Test Pilots of the Jet Age - Men Who Heralded a New Era in Aviation

Colin Higgs, Bruce Vigar

Summary

Today, as we board our flights to Adelaide, Zurich, and all points in between, we give little thought to the jet power that will take us there. But, this is only possible because just over 70 years ago a select band of British test pilots was prepared to risk all in the quest to fly further, faster, and higher than ever before. Their quest was fraught with danger; disaster and death were never far away.  This book captures eleven of those stories as told by the pilots themselves – their words as to how they took British aviation to the forefront of a new era, the ‘Jet Age’. Britain’s aircraft industry was booming in the years immediately after the end of the Second World War and the demand for test pilots seemingly limitless as new aircraft types rolled off the drawing boards. Meteors, Vampires, Hunters, Comets, Victors, Vulcans and Harriers were some of the aircraft that became world-beaters. Today, these names and the role played by the test pilots in bringing these projects to fruition are all but forgotten.  The stories were filmed over a number of years and it is the edited transcripts of those interviews that form a unique and rare perspective on such a pivotal era in aviation. Most were veterans of the Second World War with illustrious service records. Now they faced new battles as they flew new airframes and engines to the limit and sometimes beyond. First, they had to conquer the ‘sound barrier’ which to many, scientists and the public alike, had assumed almost mythic status. Having done that, they were soon flying at twice the speed of sound, such was the rate of progress. It took discipline, technical know-how, an above average level of flying skill and according to some, a lack of imagination to make a good test pilot. Their stories are often insightful, always modest and often tinged with humor.

Available since: 07/21/2021.

Print length: 184 pages.

Other books that might interest you

Essential Oils for Dogs: How to...

Katherine Morgan

Like any animal, dogs are prone to certain ailments and diseases that not only affect the dogs, but also worry their owners. Recently, essential oils have started to gain popularity for use with pets. Essential oils are basically volatile compounds that make our bodies react in a certain way, which makes them efficient at treating small health issues. The same goes for dogs. Essential oils make a dog's body respond by reducing pain, inflammation, killing germs, and so on. While humans are fine with inhaling, ingesting, and putting essential oils on their skin to cure their pain and ailments, dogs are a bit more sensitive. A powerful fragrance, as appealing as it can be to us, can be too much for the superior nose of a dog. Overexposure to essential oils can be harmful to dogs. Some oils like tea tree oil, triggers harmful side effects in dogs such as vomiting and organ failure. These are toxic and to be avoided.This book offers a comprehensive guide for the use of essential oils on dogs. By listening to this audiobook, you will learn:• The best essentials oils to use on dogs• What essentials oils could be harmful and should be avoided• Dogs that essential oils should not be used with• How to prepare and apply essential oils on your dog• Essential oil recipes to treat fleas, anxiety, painful joints, and other common canine ailmentsThis book will help you keep your dog healthy and happy, so that you can spend more time enjoying his loyal companionship.Order your copy of Essential Oils for Dogs now!

Show book

Dilbert future

Scott Adams

"Dilbert books should be (and often are) read aloud while importantoffice work is being put off, and luckily, the best reader of all, Adamshimself, has put his interpretive skills on tape." --Worth MagazineStep aside, Nostradamus. Here comes the real soothsayer, and he'sturning his eagle eye on everything from new work-avoiding technologyto sex with aliens. With predictions that run the gamut ona wide range of hot-buttons, Scott Adams' absurdist, outrageously funnynew audio, The Dilbert Future, may be his greatest achievement yet.In his inimitable style, Adams predicts we'll learn to harness the mostabundant resource in the universe: stupidity.As always, Adams' keen wit is dead-on.  
 
Prediction: The Dilbert Future will be the most anticipated and well-received businessbook of the year. (It doesn't take a psychic to figure that out.)Check out Scott Adams' other Dilbert books, TheDilbert Principle and Dogbert'sTop Secret Management Handbook.When he's not cartooning or writing bestsellers, Scott Adamsspends his time speaking at corporate functions and conferences.

Show book

Tips From the Bargain Junkie

Annie Korzen

From the fertile--yet frugal--mind of Annie Korzen, actress, comedienne, and author/narrator of How To Be A Bargain Junkie. Annie, a thrifty woman with expensive tastes, shares even more of her hilarious tales from the trenches--the garage sales, thrift stores, and online auctions.

