs. This book focuses on the mechanics of the most recent developments in design and materials, and covers advanced composite materials and new computer-aided designs. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

TOTAL WASTE OF MONEY
I HAD TO BUY THIS BOOK FOR MY STRUCTURE CLASS IN AEROSPACE ENGINEERING; PAYING SO MUCH FOR SO LITTLE REALLY AGGRAVATED ME. THIS BOOK HAS NO CONTENT, THERE IS NO APPLICATION TO REAL LIFE PROBLEMS, IT IS PURE GARBAGE. THE TEACHER FOLLOWED EXACTLY THIS TEXTBOOK FOR HIS CLASS; I DON'T KNOW MORE ABOUT AIRCRAFT STRUCTURES THAN I DID BEFORE TAKING THAT CLASS. 1 STAR IS WAY TOO MUCH!!! STAY AWAY FROM IT!!!!!!!!

Worst Book Ever!!
I am an aerospace engineering student that has to use this book for my structures class. This is by far the worst book I have ever used in my entire college career. The author derives several complicated formulas without hardly any explanation, and makes it difficult to understand the concepts. There are very very few examples to look at to understand the concepts. Worst book ever, do not buy this book!!!

Is it possible to give 0 stars?
Wow..... It's shocking that a book this poor could actually reach publication.

This book appears to consist of a collection of the author's teaching notes. Highly mathematical (fine), but utterly lacking in the "what this formula means in the real world" department. Aren't we as students trying to understand where all the math is leading us?

Most annoying of all, throughout the book the author uses the following: "It is easy to prove that..." Well, I'm sure it is easy for him to prove it. He's the f'ing teacher. But for us, the students, it's NOT trivial, nor should it be treated as such.

I concur with the other review. Stay as far away from this text as possible.

Short and Not Descriptive
I am an Aerospace Engineering student and had this book for a flight mechanics class. Honestly, for the money, this book is a total waste. First off it is relatively very short (...). If you're going to spend that much money on a book this size, make sure its pages are pure gold or the book unlocks the meaning of life. Second off it simply states and quickly derives complicated structural theories without much introduction or explanation, and provides no application of the theories to actual aircraft. In fact there isn't even a drawing of an aircraft anywhere in the book. Honestly a giant disappointment, and just like my college to make us waste our money on this unintelligible leaflet. Surf around for ten minutes on Amazon and you will find at least ten books on the same subject that are larger, more in depth, more explanatory, provide real life applications of the course material, and have appendices with material and atmospheric properties for the same price. ... Read more

Book Description

*An overview of airline industry safety statistics, standards, and mandates
*Covers FAA regulatory structure, development of technologies, management roles, air transport safety measurement methods - and more
*Includes tables relating to commercial aviation accident statistics
*New chapter on Aviation Security ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Excellent commercial aviation text
Commercial Aviation Safety is an excellent textbook for those needing a thorough overview of the nature of commercial aviation.

The book makes for a tremendous reference for anyone wanting more detailed information on the business of commercial aviation.

The chapters are all well written and well organized. At times, the writing style can be a bit dry.While an excellent book, it does not flow or read to the smoothness that Airport Planning & Management (Wells & Young) does.

But for anyone needing an in-depth outline on the dynamics of commercial aviation safety, from regulatory to operations, Commercial Aviation Safety is a very good book to use.

Commercial Aviation Safety
This book is special for accident investigators. The book give us an special point of view for rules and procedures in commercial airlines. Commercial Aviation Safety should be in your library. ... Read more

Book Description

How do you keep your sense of humor in the crazy business world?AIAA is pleased to announce the re-release of the updated Augustine's Laws.First published by Viking Penguin, this edition of the management classic has long been out of print.

Augustine's Laws is a collection of 52 laws that cover every area of business.Each law formulates a home truth about business life that, once pointed out, is impossible to forget or ignore. Each law is imbedded in an entertaining and informative text whose humor brings into sharp focus all the complexities a manager is ever likely to face.

"This is the only book that ever made me mutter, 'we're all doomed,' while laughing at the same time. I enjoyed it thoroughly."--Scott Adams, creater of "Dilbert"

Law Number V:One-tenth of the participants produce over one-third of the output.Increasing the number of participants merely reduces the average output.

