Dreams of Flight: General Aviation in the United States (Centennial of Flight Series): 4 - Hardcover

Bednarek, Janet R.Daly-; Bednarek, Michael H.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1585442577 ISBN 13: 9781585442577

Publisher: Texas A & M University Press, 2003

Synopsis

General aviation encompasses all the ways aircraft are used beyond commercial and military flying: private flights, barnstormers, cropdusters and more. Discussing the 100-year history of this diverse field, this volume focuses on the most important figures and organizations in general aviation and the major producers of general aviation aircraft and engines. The book examines the many aeroplanes used in general aviation, from early Wright and Curtiss aircraft to the Piper Cub and the Lear Jet. The authors trace the careers of birdmen, birdwomen, barnstormers and others who shaped the field - from Clyde Cessna and the Stinson family of San Antonio to Olive Ann Beech and Paul Poberezny of Milwaukee. They explain how the development of engines influenced the development of aircraft, from the E-107 that powered the 1929 Aeronca C-2, the first affordable personal aircraft, to the continental A-40 that powered the Piper Cub and the Pratt and Whitney PT-6 turboprop used on many aircraft after World War II.

About this title

Review:

"Dreams of Flight is a timely, concise, and readable history of general aviation in the United States over the last hundred years by two authors who are themselves pilots. . . an important work that highlights general aviation's important contribution to American's growth and development during the twentieth century. . . Dreams of Flight is a welcome addition to the American aviation history, and its lucid prose makes it accessible to a wide audience, from aviation enthusiasts to scholars and students."--Dr. Richard Byers, professor of history at North Georgia College and State University

About the Author:

Janet R. Daly Bednarek is currently an associate professor and chair of the department of history at the University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio. She wrote America's Airports, the first title in the Centennial of Flight Series, published by Texas A&M University Press. Her husband and coauthor, Michael H. Bednarek, works as an acquisition manager with Dynamics Research Company. In 1988 he completed a twenty-year active duty USAF military career as an aeronautical engineer and program manager.

About this edition

• Publisher: Texas A & M University Press
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 1585442577
• ISBN 13: 9781585442577
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 208