Show book

Ancient Egypt

IntroBooks Team

Egyptians have been known for their wonderful style of preserving the bodies of the dead and their pyramids. For about 30 centuries from 3100 BC till it was conquered by the Alexander the Great in 332 BC, Egypt was a well-known civilization. Their splendid pyramids and intricate wall designs in their palaces enchanted the archaeologists and the entire world. The history of Egypt can be known by pyramids, objects, monuments and artefacts that have been uncovered from the archaeological findings. The hieroglyphs containing many stories of the ancient past have been deciphered recently. The beauty of Egypt’s majesty can be seen through these remaining’s, their richness in their culture, heritage, tradition and religion was unmatchable during the ancient times. Ancient history of Egypt begins from the pre-dynastic period and ends with the conquest of Alexander the Great.

Show book

Birds Aren't Real - The True...

Peter McIndoe, Connor Gaydos

This program is read by the authors. The true story of the greatest conspiracy in US history—and how to fight back.Have you ever seen a baby pigeon? You haven’t, have you? No one has, not in many, many years. They used to be everywhere. You couldn’t walk out of your front door in New York City in the 1930s without seeing dozens of those little guys scurrying around. Today, there are millions of grown up pigeons in New York, but not a baby pigeon to be seen. That’s because they come out of the factory as adults.This is one of the many smoking guns of the bird drone surveillance crisis. Since 1959, the Deep State has mercilessly slaughtered over 12 billion birds and replaced them with identical drones that are designed to spy on private citizens and report their every action directly to the government. From pet canaries to Sesame Street, the shadowy figures that pull the strings have infiltrated every aspect of our society, making a mockery of civil liberties while the American people live in blissful ignorance. Until now.In Birds Aren’t Real, whistleblowers Peter McIndoe and Connor Gaydos trace the roots of a political conspiracy so vast and well-hidden that it almost seems like an elaborate hoax. These hero Bird Truthers have risked life and limb to compile and disseminate a treasure trove of information about the origins of the surveillance crisis, its spread, and the patriots who are on the front lines today, raising awareness and working to reclaim America as the land of the free. This urgent manifesto features a host of useful illustrations, activities, and leaked classified documents that will convince even the most outspoken skeptic that birds aren’t real. The truth is out there: will you stand and fight before it’s too late?A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press.

Show book

Ice with Everything - In...

H.W. Tilman

'For most men, as Epicurus has remarked, rest is stagnation and activity madness. Mad or not, the activity that I have been pursuing for the last twenty years takes the form of voyages to remote, mountainous regions.'
H.W. 'Bill' Tilman's fourteenth book describes three more of those voyages, 'the first comparatively humdrum, the second totally disastrous, and the third exceedingly troublesome'.
The first voyage describes Tilman's 1971 attempt to reach East Greenland's remote and ice-bound Scoresby Sound. The largest fjord system in the world was named after the father of Whitby whaling captain, William Scoresby, who first charted the coastline in 1822. Scoresby's two-volume Account of the Arctic Regions provided much of the historical inspiration for Tilman's northern voyages and fuelled his fascination with Scoresby Sound and the unclimbed mountains at its head.
Tilman's first attempt to reach the fjord had already cost him his first boat, Mischief, in 1968. The following year, a 'polite mutiny' aboard Sea Breeze had forced him to turn back within sight of the entrance, so with a good crew aboard in 1971, it was particularly frustrating for Tilman to find the fjord blocked once more, this time by impenetrable sea ice at the entrance.
Refusing to give up, Tilman's obsession with Scoresby Sound continued in 1972 when a series of unfortunate events led to the loss of Sea Breeze, crushed between a rock and an ice floe.
Safely back home in Wales, the inevitable search for a new boat began. 'One cannot buy a biggish boat as if buying a piece of soap. The act is almost as irrevocable as marriage and should be given as much thought.' The 1902 pilot cutter Baroque, was acquired and after not inconsiderable expense, proved equal to the challenge. Tilman's first troublesome voyage aboard her to West Greenland in 1973 completes this collection.

Show book