Law Number XI:If the Earth could be made to rotate twice as fast, managers would get twice as much done.If the Earth could be made to rotate twenty times as fast, everyone else would get twice as much done since all the managers would fly off.

Augustine's Laws has been widely praised and quoted in the national media.The book's humor brings solace to all of us trapped in the coils of business perplexity; its sanity and brilliance will suggest multiple escapes and solutions. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Dilbert's Ancestor?...
Accurate, Funny, and informative. This book captures the real (and not so real) world of government and other large projects spot on. Having been on both sides (NASA and contractor), there be truth in this wit. Enjoy. To be appreciated, best read while sitting on a $600 toilet seat.

Enlightening and entertaining
I would not have ever expected to find myself laughing out loud, nor even smiling often while reading a book that discusses government projects and corporations who contract them. Norman Augustine provides a clear and critical insight into the corporate-government affairs world with just enough graphs and charts to make it comprehensible yet not overbearing. I found it as light reading - which is a virtue on it's own when reading about such complex a subject.

Augustine's Laws is simply a must have, must read!
Norm Augustine has captured the government defense aerospace industry "sprawling on a pin" for dissection. In one particularly humorous bit he points out that just when the aerospace industry's trend to more and more expensive combat aircraft looked like it might be stalled since adding weight is anathema to aircraft -- along came something expensive and weightless to fill the gap -- software! This is one terrific book! Just the figure showing there is no correlation between what executives are paid and the performance of their companies is worth the price of admission.

Great Book
This book describes to autor's knowledge in the aerospace and defense industries. Written with a lot of humor and unfortunatly the stories are probably true. A must

Required reading for anyone in the aerospace business
Norman Augustine wrote "Augustine's Laws" in his position as president and Chief Operating Officer of Martin Marietta Corporation (since merged into Lockheed Martin.) This book should be required reading for anyone accepting a job anywhere in the aerospace industry. Augustine follows the declining fortunes of the fictional Daedalus Model Airplane Company as key projects meet every obstacle and disaster business can devise. He sums up his findings in fifty-two witty laws, such as number XXVI, "If a sufficient number of management layers are superimposed on top of each other, it can be assured that disaster is not left to chance." He comments on the thickness of proposals (one millimeter per $ million contract value), the number of briefings required to keep a multi-year program funded (approximately one year's worth of work per year), and the odds of getting anything approved (a "yes" is a succession of "non-no's.")

This book is the aerospace industry in a nutshell. It's funny, tragic, and absolutely dead-on. Read it if you're a taxpayer, a jobholder, or a person who likes a great read. ... Read more

Book Description

With this book, for the first time the public can become acquainted with the Apollo spacecraft in detail and learn the story of its design and construction.Full color drawings in exacting detail provide inside and out views of the Command and Service Modules completewith details of construction and fabrication.

The Apollo spacecraft is the most intricate and exacting machine ever built, and it had to be as near to perfect as it could be made, every time.With over 3 million components, a performance record of 99.9% would still leave 3,000 parts that could fail -- any one of which might result in the deaths of the crew.With the exception of Apollo 13, the spacecraft lived up to expectations on every lunar mission, and even Apollo 13, after a major explosion, managed to circle the Moon and bring its crew home safely.

Virtual Apollo is a book long overdue; the care and completeness with which it has been created speak for themselves.Thanks to the dedication and hard work that have gone into this book, we can now truly appreciate the magnificent machine that was the Apollo spacecraft and marvel at the achievements of the many thousands of engineers and technicians who stayed on Earth but were on the mission every step of the way. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

A Brilliant Book
Scott Sullivan has produced the book I was waiting for! I have been desiring a book about Apollo CM/SM details and construction, and this was the one that was worth waiting for.

Though I have been an Apollo addict for years, and have read all the NASA Mission Reports (also available from Apogee Books) some things were difficult for me to actually visualize without Scott's CAD drawings. Part of the problem with previous books, even well illustrated books, was the uniqueness and density of the CM design. For instance in space, there is no up, so it becomes sometimes difficult by reading accounts the interrelationship between the LEB and associated spaces. Now it is crystal clear.

