The Early History Of The Airplane Illustrated

This fascinating firsthand account covers the Wright Brothers' early experiments, construction of planes and motors, first flights, and much more. Introduction and commentary by Fred C. Kelly. 76 photographs.

The Wright Brothers take you back in time to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina in 1903 when their dream to defy gravity first became a reality. The first flight lasted only 12 seconds, but it was nevertheless the first in the history of the world in which a machine carrying a man had raised itself by its own power into the air in full flight, had sailed forward without reduction of speed and had finally landed at a point as high as that from which it started. Orville and Wilbur Wright describe in detail the aerodynamic experiments, the setbacks and the lessons they learned on their path that led up to the first flight. "The Early History of the Airplane" documents a significant period of the 20th century when man's long-time, burning desire to fly was finally fulfilled. A must read for history and aviation fans. "If we worked on the assumption that what is accepted as true really is true, then there would be little hope for advance."(Orville Wright)

DigiCat Publishing presents to you this special edition of "The Early History of the Airplane" by Wilbur Wright, Orville Wright. DigiCat Publishing considers every written word to be a legacy of humankind. Every DigiCat book has been carefully reproduced for republishing in a new modern format. The books are available in print, as well as ebooks. DigiCat hopes you will treat this work with the acknowledgment and passion it deserves as a classic of world literature.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

The possibilities of flight have long fascinated us. Each innovation captivated a broad public, from those who gathered to witness winged medieval visionaries jumping from towers, to those who tuned in to watch the moon landings. Throughout history, the visibility of airborne objects from the ground has made for a spectacle of flight, with sizeable crowds gathering for eighteenth-century balloon launches and early twentieth-century air shows. Taking to the Air tells the history of flight through the eye of the spectator and, later, the passenger. Focusing on moments of great cultural impact, this book is a visual celebration of the wonder of flight, based on the large and diverse collection of print imagery held by the British Library. It is a study of how flight has been pictured through time.

"The Early History of the Airplane", by Wilbur Wright. Wilbur Wright was an inventor and aviation pioneer (1867-1912).

What a history. What a company. With close technical analysis from Bill Gunston and artist Mike Badrocke's meticulous cutaway drawings, presented to the best effect on fold-out pages, this volume tells the complete story of one of the few truly great aircraft builders.

Foreword by Dr. Roger D. Launius, Former NASA Chief Historian For the past 75 years, the U.S. government has invested significant time and money into advanced aerospace research, as evidenced by its many experimental X-plane aircraft and rockets. NASA's X-Planes asks a simple question: What have we gained from it all? To answer this question, the authors provide a comprehensive overview of the X-plane’s long history, from the 1946 X-1 to the modern X-60. The chapters describe not just the technological evolution of these models, but also the wider story of politics, federal budgets, and inter-agency rivalries surrounding them. The book is organized into two sections, with the first covering the operational X-planes that symbolized the Cold War struggle between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R, and the second section surveying post-Cold War aircraft and spacecraft. Featuring dozens of original illustrations of X-plane cross-sections, in-flight profiles, close-ups, and more, this book will educate general readers and specialists alike.

Though the subject of aerial navigation is generally considered new, it has occupied the minds of men more or less from the earliest ages. Our personal interest in it dates from our childhood days. Late in the autumn of 1878 our father came into the house one evening with some object partly concealed in his hands, and before we could see what it was, he tossed it into the air. Instead of falling to the floor, as we expected, it flew across the room, till it struck the ceiling, where it fluttered awhile, and finally sank to the floor. It was a little toy, known to scientists as a "helicoptere," but which we, with sublime disregard for science, at once dubbed a "bat." It was a light frame of cork and bamboo, covered with paper, which formed two screws, driven in opposite directions by rubber bands under torsion. A toy so delicate lasted only a short time in the hands of small boys, but its memory was abiding.

Military Aircraft features 52 of the most important military aircraft, from biplane fighters to tactical bombers, transports, multirole fighters and stealth bombers. Packed with over 200 illustrations, each entry includes a description of the model’s development and history, a profile view, key features and specifications.