Smithsonian Frontiers of Flight

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).

First held in 1974 as a regional fly-in by the Lakeland, Florida Chapter the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) for sport aviation enthusiasts, it was named the Mid-Winter Sun 'n Fun the following year and by 1978 the event had become the second largest fly-in in the USA In 1980 the event was held in March instead of January and the grow of the week-long fly-in began to escalate to the proportions which are described and illustrated in this book. The 10th anniversary Sun n Fun 1984 saw 480 show aircraft register and a general attendance of over 100,000 people for the first time. Permanent facilities for the fly-in at Lakeland airport were then starting to appear or enter the planning stages. The year 1988 saw yet another date change, this time to mid-April to take advantage of slightly better weather and improved accommodation for the many thousands of visitors who were now converging on Lakeland each year from every US State and 37 other countries world- wide. Sun n Fun is big, but not too big. It's still fun and, blended with traditional Southern hospitality, the event has rapidly established itself one of the world's premier aviation 'happenings'.