Aviation in the 20th Century changed the world forever, and this book portrays that history through art. In addition to more than 60 original fine art paintings of significant moments in aviation history are the dramatic and compelling personal stories of 30 renowned airmen who blazed new trails and accomplished many significant 'firsts' in American skies. Names like Chuck Yeager, Scott Crossfield, Pete Everest, and Joe Engle grace this list. Add pilots like "Fitz" Fulton, Jack Broughton, and "Tex" Johnston, and you have a veritable "Who's Who" of America's greatest aviation legends. This book gives readers a special "behind-the-scenes" look at the actual process of how aviation art is made. Many projects are shown from the very first "back-of-the-napkin" sketch to the complex developmental steps leading to final engineering drawings and finished paintings. If you've ever wondered how aviation art is created, this book not only explains the process in detail, but shows how the pilots contribute to finished artwork as well. Through his award-winning artwork, Mike Machat has documented aviation for the past 40 years in ways never before seen, a process made possible by flying in many of the aircraft he painted, and developing life-long personal friendships with pilots of the aircraft he has preserved for history.

Contains instructions for creating accurate paper replicas of twelve historically important planes.

With the full force of culture and convention ranged against them, women have nonetheless been taking to the air almost from the first. And because of all the obstacles they have faced, these women in aviation have had to show a rare degree of courage, ambition, and skill. Stars of the Sky celebrates these women--the wildly daring, the pioneering, and the implacably determined--and their remarkable achievements. In profiles illustrated by aviation artist Sharon Rajnus, accomplished writer and flight instructor Ann Cooper introduces readers to fifty female stars of the sky. Among these women are many firsts (first black female aviator, first female aircraft designer, first woman to fly solo around the world, first female Airline manager, and first female Thunderbolt pilot). Rajnus also profiles women who have made singular contributions, from a flight surgeon and a daredevil sky-writer to an Eskimo Bush pilot and air traffic controller, as well as record setters such as a long-distance record holder, a Hellcat test pilot, and a golden age Air Racer. The pictures and stories in Stars of the Sky bring these women, their personalities, their passion for flying, and their legend-worthy experiences to clear, colorful, and vibrant life.

Capture the glory of flight in this nostalgic look back at the colorful posters that lured yesterday's passengers to take to the air. Constellations, tri-motors, and DC-3s are featured decked-out in the liveries of their owners and presented in stunning color artworks created by such famed artists as Norman Rockwell, Calder, and other popular painters. Nostalgic poster art contained within tells the history of yesteryear's airways through its free-spirited and colorful advertising.

QF32 is the award winning bestseller from Richard de Crespigny, author of the forthcoming Fly!: Life Lessons from the Cockpit of QF32 On 4 November 2010, a flight from Singapore to Sydney came within a knife edge of being one of the world's worst air disasters. Shortly after leaving Changi Airport, an explosion shattered Engine 2 of Qantas flight QF32 - an Airbus A380, the largest and most advanced passenger plane ever built. Hundreds of pieces of shrapnel ripped through the wing and fuselage, creating chaos as vital flight systems and back-ups were destroyed or degraded. In other hands, the plane might have been lost with all 469 people on board, but a supremely experienced flight crew, led by Captain Richard de Crespigny, managed to land the crippled aircraft and safely disembark the passengers after hours of nerve-racking effort. Tracing Richard's life and career up until that fateful flight, QF32 shows exactly what goes into the making of a top-level airline pilot, and the extraordinary skills and training needed to keep us safe in the air. Fascinating in its detail and vividly compelling in its narrative, QF32 is the riveting, blow-by-blow story of just what happens when things go badly wrong in the air, told by the captain himself. Winner of ABIA Awards for Best General Non-fiction Book of the Year 2013 and Indie Awards' Best Non-fiction 2012 Shortlisted ABIA Awards' Book of the Year 2013

Following the enormous success of 'Aircraft of the Aces: Legends of World War 2', this book celebrates the achievements of some of the world's most remarkable Aces. Thirty full-colour paintings from Osprey's best selling Aircraft of the Aces series have been reproduced here for the first time, and new text by Aircraft of the Aces series editor Tony Holmes introduces the ace pilot featured in each painting and describes the action depicted. From World War I to Vietnam, this gripping and visually spectacular volume brings together some of the greatest and most daring feats in the history of military flight. Colour aircraft profiles and aircraft specifications complete each one of the book's thirty chapters.