The Complete Idiot's Guide to Flying and Gliding

by Jaffe, Azriela; Lane, Bill

• ISBN13: 9780028638850
• ISBN10: 0028638859
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-03-10
• Publisher: DK Publishing, Inc.

Summary

CIG to Flying and Gliding traces the progress of aviation from the Classic Age to the fastest and largest modern airliners. It opens the cockpit door to offer a glimpse of how pilots do their jobs in a thorough introduction to aviation for fun and profit.
-- What makes a plane fly?
-- How to become an instrument pilot
-- Careers in aviation
-- Extreme sports -- parachuting, sky-surfing, and speed diving
-- Gliding competitions and contests
-- The future of aviation -- flying cars? commuting via air? space planes? Cruise
-- Aviation museums and places of interest, WWW resources, aeronautics and flight schools, aviation organizations, and recommended reading

Table of Contents

Part 1: Taking to the Sky: The History of Flight	1	(90)
The Earliest Aviators	3	(16)
From the flying dreams of Leonardo da Vinci to the primitive gliders.
The Bishop's Boys: Wilbur and Orville Wright	19	(16)
The fathers of modern flight---and a pretender to the throne.
Barnstormers and Other Risk Takers	35	(10)
Those daring young men---and women---in their flying machines.
Great Flyers of the World Wars	45	(18)
A race car driver, a red baron, and a southern belle.
Lindbergh, Earhart, and the Rise of the Airlines	63	(16)
Two pilots whose exploits continue to thrill and inspire.
Cessna, Piper, and the Emergence of Sport Flying	79	(12)
The eccentric designers who brought flying to the common man.
Part 2: The Thrill of Flight	91	(86)
How Airplanes Fly, Part 1: The Parts of a Plane	93	(12)
The airplane---from nose to tail.
How Airplanes Fly, Part 2: The Aerodynamics of Flight	105	(14)
The magic that makes an airplane fly.
Soaring on Silent Wings: Gliding	119	(14)
Who says you need an engine to fly?
How Do Helicopters Fly?	133	(16)
A complicated machine that makes flying look easy.
Up, Up, and Away: Hot-Air Balloons	149	(16)
The sport that considers a bottle of champagne a piece of required equipment.
Hybrids, Oddities, and Curiosities	165	(12)
Planes that act like helicopters, helicopters that fly like planes, and balloons that can fly against the wind.
Part 3: In the Cockpit	177	(58)
Getting Off the Ground: Becoming an Airplane Pilot	179	(14)
How to earn your wings---from first flight to private pilot certificate.
Navigation: Getting from Here to There Without Street Signs	193	(12)
The art that turns flyers into travelers.
From Takeoff to Landing	205	(16)
A view from the cockpit of a typical small airplane flight.
Cloud Dancing: Air Shows and Aerobatics	221	(14)
The stunt pilots' secrets revealed.
Part 4: Meeting the Challenges to the Perfect Flight	235	(94)
Talking About the Weather	237	(14)
Becoming fluent in the language of weather.
Overcoming the Body's Limitations	251	(10)
When the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.
Emergencies in the Air	261	(12)
In-flight emergencies and how pilots respond to them.
John F. Kennedy Jr.'s Final Flight	273	(16)
A tragedy that might have been prevented?
The Future of Aviation	289	(40)
Two futures for aviation: simpler and more intimate, and faster and higher.
Appendixes
A Glossary	301	(6)
B Glossary of Radio Communications	307	(6)
C Recommended Reading	313	(8)
D World Wide Web Resources	321	(8)
Index	329