I hope that Scott Sullivan will come out with a LM book to accompany this brilliant work. Thank you, Scott!

Good for the Casual Reader...Only
My main criticism of the book, and this hit me the second I opened to the 2-D layouts in front, was that the SPS engine bell is too bulbous, and the forward radiator panels are too "square" in appearance. They should be more rectangular in shape. If these had been interior features, I could easily have overlooked them. But with the good reference material available today on Apollo, including photographs taken from every angle and David Weeks' fine CSM drawings, it just seems to me that the engine bell in particular should have been shown right. Refer to Mike Mackowski's S.I.M. #6 and David Weeks' Service Module drawings for the correct SPS outline. Second, very little detail is provided for the two hatches (extremely intricate and vital sub-systems) or the docking system, apart from a basic 3-D view of the docking probe and ring. These areas should have been treated with a great-deal more attention. Mr. Sullivan does indicate the multiple-pane arrangement of the CM windows, but it would have been helpful to see how they were affixed into thier respective frames in both the inner and outer hulls. A simple, 2-D section view through one of the side windows, for example would have told a lot about the overall window structure. The crew couches and instrument panels, aside from being rendered in color, really don't show anything over and above the level of detail in the spacecraft handbook illustrations. I would have at least expected some overall dimensions of the couches, if not of the attenuation struts, mirrors and floodlights. Lastly, it would have been nice to see a little more detail on the "J" Mission Scientific Instrument Module bays carried aboard Apollo 15 thru 17, as well as specific differences between the actual flown spacecraft (Apollo 4 and 6 thru ASTP) as no two of these spacecraft were alike.

If you're a casual reader with merely a moderate interest in the American Space Program, you'll find this book enjoyable. But if you're a seriously sold-out space nut like me, and you're looking for hard, accurate dimensional data for a large-scale model of an Apollo Spacecraft, keep looking, because you won't find it here.

Might as well be NASA plans
This book could have been mistaken for NASA official design plans. Includes 3d images to give an idea of where things are within the CSM. Detailed descriptions of CM and SM as well as docking port. Has instrument panel diagrams and cockpit control layout designs. Includes abort checklists, etc. and everything you need to learn how to build and fly your very own Apollo 18, which was aborted due to budget cuts. NOTE: Does not include description or diagram of of Saturn V or 1B booster rockets or details of missions except an in-depth description of the Apollo 1 tragedy.

A must-have for the space buff
This is such a good, concise and welldone book about the Apollo CSM. For the first time it gives you an idea what it must have been like, going to the moon in this machine, made by the lowest bidder. The drawings are all very clear. I am allready waiting and hoping that the author will make a similar book about the Apollo LM.

a must have for the space buff
I was entranced with Mercury, Gemini and Apollo as a kid but find myself even more compellingly interested in it as I get older. People familiar with cars and houses can readily gauge the space of a house or the size of a car by looking at pictures. But aircraft, for instance, are difficult to imagine in photographs except for pilots. I was surprised when I finally saw a real B17 that it was not quite as huge and massive as I had imagined.
Spacecraft are very difficult for people to understand because they rarely see a real one. It's impossible for someone to grasp the Saturn V unless they visit one of the few remaining artifcacts on display. The conical and cylindrical design of the Apollo capsule made it hard for people to fathom exactly how it was layed out inside. In addition spacecraft are the most densely packed devices made with an incredible amount of apparatus stuffed inside them.
This ingenious book finally slices open the Apollo Command & Service modules in a colorful and revealing way so that even the average person can quickly grasp it's design and the way it looked.
In addition the book shows in detail exactly how it worked and how it all fitted together.
This book is a must have article for any Apollo buff. ... Read more

Book Description

During the past two decades, higher processing temperatures, more efficient engines at higher temperatures, and the use of a vacuum environment have led to the development of a number of important processing, fabrication, and industrial techniques, resulting in new material forms including: matrix composites, nano- and functionally graded structures, plastics, smart piezoelectric materials, shape memory alloys, intermetallics, ceramics, and fullerenes. The second edition of this encyclopedia covers the new materials that have been invented or modified in recent years and updates information on basic materials as well. Encyclopedia of Materials, Parts, and Finishes, Second Edition brings together in one concise volume the most up-to-date information on materials, forms and parts, finishes, and processes utilized in the industry. There is not a handbook currently on the market that incorporates as much materials information in one volume. The coverage of materials usage extends from the breadth of military and aerospace materials to commercial (aircraft, automotive, electronics) and basic materials (wood, rubber, etc.). Each entry provides thorough, straightforward definitions along with examples of corresponding materials, parts, or finishes. Like its predecessor, this encyclopedia will be an invaluable reference that belongs on the desk of every materials scientist and engineer. ... Read more

