Flight The 100 Best Aircraft

by Phelps, Mark; Editors of, Flying Magazine; Goyer, Robert

• ISBN13: 9781616286064
• ISBN10: 1616286067
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2013-12-23
• Publisher: Weldon Owen

Summary

A comprehensive look at the world's great aircraft from the experts at Flying magazine, featuring spectacular full-color photographs, fascinating and informative text, and detailed specifications that will delight die-hard data fans.

Of all humanity’s dazzling innovations, perhaps none capture our imaginations or fuel our inventive spirits as much as flight. In our quest to soar higher, faster, and farther, we’ve dreamed up airborne wonders that are a sight to behold—like the supersonic F-22 Raptor, stealthily soaring above the clouds, or the Boeing-Stearman PT-17 Biplane, the beautiful starter model that helped a generation earn their wings. That’s not even to mention the deluxe Concorde—the first passenger jet to cruise at the speed of sound.

These iconic aircraft—and 97 more stunning feats of aeronautical engineering—make up the world’s most groundbreaking contributions to flight, all curated and collected here by the experts at Flying magazine. In Flight: 100 Greatest Aircraft, there’s something for every aviation aficionado—from brazen stunt planes to far-from-pedestrian commercial jets, from military marvels to spacecraft that reached dazzling new heights. With its spectacular full-color photographs, fascinating and informative text, and detailed specifications section that will delight die-hard data fans, Flight is the essential book for pilots and plane-lovers everywhere.

Author Biography

Mark Phelps traces his passion for aviation back to age eight, when he’d stop at the town library in Milton, Massachusetts, to fill his heart and mind with the stories of aviation's heroes, past and present. After graduating from college in 1975, he learned to fly and shortly thereafter bought his first airplane, a two-seat Grumman AA1-B, in 1981. (His current airplane is an IFR-equipped 1954 V-tail Bonanza.) In 1986, he landed a dream job as associate editor at FLYING, where he continues to write stories, as well as contributing freelance writing, editing, and consulting work to a wide range of clients. Along the way, Mark has been privileged to fly some of the airplanes he read about as a kid, including a Supermarine Spitfire, and to meet many of the heroes whose stories filled the pages of those books.

With approximately 1,800 hours' flying time, Mark is an active instrument pilot. He lives in central New Jersey with his wife and twin sons, who came into his life in 2001.

FLYING has been written by pilots, for pilots since 1927. It provides the following elements: Product reviews from experienced editors and contributors who fly and operate airplanes, helicopters, avionics, accessories, and all kinds of gadgets and equipment; industry and market news in an ever-changing environment of new regulations and new policies; technique and safety information that pilots have earned with experience; and opinion pieces with words based on years of experience and many thousands of flight hours. The expertise found in the pages of the magazine is what sets FLYING apart from all others.