This book chronicles the development, production, and application of what was arguably the finest aircraft piston engine ever produced - the Pratt & Whitney R-2800. It powered many of the significant fighters and medium bombers of the conflict, and went on to power many other military and commercial aircraft.
World War II saw a tremendous number of advances in aviation technology. Low-speed maneuverability, robust pressurization systems, and implementation of the first jet engines are just a few of the amazing developments made. Returning GIs, having experienced air travel to distant lands, were expected to fuel a postwar travel boom. That perceived need drove companies such as Consolidated Vultee Airlines (Convair) to propose a new series of medium-range airliners, thus giving birth to the Convair-Liner and their turboprop-powered conversions - the Turbo-Liner. More than 55 years after the first flight of the Convair-Liner, turboprop-powered examples of the type are still hauling cargo in the United States and passengers in a few foreign countries. This book discusses the development of the Convair Twins and their eventual transition from piston power to turboprop power. Over 300 photos illustrate Convair Twins' interior, exterior, powerplants, and systems. Find out who the initial delivery customers of the 240, 340, and 440 were. This book covers the many challenges Convair faced and the technologies employed to advance it. Also covered are military models, domestic and foreign airline operators and models flown, second airline owners, and significant dates in Convair-Liner history.
Aircraft of the World is filled with the fastest, biggest, weirdest, and most popular aircraft that ever flew. Each spread features a full-color photograph of the plane, an illustration displaying its special features, including fascinating cutaway illustrations, and a colorful diagram that highlights a fun fact about each aircraft, such as its size, range, speed, altitude, or number of passengers. The format introduces students to the variety of ways information is presented in nonfiction text and the high-interest topic will spark the interest of struggling readers.
This aviation handbook is designed to be used as a quick reference to the classic military heritage aircraft that have been restored and preserved in the state of California. The aircraft include those flown by members of the US Air Force, the US Navy, the US Army, the US Marine Corps, the US Coast Guard, the Air and Army National Guard units, and by various NATO and allied nations as well as a number of aircraft previously operated by opposition forces in peace and war. The interested reader will find useful information and a few technical details on most of the military aircraft that have been in service with active flying squadrons both at home and overseas. 150 selected photographs have been included to illustrate a few of the major examples in addition to the serial numbers assigned to American military aircraft. For those who would like to actually see the aircraft concerned, aviation museum locations, addresses and contact phone numbers, websites and email addresses have been included, along with a list of aircraft held in each museum's current inventory or that on display as gate guardians throughout the state of California. The aircraft presented in this edition are listed alphabetically by manufacturer, number and type. Although many of California's heritage warplanes have completely disappeared, a few have been carefully collected, restored and preserved, and a good number have been restored to flying condition. This guide-book should help you to find and view California's Warplane survivors.