Book Description

The first comprehensive reference on the design, analysis, and application of space vehicle mechanisms

Space Vehicle Mechanisms: Elements of Successful Design brings together accumulated industry experience in the design, analysis, and application of the mechanical systems used during space flight. More than thirty experts from a variety of related specialties and subspecialties share their insights, technical expertise, and in-depth knowledge on an enormous variety of topics, including:
* Stainless steel, beryllium, and other widely used materials
* Bearings
* Lubricants and component lubrication
* Release devices
* Motors
* Optical encoders
* Resolvers
* Signal and power transfer devices
* Deployment devices
* Thermal design
* Radiation and survivability
* Electrical interfaces
* Reliability

Space Vehicle Mechanisms is an indispensable resource for engineers involved in the design and analysis of mechanical assemblies used in space flight, and a valuable reference for space systems engineers, mission planners, and control systems engineers. It is also an excellent text for upper-level undergraduate and graduate-level courses in astronautical and mechanical engineering.

Space Vehicle Mechanisms: Elements of Successful Design brings together accumulated industry experience in the design, analysis, and application of the mechanical systems used during space flight. More than thirty experts from a variety of related specialties and subspecialties share their insights, technical expertise, and in-depth knowledge on an enormous variety of topics, including: ... Read more

Book Description

This book deals with psychological, psychiatric, and psychosocial issues that affect people who live and work in space. Unlike other books that focus on anecdotal reports and ground-based simulation studies, this book emphasizes the findings from psychological research conducted during actual space missions. Both authors have been active in such research. What is presented in this readable text has previously been found only in scientific journal articles. Topics that are discussed include: behavioral adaptation to space; human performance and cognitive effects; crewmember interactions; psychiatric responses; psychological counter-measures related to habitability factors, work-design, selection, training, and in-flight monitoring and support; and the impact of expeditionary missions to Mars and beyond. People finding this book of interest will include: psychology and social science students and professors in universities; medical students and residents in psychiatry and aerospace medicine; human factors workers in space and aviation professions; individuals involved with isolated environments on Earth (e.g., the Antarctic, submarines); aerospace workers in businesses and space agencies such as NASA and ESA; and anyone who is interested in learning the facts about the human side of long-duration space missions. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

The Real Story of Space Psychology
This is a book that reviews all the essentials about the psychology of living in space. This is particularly important as we are now on a "fast track" to get to Mars with humans, I hope in my lifetime. This adventure will be extremely dangerous not only from the physical hardships but also because of the mental risks.

The authots have reviewed everything that is known about the field, especially what has been learned from Space Station and other experiments in isolated settings. It is readable, especially the last chapter, where the Mars material comes up as the practical problem to solve. Yet, this book is scientific and has all the references needed for more technical research.

All in all I found this a fascinating read. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Jet Engines
Perhaps the most friendly book on the complex mechanics of the modern turbine engine. The author break down the stages of the working jet engine chapter by chapter begaining with intake follow by compressor, etc. A must reading for any commercial pilot upgrading to turbine engine, power plant mechanics trainees, or anyone who is interested in fundamental workings of a jet turbine engine.

