Kirjahaku

NACA/NASA Langley's John P. "Jack" Reeder, one of America's first engineering test pilots, test flew 235 types of aircraft/rotorcraft over a 42-year career. He was also the agency's first true helicopter pilot. His test piloting tally remains unsurpassed by no one in the world. Even more remarkable, Reeder remained humble despite his impressive test piloting accomplishments, something extremely rare in an age where most test pilots tended to be "cocky" and "arrogant". Jack always put his family before his career, another highly admirable trait. Jack would always devote plenty of his spare time to share his test piloting stories with the NASA community as well as the public. The NASA Langley community was deeply saddened when Jack's brilliant life was tragically taken from him by the dreaded "memory thief" disease known as Alzheimer's on May 23, 1999. Learn more about this exceptional, unsung hero of aviation history in Mark A. Chambers' Jack Reeder: Test Pilot.

On 5 March 1936 Spitfire-prototype K5054 took to the air on its first flight. Eighty years later that same design has come to symbolise the whole history and success of British aviation engineering since the Second World War. Building the Supermarine Spitfire reconstructs this most iconic of aeroplanes through the story of its design, prototyping and construction, as well as the factories, testers and trainers involved in making one of the most remarkable fighter aircraft in history. Featuring a host of previously unpublished photographs, as well as important technical and historical information about the aircraft’s development, this book is a testament to the Spitfire’s enduring legacy and a tribute to the courageous pilots that flew this aerial legend.

The Junkers Aircraft Company of Dessau, Germany forever changed the world of aviation when they produced several aircraft that revolutionised warfare during World War Two. Among them were the Ju 87 Stuka, which was key to the success of the Blitzkrieg, and highly versatile bomber and transport aircraft including Junkers Ju 86, Ju 52, Ju 90/290 and, later, Ju 88. Drawing on a multitude of photographs, diagrams and US government reports, Junkers Military Aircraft of World War Two reveals the history of this innovative aviation company and its many key aircraft that played a vital role in the war. From initiating unprecedented advancements in structural design to producing advanced turbojet engines and radical aircraft that provided a glimpse of the future of aviation, the Junkers Aircraft Company proved to be a true pioneer in the aviation world.

The revolutionary Harrier took to the skies in December 1967, going on to become the star of the Royal Navy and Air Force during the Falkland Islands War in 1982. Its US derivative, the McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II, proved equally successful with the Marine Corps in Operations Desert Storm, Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. Featuring a wealth of rare and previously unpublished photographs and diagrams, this photographic history explores the background that led to the development of this remarkable aircraft. Mark A. Chambers charts the history and output of Hawker Aircraft Ltd from Sopwith onwards, through the Harrier’s development, production, flight testing and operational and combat history, and also considers its future replacement, the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. An effective strike fighter for several nations for almost half a century, Harrier’s longevity is testament to its practical design and viability – a truly unique combat aircraft.

Perhaps no other aircraft in aviation history has been such a well-kept secret as the United States’ Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird. This cutting-edge aircraft took the art of aerial spying to an unprecedented level and did it all from highly clandestine high-speed spy missions over Communist nations during the late 1960s and 1970s. With the help of breath-taking photographs, Mark Chambers tells the fascinating story of this truly unique aircraft’s design and development as well as its famous and ingenious designer Mr Clarence ‘Kelly’ Johnson.

Since its first flight in May 1958, the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II proved to be a tough, rugged and excellent all-weather, air superiority fighter/bomber. From flying fleet defence missions during the Cuban Missile Crisis and performing as an air superiority fighter/bomber during the Vietnam War, to taking out Iraqi surface-to-air missile sites in the Wild Weasel role during Operation Desert Storm, the Phantom II did it all. Other nations have also benefited tremendously from the acquisition of export versions of this remarkable aircraft. Here Mark A. Chambers recounts an illuminating history of this truly unique aircraft’s design and development and relives its glorious record in the Vietnam War, various Arab-Israeli conflicts, the Cold War and Operation Desert Storm.

The Avro Lancaster has endured as a legendary icon of British strategic airpower from the Second World War, the ultimate aerial asset. Tough, rugged and able to perform effectively at high altitudes, the Lancaster fitted the RAF’s need for a heavy, high-altitude bomber.From the initial risky daylight-bombing missions over Europe to the fire-bombing of German cities, the Dambuster Raids to the sinking of the Tirpitz, the Lancaster helped to profoundly secure victory for the Allies in the Second World War.In An Illustrated History of the Avro Lancaster, Mark A. Chambers tells the fascinating story of Avro’s aircraft design philosophy and development, as well as its glorious combat record and operational history in the post-war era, using a wealth of photographs.

