Aviations Quiet Pioneer

John Leslie was Pan American Airways Division Engineer when the Pacific was crossed in 1935 by the "China CLipper." Juan Trippe, Pan Am's visionary aviator and founder, credited Leslie with developing the engineering techniques that made possible the historic transoceanic flight.Visit Pan Am Historical Foundation - www.panam.org (under the Shop tab,) or www.panamsquietpioneer.com for more information about this book.During WWII Leslie ran Pan Am's Atlantic Division whose flying boats played crucial roles. Leslie commanded the flight that took Roosevelt to Africa to meet Churchill, the first time a US president flew.The author uses hundreds of photos, documents, letters, memoirs and memorabilia to tell Leslie's story. It is a remarkable view of the early days of transoceanic aviation.

The stories of the daredevils who attempted to fly over the English Channel—a history filled with triumphs, tragedies, and colorful characters. On July 25, 1909, a dapper, mustachioed Frenchman flying a flimsy, diaphanous airplane changed the status of a great nation. “England is no longer an island,” declared the Daily Mail. Lord Northcliffe, the newspaper’s proprietor, had put up the £1,000 prize for the first flight of the English Channel by the pilot of an airplane. In securing the prize for one of aviation’s most celebrated firsts, Louis Blériot had beaten his Anglo-French rival Hubert Latham. Six days earlier, Latham had become the first airman to make a forced landing on water when the engine of his elegant Antoinette monoplane failed while he attempted the crossing. This book explores the triumphs, tragedies, and many milestones in cross-channel flight, beginning back in July 1785 when John-Pierre Blanchard and John Jeffries made the first crossing, by balloon. Other flyers quickly followed Blériot so that Pierre Prier made the first non-stop London-Paris flight in April 1911 and Harriet Quimby became the first woman to fly the Channel a year later—though her historic accomplishment was overshadowed by the Titanic catastrophe. The book also charts other events in cross-Channel aviation such as the midair collision between the UK and France that led to a rudimentary system of air traffic control; the first cat to make the flight; the popular car ferry services of the 1950s and 1960s; and the coming of the jets—providing a colorful history of the era before the debut of the famed Channel Tunnel.

The objective of this book is to present a number of related chapters on the subject of gender issues in the workplace of the aviation industry. More specifically, the chapters address the continuing shortfall in the number of women pilots in both civilian and military aviation. Considerable research has been carried out on gender issues in the workplace and, for example, women represent about 10% of employees in engineering. This example is often used to show that the consequences of gender discrimination are embedded and difficult to overcome in masculine-dominated occupations. However, women represent only 5-6% of the profession of pilot. Clearly there are many factors which mitigate women seeking to become pilots. The chapters within this volume raise both theoretical and practical issues, endeavouring to address the imbalance of women pilots in this occupation. Absent Aviators consolidates a diverse range of issues from a number of authors from Australia, Austria, the United States, Canada, South Africa and the United Kingdom. Each of the chapters is research-based and aims to present a broad picture of gender issues in aviation, gendered workplaces and sociology, underpinned by sound theoretical perspectives and methodologies. One chapter additionally raises issues on the historical exclusion of race from an airline. The book will prove to be a valuable contribution to the debates on women in masculine-oriented occupations and a practical guide for the aviation industry to help overcome the looming shortfall of pilots. It is also hoped it will directly encourage young women to identify and overcome the barriers to becoming a civilian or military pilot.

The Aviation Pioneers of Canada 7-Book Bundle presents the high-flying insight of Peter Pigott, in a special collection chronicling the aviators, aircraft, and drama of over a century of Canadian flight. From the Avro Arrow and the Silver Dart to the adventurers and visionaries who pushed Canadian airways to new heights, Pigott covers it all with his trademark breezy style and incredible historical photographs. Includes Brace for Impact: Air Crashes and Aviation Safety Air Canada: The History Flying Canucks: Famous Canadian Aviators Flying Canucks II On Canadian Wings: A Century of Flight Taming the Skies: A Celebration of Canadian Flight Wings Across Canada: An Illustrated History of Canadian Aviation

Canton boasts a rich aviation heritage, reaching back to the earliest pioneers of flight. Local resident Frank S. Lahm founded the Aero Club of Ohio here and his son Frank P. Lahm worked with the Wright brothers on some of their earliest test flights. William Martins monoplane, the first single-wing airplane in the world, was invented here. Other Canton firsts include Martins wife Almina, the worlds first female airplane pilot; Bernetta Miller, one of the first women to earn a pilots license; and Louise Timken, the first woman to own and operate a private jet. The Timken Company developed a steel alloy here that allowed planes to fly at higher altitudes.