TAKES YOU A STEP BEYOND THE BASIC UNDERSTANDING OF JET ENGIN
I AM AN AIRCRAFT MECHANIC WITH 15 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN AVIATION.I WANTED TO FURTHER MY KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF JET ENGINES. A STEP BEYOND THE BASIC FACTS THAT THERE IS A COMPRESSOR, A COMBUSTION CHAMBER, A TURBINE AND SO ON........."JET ENGINES FUNDAMENTALS..." BY "KLAUS HUNECKE" TURNED OUT TO BE AN EXCELLENT CHOICE I MADE ON MY FIRST BOOK IN THIS SUBJECT. THE AUTHOR HAS DONE AN EXCELLENT JOB IN EXPLAINING THE THEORY BEHIND THE DESIGN AND OPERATION OF JET ENGINES. THE BOOK GIVES YOU A GOOD UNDERSTANDING OF THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN TURBOJET,TURBOFAN AND TURBOSHAFT ENGINES. WHY THE COMPRESSOR BLADES HAVE A TWIST IN THEIR CONSTRUCTION AND WHY AN ENGINE INSTALLED ON A FIGHTER JET NEEDS TO HAVE A DIFFERENT INLET DESIGN THAN AN AIRLINER....MOST OF ALL THESE COMPARISONS AND DESIGN FEATURES ARE FURTHER EXPLAINED BY LAWS OF PHYSICS AND FLUID-MECHANICS. I THINK AN ENTHUSIAST WITH SOME KNOWLDGE OF LAWS OF PHYSICS, THERMODYNAMICS AND FLUID MECHANICS IS THE ONE WHO WOULD FULLY BENEFIT AND APPRECIATE THE CONTENTS OF THIS BOOK.

Good review of real engines, not 'idealized' ones.
This book lets you see how a real engine operates, not how an idealized, thermodynamically perfect, one does. It's a shame that more books on jet engine technology do not touch on the real world aspects of designing, constructing, and maintaining a turnine engine like this one does. It is a little brief, but would complement a good book on propulsion thermodynamics.

It is great
The book was very very very very very very very very very ver

Great book to get familiarizated about Jet Engines
This book have great axplanations with diagrams, pictures and figures. It is great for anyone who have any interest to know more about Jet Engines, all kinds. ... Read more

Amazon.com

That "Geno" Cernan was commander of Apollo 17, the final manned moon mission, was a fitting conclusion to a flying career that included two previous stints in space (Gemini 9 and Apollo 10). His frank, earthy memoir of his years at NASA adds another entertaining, informative volume to the burgeoning shelf of books illuminating the inner workings of the space program and the people who made it happen. Coauthor Don Davis, a veteran journalist, helps Cernan craft a colloquial prose style that nicely captures the competitive, macho personality that seemed virtually mandatory for astronauts in the 1960s and '70s. Cernan candidly depicts the reckless streak that twice led to needless injuries jeopardizing his spot on a mission. He also acknowledges the stresses endured by his ex-spouse Barbara as she struggled to be the perfect astronaut wife--cheerful and uncomplaining for the cameras while he experienced all the fun and adventure of the job. And it sure was fun, as becomes clear in the exciting descriptions of his spacewalk from Gemini 9 and stroll around the moon from Apollo 17. Detailed accounts of each flight, including technical problems and personal tensions (particularly with Apollo 17 teammate Jack Schmitt, distrusted because he was a scientist, not a test pilot), remind readers that the space program is a human endeavor, with inevitable failures that make the triumphs that much sweeter. --Wendy Smith ... Read more

Reviews (72)

A "Must-Have" for any Space library!
For those of us who watched the space program unfold in the 60's & 70's, this book will bring back some wonderful memories. For those who weren't around at that time, it's a wonderful first person tale of the trials and tribulations of our quest for the moon. Andy Chaiken whetted our appetites with "A Man on the Moon" and Tom Hanks gave us a wonderful 12 hours on HBO. Captain Cernan takes us back to the early days of Gemini and his spin on Gemini 9 [which really fascinated this reader] right through Apollo 17. Some of these stories have been told before in other books [some 25 years old], but it's refreshing to read them from Cernan's point of view. The ego-trips, the family problems, the wonder and the excitement are all there. I read this book with a smile on my face and, at times, a tear in my eye...as this book brought me back to a time when we knew all the astronauts by name and they were our heros during a very turbulent time in our history. Thanks for the trip down memory lane! I think I'll read it again.

