Antique & Classic Airplanes

The fourth volume in the Aviation Century series is the dramatic story of the worldshrinking developments in commercial aviation through the end of the twentieth century, in which airliners grew from frail biplanes to huge Jumbo jets. In the process, advanced air travel brought with it worldwide political, economic and social change. In 2004 commercial airlines carried an estimated 1.6 billion passengers. Each new generation of transport aircraft has brought greater reliability, economy and safety, and increased global commerce through technological advances. Each day millions of shipments now travel by air between continents via sophisticated air cargo and air express systems. Other chapters in Winds of Change examine: - The wider world of aeronautics - Private aircraft (personal planes as well as ultralights, sailplanes, hang gliders and parasails) - Lighter-than-air flight (Zeppelins, blimps, hot-air balloons) - Rotary wings (helicopters and related craft) - The challenges of research and development (from sketch pad to computers; designers, builders and test pilots).

Aviation Century The Golden Age is filled with tales of romance and adventure, of daring and bravado, as pilots break records, astound the public and prepare for war on a global scale. Their achievements became the stuff of legend, and their aircraft revered artifacts of a Golden Age. Between the World Wars a new wave of aviation pioneers took the technological advances forged in the heat of battle and applied them to aircraft in exciting new ways. An unprecedented growth in the manufacture of affordable light aircraft occurred, providing ambitious, extraordinary individuals with the means to conquer the sky. Aviators raced to be the first to fly over oceans, cross jungles and ice caps, look down on the continents' highest peaks, and travel distances faster than ever before. Many aviators died trying to achieve aeronautical immortality. Aerial daredevils entertained a wide audience through flying circuses and air shows. The spirit of adventure thrived after World War II with larger air shows and more thrilling aerobatics. In this book Dan Patterson's photographs of preserved and restored aircraft in museum and private collections are combined with rare archival photographs. Forewords for Aviation Century The Golden Age are by aviation legends Alex Henshaw and Tom Poberezny.