The author is an aviation journalist and photographer with over 40 years experience, who has produced a unique reference work. The first flights of more than 120 aircraft types and their variants. – Most Highly Recommended.
NAME: Flying Firsts, A month-by-month guide to commercial aircraft maiden flights FILE: R3083 AUTHOR: Martyn Cartledge PUBLISHER: DestinWorld BINDING: soft back PRICE: £19.99 GENRE: Non Fiction SUBJECT: first flight, passenger log book, jet airliners, amphibians, piston engine prop planes, prototype, pre-production, aviation pioneers, modern airliners, aircraft types
ISBN: 978-1-9996470-4-9
PAGES: 200 IMAGE: B3083.jpg BUYNOW: tinyurl.com/vfme5da LINKS: DESCRIPTION: The author is an aviation journalist and photographer with over 40 years experience, who has produced a unique reference work. The first flights of more than 120 aircraft types and their variants. – Most Highly Recommended. Aimed at a readership of commercial aviation enthusiasts, specialist hobby stores, professionals, aviation bookshops and museums, this is one of those books that is likely to greatly exceed its target readership. It is a unique study featuring some 150 colour photographs from the author's photographic collection. The book is divided into twelve chapters, each covering a month of the year. These are followed by what is potentially a passenger's log book to record the date, airline and registration of a first flight in aircraft covered in the book. Each aircraft has been presented as a history with photograph and this makes a very interesting collection of facts, including important aircraft back into the 1930s. It is not a truly comprehensive work because there are airliners that first flew in the 1920s and those that were designed and built for WWII as combat aircraft or built immediately after WWII, using components from long range bombers. However, those omissions are not by accident, because the author has kept focus on aircraft types that were specifically built for purpose and which became important examples of their classes. Clearly, it is impossible not to mention the immortal Douglas DC-3 and the de Havilland Rapide as true pioneers in commercial aviation before WWII. The Boeing Stratocruiser was essentially a B-29 Super Fortress with a new figure 8 cross-section fuselage and arguably should have been included, but then it would have been necessary to also include aircraft like the Avro York and Avro Lancaster that were briefly important as the aircraft industry came out of war production but the commercial airline business was already taking off strongly. The author has provided many insights into the aircraft covered. He has explained what makes each one special and unique. A very valuable addition to any library of aviation subjects.