Another Disappointing Astronaut Autobiography
Gene Cernan is one of America's most experienced and successful astronauts. His three missions were among the most ambitious, successful and exciting of all time. He spent more time, along with partner Harrison Schmitt, than any other man walking on the moon. It was, therefore, with great disappointment that I read this book. What I expect from a book by an astronaut is to really feel and understand what the unique experiences they went through were like. With the notable exception of Mike Collins' autobiography almost none of the astronauts books really provide this. Only 12 men have ever stood on the moon and yet they have not really conveyed what this and other aspects of spaceflight were like in their autobiographies. His dismisses his epic Apollo 17 flight in a few pages and spends more time talking about the politics of crew selection, giving crude descriptions of his wife's figure and other trivia. Also there is a lack of illustrations showing the alien environment he explored so well. In a more positive light, he reveals for the first time the real dangers the Gemini spacewalks entailed and gives a good description of the problems Ed White encountered in Gemini 4 and his own nightmarish experience in Gemini 9.

Better than Sci-fi - Read the real thing
I couldn't put it down.
This is an action-packed book, that brings you right into the cockpit of several of our space capsules and outside of them during an EVA.
He speaks about his carreer before the space program, how he got into it, and then how life is changed forever.
In his matter-of-fact style, Cernan speaks about several of our space-heroes and how he views and interacts with them.
Cernan describes the lunar landscape, his thoughts and feelings while he was there... makes you see it through his eyes.
If you like action, aviation, flying, space, this will be one of your favourite books ever.

What a book!
this was a great book. geno cernan is a great guy( i have met him) and he wrote an interesting delightful book. i know more about the inner workings of Nasa and the rest of the space program.

THIS WAS AN AMAZING BOOK!...

On of the Very Best
Gene Cernan`s book an near perfect writing about those legendary first days of manned space exploration. For such Apollo maniacs, as me, essential reading. You can know from it, how become an youngster to an naval aviator, then an naval aviator to an astronaut and at last an astronaut to an moonwalkwer. It`s funny to see things through an insider`s glasses. Furthermore styles of Gene Cernan and Don Davis brilliantly complete each other, and the final result is an vibrant, from beginning to end gripping story. Maybe the only one imperfection in the book is those lot of "damn" and "sonofabitch" ... Read more

Book Description

Behind every NASA space mission there were literally thousands of people involved in design, manufacture, support, management, etc.Most of these people had the opportunity to plan their work in detail and then test and refine it until it was as good as could be.Mission Control, however, was quite a different situation - in the midst of a mission there is no time for lengthy investigations, and your answers had better be right first time and every time; lives depend on it.

Most of what we learn about NASA's space missions comes from statements carefully planned and massaged by managers and public relations people.With Apollo EECOM: Journey of a Lifetime we finally get an insider's view of how the Flight Controllers operated and just what they faced when events were crucial.This book is the life story of Sy Liebergot, former NASA Flight Controller, with emphasis on his years working in Mission Control.

Following the disastrous tank explosion during the Apollo 13 mission, it was the Flight Controllers that made possible the safe return of the three endangered astronauts.Aboard Apollo 13, Lovell, Haise and Swigert performed wonders battling for their lives, but without the expertise, quick thinking and technical support of Mission Control, they never could have come home.

Sy Liebergot was there and relates the details as they really happened.And Apollo 13 is just one of the many exciting stories he tells us.Truly and insider's view, this book discusses not just the events, but also the people that decided and enacted those events.These are the details that were never shown on anyone's TV screen; finally we get to learn what type of people the NASA Mission Controllers really were, and how they handled the demanding tasks that were theirs alone. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

EECOM-the real story
If you want a personal story about an eecom in the exciting time
of Apollo this is it. He tells his real story, warts and all.
Technical enough that you are able to understand what it was
all about and able to follow what was happening. The enclosed
CD was especially important. I understood for the first time
everyone's job by hearing them in the "loop". It was interesting
to see what happened in the end of Apollo, and how far away the
space program has gotten from where it started.I liked this book
because of his real observations,not the usual sugarcoating we
sometimes get in these kinds of books.

Another biography
In general, a good book, not a great book. If you have to collect all books about the Apollo and/or space program, than you'll end up buying this no matter what you read about it. If you are not a collector, get it out of the library or borrow it.
Gave some background information on the life and times of a flight controller, some of which is not found elsewhere.
This is filled with his opinions on others, but what the heck, it is his book.
Sy does face considerable challenges in his life and ends up in a much better place than one would have expected.
It is a quick read and again, gives some background on the space story from another who lived it.

