The Airplane: How Ideas Gave Us Wings [Paperback]

The Airplaneby aerospace industry writer Jay Spencer, former assistant curator of theSmithsonianNationalAir & SpaceMuseumand theMuseumofFlightinSeattle, is thedefinitive 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 delightaviation and technology buffs,The Airplaneis 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.

In this entertaining history of the jetliner, Jay Spenser traces aviation's challenges from the outset, and follows the flow of the simple yet powerful ideas that led us to defy gravity. Here are the pioneers—innovators such as Otto Lilienthal, Igor Sikorsky, Louis Blériot, Hugo Junkers, and Jack Northrop—whose amazing contributions collectively solved the puzzle of flight. Along the way, Spenser demystifies the modern jetliner, examining the airplane from wings to flight controls to fuselages to landing gear, to show how each part came into being and evolved over time. And finallyThe Airplaneaddresses the future of aviation, outlining the breathtaking possibilities that await us tomorrow, many miles above the earth.

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