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The Airplane: How Ideas Gave Us Wings

by Jay Spenser

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From early flight experiments to the modern jetliner

$20.60 USD
$34.34 USD $20.60 USD
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Paperback New English

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AlbakiReads Editorial

From early flight experiments to the modern jetliner

Jay Spenser traces aviation history through the technical problems that made powered flight possible. The book moves from Sir George Cayley’s early concepts and Otto Lilienthal’s experiments to the Wright brothers’ work on lift, propulsion, and control, then follows the changing design of aircraft components such as wings, fuselages, and engines. Its later chapters extend that engineering story into commercial jet travel, including the Boeing 707 and Boeing 787. More than 100 archival photographs accompany this chronological, machinery-focused account, making the development of the airplane as central as the people who advanced it.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Aviation-history enthusiasts
  • Readers interested in the engineering of flight
  • Fans of illustrated transportation history

Themes

Early aviation pioneersThe Wright brothersAeronautical engineeringAircraft designJetliner development

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

The Airplane by aerospace industry writer Jay Spencer, former assistant curator of the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum and the Museum of Flight in Seattle, is the definitive history of how we invented and refined the amazing flying machines that enabled humankind to defy gravity. A fascinating true account certain to enthrall and delight aviation and technology buffs, The Airplane is lavishly illustrated with more than 100 photographs and is the first book ever to explore the development of the jetliner through a fascinating piece-by-piece analysis of the machinery of flight.

 

This comprehensive book explores one of humanity's greatest adventures, from the earliest concepts to modern air travel:

 

  • Pioneers of Aviation: Trace the story from Sir George Cayley's first scientific imaginings of an airplane to the groundbreaking experiments of Otto Lilienthal and beyond.
  • The Wright Brothers: Go behind the scenes at Kitty Hawk to discover how two bicycle-shop owners solved the complex problems of lift, propulsion, and control to invent the world's first practical airplane.
  • Aeronautical Engineering: Discover how flying machines evolved with a piece-by-piece analysis of fuselages, wings, and engines, lavishly illustrated with over 100 photographs from museum archives.
  • The Jet Age: Follow the development of the modern jetliner from early concepts through the game-changing Boeing 707 all the way to the state-of-the-art systems of today's Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
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