A great, personal insight.
This book isn't one of those thick, literary historical tomes that we have seen a good many of in the last few years from former NASA managers. Rather, this feels like you have been personally invited into Sy's living room to sit on the sofa and look over his memorabilia while he tells you about it over your shoulder. It's a surprisingly frank and honest look at his life. Rather than trying to build himself up to be an historical figure, he pulls no punches with an account of a difficult, scrappy early life where he had to learn to survive his family, then work out how to leave and make something of himself. He tells this compelling story so well that I would have read it even if he had not gone on to join NASA - something I also felt when reading Scott Carpenter's account of his difficult upbringing in his recent memoir. When Liebergot moves on to his years at NASA, we get a refreshingly different account of how things worked there. Most other books on this era have been written by those in the upper echelons of management, but Liebergot here shows us what it was like for the footsoldier in the trenches, with a few little accounts of tempers lost in mission control and other disagreements that the official histories try and gloss over. Rather than do this as a tell-all, Liebergot includes his own failings in the mix - he doesn't hide the fact that he is now on his third marriage, nor the reasons. Liebergot was there for some of NASA's finest undertakings, and this book tells you what it was like from a human perspective - the weariness, the shortcomings, the oversights - that round out the picture very well.

In short, this is not a polished history of NASA at its finest hour. Rather it is a very loose, informal journey through one man's difficult life, and how he managed to wash up in the right place at the right time.

Disappointed
Much of the book (up to page 80) discusses the authors upbringing, family, military experience, and high diving. I find this material irrelevant. This is one of those books you wouldn't give a 2nd look at the bookstore, but it looks good on Amazon. I'm returning it.

The CD is Amazing
This book is interesting, and a noble effort for a first time author. I have always been fascinated by the Apollo program, and have always found the mission control team interesting. (I highly recommend 'Failure is not an Option' by Gene Kranz.) When I heard that Sy Liebergot had written a book, I pre-ordered it. I generally found the book interesting but not as focused on the Apollo program, NASA or the EECOM job as the title would imply.

I am amazed by the hardships that Sy overcame and my hat is off to him for that, I just wish that his first book had focused more on Apollo and EECOM duties (after all, the title is 'Apollo EECOM') and less on his personal tribulations.

There is one incredibly redeeming feature of the book, though, and it is the enclosed CD, which is a series of recordings of the EECOM loop during the Apollo 13 near disaster as well as some Apollo 15 audio and a spoof song for the post Apollo 13 party.

Overall, a good book, but the CD alone is worth the cost! ... Read more

Book Description

Hot-wire anemometry techniques have proven a vital resource in the study of fluid mechanics for practitioners in a wide range of fields, from physics and chemical engineering to aeronautics and hydraulics. This is the most up-to-date, comprehensive, and practical book on the subject available, explaining the concepts and related practical implementations of all major hot-wire anemometry applications. It introduces the logical framework for a computer-based HWA system and identifies the individual steps in the complete experimental procedure, ranging from probe selection to the presentation of analyzed data.This major work will be invaluable as a reference for students, engineers, and researchers in the field. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Excellent Reference. Theory, helpful figures, some apps.
An excellent reference. This text provides a comprehensive review of the subject, stressing the theory and limitations of operations.

Sometimes it reads like the cart is beore the horse, but with a little patience everything becomes clear. ... Read more

Book Description

How One Man Masterminded the Soviet Drive Beat America to the Moon.

"Fascinating . . . packed with technical and historical detail for the space expert and enthusiast alike . . . Great stuff!"—New Scientist

"In this exceptional book, James Harford pieces together a most compelling and well-written tale. . . . Must reading."—Space News.

"Through masterful research and an engaging narrative style, James Harford gives the world its first in-depth look at the man who should rightly be called the father of the Soviet space program."—Norman R. Augustine, CEO, Lockheed Martin.

"In Korolev, James Harford has written a masterly biography of this enigmatic 'Chief Designer' whose role the Soviets kept secret for fear that Western agents might 'get at' him."—Daily Telegraph.

