Canadian Wings

Be prepared to soar! Whether you are an aviation enthusiast, history buff, or air traveller, dont miss the third in a series of photo essays on aviation in Canada, covering almost 100 years of flight by Canadians. Dramatic visuals accompany each step of aviations advances, from Canadas first military aircraft to Billy Bishops Nieuport, from the earliest bush planes to the beginnings of passenger travel. This comprehensive history showcases 50 aircraft. Whether famous or forgotten, all were designed, built, and/or flown by Canadians. Insightful analysis is complemented by gorgeous photos, many in colour, some with rare archival significance. The history of our desire to conquer gravity is encapsulated within these covers.

Lavishly illustrated and richly told, using the full resources of the Canada Aviation Museum — Canadian Wings is a stunning tribute to the men, machines and daredevil achievements of Canadian flight. This book gives a full and copiously illustrated account of how powered flight developed during its first century in Canada, as well as the contribution that Canadians made to the wider story of flight in the world. Canadian Wings draws on the unparallelled collections of the Canada Aviation Museum in Ottawa, for its nearly 200 images including archival photographs, paintings, and memorabilia. It features the artworks of Robert Bradford, former director of the Museum, and Dan Patterson, photographer and author of several aviation books. Combined with compelling history and colourful anecdote, this beautifully illustrated book will give readers a new appreciation of how northern wings have helped to build, defend, and explore this vast nation, and to project its image abroad.

From the eccentric Fairey Battle to the lethal-looking CF-18, from modern airliners that have no defects (and no character) to the classic North Star (which had both), here is the ultimate line-up of the aircraft that have served Canadians in the last century. With over one hundred photographs of fifty historic planes, Wings Across Canada is a retrospective of Canada’s aeronautical technology. This book does not compare the planes, nor claim that all are "classics" in the traditional sense of the word. Instead, it is a celebration of a love affair with aircraft that all served a purpose in their own time.

Whether you are an aviation enthusiast, history buff, or air traveller, don't miss the third in a series of photo essays on aviation in Canada, covering almost 100 years of flight by Canadians. Dramatic visuals accompany each step of aviation's advances, from Canada's first military aircraft to the Harvard II, from the earliest bush planes to the Bombardier Global Express. This comprehensive history showcases 50 aircraft. Whether famous or forgotten, all were designed, built, and/or flown by Canadians.

Bringing together leading researchers on Canadian air power, On the Wings of War and Peace captures the history of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) during the first decades of the Cold War – a period which marked the zenith of air force accomplishments in peacetime Canada. The volume covers topics that go beyond straightforward flying operations, examining policies that drove operational needs and capabilities and the personnel, technical, and logistical functions that made those operations possible. With contributions written by former RCAF members who have both expert and personal knowledge of their topics, On the Wings of War and Peace brings new perspectives to the RCAF’s role in shaping the modern Canadian nation.

It's hard to imagine modern Canada without the airplane. In an immense, open country with many challenges to travel, flight has become an integral part of Canadian life, from bush pilots landing floatplanes on remote lakes to business travellers shuttling between cities and time zones. Here the rich resources of the Canada Aviation Museum provide a fresh look at the aviation heritage that made this possible. Canadian Wings gives a full and copiously illustrated account of how powered flight developed during its first century in Canada, as well as the contribution that Canadians made to the wider story of flight in the world. Vignettes and anecdotes bring famous Canadian fliers to life, from J.A.D. McCurdy and Alexander Graham Bell's Aerial Experiment Association to World War I aces Bishop, Barker and Collishaw, and from bush pilots "Wop" May and "Punch" Dickins to steadfast flyers-turned-boardroom-executives Grant McConachie, Gordon McGregor and Max Ward.

There are many myths and legends surrounding the advanced German aeronautical technology of the Second World War. There are also facts and proven events. Yet within these stories and behind these facts lie conspiracy theories, mistaken assumptions and denials that seem to contradict the evidence. So what really happened? How far ahead were the German scientists? And, of even greater interest, why and how?There have been other books about advanced German wartime aeronautics, yet few authors have fully examined the detail of the designs and their relevance to the fighter and bomber legends of the 1950s and '60s, let alone the current crop of military and civil all-wing or blended-wing aircraft. This book charts the story from it origins, through current-day innovations and beyond, into the all-wing future of tomorrow.

In depth descriptions and photographs of the aircraft of 21 nations presented with a unique human dimension that goes behind the machines to the people involved. Invaluable for specialists, accessible to enthusiasts, International Warbirds: An Illustrated Guide to World Military Aircraft, 1914–2000 puts the most legendary fighter aircraft of the 20th century developed outside the United States on vivid display. It offers 336 illustrated "biographies" of the most significant warplanes used in squadron service from World War I to the Balkan conflict, including numerous models from Great Britain, France, Russia, and Japan, as well as notable machines from Israel, Canada, China, India, Brazil, and other nations. Entries span the history and scope of military aircraft from bombers and fighters to transports, trainers, reconnaissance craft, sea planes, and helicopters, with each capsule history combining nuts-and-bolts technical data with the story of that model's evolution and use. Together, these portraits offer an exciting, well-researched tribute to visionary designers and builders as well as courageous pilots and crews across the globe, and tell a vivid tale of how air power became such a decisive factor in modern warfare.