Have you noticed, either as a doctor or as a patient, how some consultations appear to just run smoothly, and others just do not flow? This book aims to help you identify the factors that govern this: how to identify the difference that makes the difference. This is in the hope that by gaining these insights the practice of consulting, the cornerstone of the practice of medicine, can be increasingly elegant, enjoyable and effective for all concerned. These are essential communication skills, with applicability well beyond just the particular context of the GP consultation.

A fascinating insight into how the Allies learned about the capabilities and limitations of the Imperial Japanese Naval Air Force and Japanese Army Air Force through flight testing and evaluation of enemy equipment.In the Pacific War’s early years, Japanese air power was dominant. The only way for the Allies to defeat their enemy was to know it. This made the task of maintaining productive intelligence gathering efforts on Japan imperative.Establishing Technical Air Intelligence Units in the Pacific Theatre and the Technical Air Intelligence Center in Washington DC, the Allies were able to begin to reveal the secrets of Japanese air power through extensive flight testing and evaluation of captured enemy aircraft and equipment. These provided an illuminating perspective on Japanese aircraft and aerial weapon design philosophy and manufacturing practice.Fully illustrated throughout with a wealth of previously unpublished photographs, Mark Chambers explores Allied efforts to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of Japanese air power during the war years, and how this intelligence helped them achieve victory in the Pacific.

In 1938, the Yokosuka Naval Air Technical Arsenal, acting under the requirements issued by the Kaigun Koku Hombu for a Navy Experimental 13-Shi Carrier Borne specification for a dive-bomber to replace the venerable ‘Val’ aboard carriers. The resulting D4Y Suisei (‘Comet’), codenamed ‘Judy’ by the Allies, was initially powered by a licence-built German Daimler-Benz DB 601 inline engine as used in the Bf 109E. Despite making an inauspicious combat debut during the Battle of Midway in June 1942, the ‘Judy’ eventually proved to be an important asset for the IJNAF during battles in the latter years of the Pacific War. Its great successes resulted in the sinking of the escort carrier USS Princeton in an early kamikaze attack of the Philippines and the near sinking of the fleet carrier USS Franklin in a dive-bombing attack off Japan. While the Judy had an impressive top-speed, like its predecessor, and many other Japanese military aircraft, it possessed design shortcomings including inadequate armour protection for its aircrew and no self-sealing fuel tanks. As a result, when pitted against new, advanced US Navy fighters suffered horrendous losses. During the final months of World War 2 it became apparent that there would be no Japanese victory. Acting out of desperation, the IJNAF employed the ‘Judy’ in the dreaded kamikaze role, in which it excelled due to its high-speed characteristics. Most notably, the D4Y mounted one of the last combat actions of World War 2 when a flight of 11 Judies, personally led by the instigator of the suicide attacks, Vice Admiral Matome Ugaki, took off on a ‘search mission’ on August 15, 1945. This volume chronicles the action-packed wartime exploits of Japan’s finest dive-bomber of World War 2.

While the histories of gold, silver, and copper mining and smelting are well studied, lead has not received much scholarly attention despite a long history of both Native American and European desire for the ore. Over time, native peoples made lead ornaments in molds; French and American settlers used lead to form musket balls; red lead became an important production element for flint and crystal production; and white lead was used in making paint until the mid-twentieth century.Gray Gold aims to broaden understandings of early colonial and Native American history by turning attention to the ways that mining—and its scientific, technological, economic, cultural, and environmental features—shaped intercultural interactions and developments in the New World. Backed by remarkable original sources such as firsthand mining accounts, letters, and surveys, Mark Chambers’s study demonstrates how early mining techniques affected the culture clash between Native Americans and Europeans all the while tracking the impact increased mining had on the environment of what would become the states of Illinois and Missouri. Chambers traces the evolution of lead mining and smelting technology through pre-contact America, to the amalgamation of aboriginal processes with French colonial development, through Spain’s short occupation to the Louisiana Purchase and ultimately the technology transfer from Europe to an efficient and year-round standard of practice after American assumption. Additionally, while slavery in early American industry has been touched on in iron manufacturing and coal mining scholarship, the lead mining context sheds new light on the history of that grievous institution.Gray Gold adds significantly to the understanding of lead mining and the economic and industrial history of the United States. Chambers makes important contributions to the fields of United States history, Native American and frontier history, mining and environmental history, and the history of science and technology.

Mark Chambers' wonderful exuberant illustrations bring Rabbit's adventure to life. Rabbit loves his blue bicycle, until he spots Hare on a big, green scooter. Envious, Rabbit buys himself a big, red scooter, but it's so powerful, he crashes it! Once Rabbit learns that he doesn't need to copy others to be special, life goes back to normal - except on Sundays, when Rabbit drives a big, white stretch-limousine which is much more his style.