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Old 13th May 2008, 02:10
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Winged Victory - V.M. Yeates. Described by T. E. Lawrence as the best flying book to come out of WW1. Used to be impossible to get hold of one.
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Old 13th May 2008, 03:57
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Nearly forgot - Also get "Chickenhawk", by Bob Mason.
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Old 13th May 2008, 07:19
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I think "Slide Rule" by Neville Norway is a good read.

cs
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Old 13th May 2008, 15:06
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Similar discussion on the military pilots threads.

F4 Phantom by Robert Prest.
Think Like a Bird by Alex Kimball.

Gets my vote for the best two aviation books.
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Old 13th May 2008, 15:41
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This series is also excellent.
http://www.markberent.com
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Old 13th May 2008, 21:11
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I remember reading a book called "Broken Wing, A history of defence projects" some years ago. TSR2, F111, Argosy's strengthened floor and several aviation related naval projects covered. It seems that we haven't learnt any lessons when it comes to procurement. Would be a good read today. I cannot remember the author.
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Old 13th May 2008, 21:30
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First light -Geoffrey Wellum
Fate is the Hunter by Gann
and any book by Gordon Baxter (Bax seat of Flying magazine)

magic!

S/feed
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Old 13th May 2008, 23:40
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Agree

Straightfeed. Agree with First Light by Geoffrey Wellum, unfortunately it is not available downunder you have to get it from the UK.
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Old 14th May 2008, 00:02
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DeltaPapa...Derek Piggot
Doddy Hayes AutoBiog
Enemy Coast Ahead..G. Gibson
No Echo in the Sky...Harald? J. Penrose
Chickenhawk...
All "factual".....
watp iktch
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Old 14th May 2008, 02:49
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"Fly The Wing" by Jim Webb. If you are an Air Transport Pilot, or are planning to be one, this is the flying book for you. Technique and theory are covered in detail. It is a bit dated, and is now out-of-print, but it is still available through on-line book stores.

"Chickenhawk" by Robert Mason is one man's account of flying a UH-1 Huey during the Vietnam War. Absolutely horrific.
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Old 14th May 2008, 02:52
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Sagittarius Rising by Cecil Lewis. It's autobiographical, and a brilliant read.
Bernard Shaw states " This is a book which everybody shouild read", and I totally agree with him.
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Old 14th May 2008, 03:46
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There was a similar thread some time back, in which was the strong suggestion that not all the stories recounted in Chickenhawk happened to the author.
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Old 14th May 2008, 05:03
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Thumbs up

hi everybody.i have just read CROYDON TO CONCORDE by captain r e gillman a great book.
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Old 14th May 2008, 09:50
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Wide-Body. The Making of the 747. By Clive Irving (founder of the Sunday Times Insight team) is a good read with a lot of aviation history that goes back to the 1930s.

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Old 14th May 2008, 11:25
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Some golden suggestions there. Fate is the hunter, Wind, sand and stars, Fly the wing, Chickenhawk, First light and Wide-body I heartily endorse.

On the same sort of theme as Wide-body, I recommend "Not much of an engineer" by Sir Stanley Hooker. Brilliant insight into the Merlin, early jet engines, and fascinating detail of the RB 211 development.

Also, "Eagles wings" by Hajo Hermann, and "Samurai" by the Japanes ace Saburo Sakai ( Sp? ) Both enthralling.

BSD.
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Old 14th May 2008, 11:48
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"Testing Years" by Roland Beamont. Growing up in the sixties within earshot of Warton gives this book a special significance to me.
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Old 14th May 2008, 13:26
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"Beyond the Blue Horizon" by Alexander Frater
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Old 14th May 2008, 14:43
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A brilliant book I have not seen mentioned anywhere is ' Flying Under Two Flags ' by Gordon Levett.

He was a R.A.F. Spitfire pilot during WW2, then joined in with the birth of the Israeli Air Force using any aircraft they could get hold of; he describes not only what it was really like in London to be a less-than-wealthy family under the 'Blitz', also very hairy piloting in transport a/c just after the war ( forget which type ) carrying spares out of Europe under 'suspect' customs regs', and the very dodgy reliability of these aircraft, especially engines - there were a fair few nasty accidents.

Ironically, their flight-line consisted of Spitfires & Me109's* parked alongside ! They did well, and I hope Mr. Levett is around to read this.


* Correct as opposed to the earlier Bf 109. DZ
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Old 14th May 2008, 19:47
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A couple of great early WW2 books :

'Fighter Pilot' by Paul Richey, covers his time with 1 Squadron in France. Gripping, honest and well written.

'The Last Enemy' by Richard Hillary, covers his fighting in the Battle of Britain and then his time recovering from bad burns and the plastic surgery done by McIndoe. Very interesting for his personal views on why people should or should not fight. Not at all run of the mill.
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Old 14th May 2008, 20:52
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Dresden and the Heavy Bombers An RAF Navigator's Perspective by Frank Musgrove, who was there.
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