The Airplane: How Ideas Gave Us Wings

Von Hardesty

Black Wings: Courageous Stories of African Americans in Aviation and Space History

Colin Powell once observed that "a dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination, and hard work." This sentiment is mirrored dramatically in the story of African Americans in aerospace history. The invention of the airplane in the first decade of the twentieth century sparked a revolution in modern technology. Aviation in the popular mind became associated with adventure and heroism. For African Americans, however, this new realm of human flight remained off-limits, a consequence of racial discrimination. Many African Americans displayed a keen interest in the new air age, but found themselves routinely barred from gaining training as pilots or mechanics. Beginning in the 1920s, a small and widely scattered group of black air enthusiasts challenged this prevailing pattern of racial discrimination. With no small amount of effort--and against formidable odds--they gained their pilot licenses and acquired the technical skills to become aircraft mechanics.Over the course of the twentieth century and into the twenty-first, African Americans have expanded their participation in both military and civilian aviation and space flight, from the early pioneers and ...

John Frearson (Author)

Operational Safety for Aviation Managers: Practice Beyond the Theory

Despite the vast amount of work building the foundations of safe operations, aviation accidents s

Wolfgang Langewiesche, William Langewiesche, Langewiesche Wolfgang

Stick and Rudder: An Explanation of the Art of Flying

7,Publisher's Note: Products purchased from Third Party sellers are not guaranteed by the publisher for quality, authenticity, or access to any online entitlements included with the product.WHAT'S IN STICK AND RUDDER: The invisible secret of all heavier-than-air flight: the Angle of Attack. What it is, and why it can't be seen. How lift is made, and what the pilot has to do with it.Why airplanes stall How do you know you're about to stall?The landing approach. How the pilot's eye functions in judging the approach.The visual clues by which an experienced pilot unconsciously judges: how you can quickly learn to use them."The Spot that does not move." This is the first statement of this phenomenon. A foolproof method of making a landing approach across pole lines and trees.The elevator and the throttle. One controls the speed, the other controls climb and descent. Which is which?The paradox of the glide. By pointing the nose down less steeply, you descend more steeply. By pointing the nose down more steeply, you can glide further.What's the rudder for? The rudder does NOT turn the airplane the way a boat's rudder turns the boat. Then what does it do?How a turn is flown. The role of ...