"Harford's fluency in Russian and his intimate knowledge of space technology give us insights that few, if any, Americans and Russians have had into this dark history of Soviet space."—Dr. Herbert Friedman, Chief Scientist, Hulburt Center for Space Research Naval Research Laboratory.

"Reveals the complex, driven personality of a man who, despite unjust imprisonment in the Gulag, toiled tirelessly for the Soviet military industrial complex. . . . More than just a biography, this is also a history of the Soviet space program at the height of the Cold War. . . . Highly recommended."—Library Journal.

"For decades the identity of the Russian Chief Designer who shocked the world with the launching of the first Sputnik was one of the Soviet Union's best-kept secrets. This book tells vividly the story of that man, Sergei Korolev, in remarkable detail, with many facts and anecdotes previously unavailable to the West."—Sergei Khrushchev, Visiting Senior Fellow, Center for Foreign Policy Development. ... Read more

Reviews (13)

An account on the man behind soviet space program
I discovered this book accidentally. Before reading this book the only soviet space personalities that I knew were Yuri Gagarin and Valentina Tereshkova. I guess I am not alone on this. Reading this book gives me an understanding that Russian space program went back much earlier than that of American. A lot of useful information about Russian space science and program, and its aspiration can be gained from this single book. This book talks a lot about Korolev, it also give good exposition on Soviet space program. One may wonder why Korolev has never been a household name like Gagarin, and how come the American is the first one landed on the moon.

The other side...
Go beyond the Propaganda with this book.

Massively documented, dense and well written, this book is a treasure to anyone interested in the space race, the men and women behind it, the politics involved, between nations, ideologies, and especially between individuals.

With "Korolev", you follow the rise and fall (to the Gulag), and rise(!) of the man that took on himself to beat the Americans, fighting against the Party, the lack of interest from his leaders, his enemies, and of course, some technological problems.

It's hard to comprehend what could have motivated anyone to work during this troubled era with such devotion and faith in his country, even after having been sent for no reason to Siberia for 7 years during the Stalinist Terror.

And yet, it's this period of space history that saw Sputnik, Gagarin, Vostok and Venera, as well as a number of "circus acts", as they said, that scared the USA about a possible "Communist Moon". It's also the Soviet space program that will create the most ingenious space technology ever built (read "Russia In Space" about the RD-180, or the NK-33 rocket engines, built in the 60's).

It's worth noting that the author never tries to revise history: facts, facts and facts, explained in their context. I am just waiting for such a book to be written on the US space program, the only country with China that still uses propaganda... After all, NASA has been created for the Moon race during the Cold War.

Great insight into the Soviet space program
This book is very well resarched and gives deep insights into the Soviet space effort unknown in the West. A must to read for anyone really interested in space. Before only the American side was presented to the public, while the Soviet side well hidden. Very interesting is the the fate of the N-1 Moon rocket. It is impossible to believe that the Soviets had not only one manned Moon program but two competing ones.

A review of Hartford's biography of Korolyev
Sergei Pavlovich Korolyev was the "chief designer" responsible for the development of the world's first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and artificial earth satellite (Sputnik 1). The authoritative biography of Sergei Pavlovich must probably await a translation from the Russian. More technical detail is required beyond what is available in Hartford's book. Still, the present volume is the best current study of Korolyev available in English. The book is more than adequate for a popular readership but will occasionally annoy the professional with errors like the one on page 255 where Hartford claims that the Soyuz reentry capsule is spherical and the orbital module is bell-shaped. The opposite is true. I also felt there was a bit too much speculation mixed in with the historical fact.

So that is what happened
I began to read as the space race started and I saw and heard stories about failed and lost Russian space flights. Now that the Soviet archives are so open it is wonderful that all of this information is gather in one book so I can see what is true and what is rumor and where so many of these stories came from. This book clarified so much of what I heard during the 1960s. I see an unflattering review here from The NY Times Review of Books by Alex Roland with a remark about information available from other sources. What a snob! First, I keep my eye out for technical books aimed at the general public I don't know of any other book that collects so much relevent information and also tracks down rumors (without getting into unfounded x-file-ish theories). Yes, if I'd made it my career to study aeronautics then this Korolev book might not so special. What might I read? Oh, here's a book "Atmospheric Flight.." by Mr. Roland. What a snort! ... Read more