Early Flying Machines {1909} * SPECIAL PRICE! *

2003 saw the Centenary of the first authenticated powered flight, by the Wright Brothers. As a contribution to the celebrations we published this book, reprinting the earliest work we could find on powered flight. The contents of this book were originally six chapters in a four volume work entitled Engineering Wonders of the World. This is undated but it was almost certainly published in 1909, when flying was still very much in its infancy. It is typical of the volumes of this type produced during Edwardian era, being very informative and assuming a reasonable level of technical understanding by the reader. The contents have been rescanned, improved where possible and we have followed the layout of the original as far as we could. Five of the chapters - Mechanical Flight and Aerial Navigation, The Theory and Principles of the Aeroplane, Flying Machines of To-day, Aeronautical Engines, and The Construction of Aeroplanes and Aerial Propellers give a very detailed over-view of all facets of aircraft development and building at this time, and cover not just the Wright Brothers machines, but those of Blériot, Cody and many of the other pioneers. The sixth chapter is on Dirigible Balloons, and covers powered airships of the time, of all types up to and including the earlier Zepplins. As airships were seen as a viable alternative to the aircraft when the original was published, we felt this chapter should be included in this reprint. The book is illustrated with a considerable number of photographs and drawings which complement the good text whose author is unknown. This is a fascinating look at the days when the aviation pioneers were literally launching themselves into the unknown. High quality, 64 page A4 format and Softcover. Camden. SPECIAL PRICE! Was £ 7.95!