The first generation of American turbojet airliners were the industry's main players throughout the 1960s -- a decade which saw widespread acceptance of jet travel and the replacement of prop-driven aircraft. By today's standards, however, these airplanes were unacceptably noisy and serious polluters. This book looks at the three major jetliners of the decade, providing details of design, production, and service. It's packed with superb period color photography resurrecting a bygone era of jet travel.
Boeing claimed the 707 as the airplane that made the world smaller and horizons larger. The DC-8 was developed a little later than the 707 and as a result was always playing catch up. Despite being a fine aircraft, the VC10 was too late to seriously challenge the 707 and DC-8, but today soldiers on in military service with the RAF as tankers and transports. This detailed work is filled with highlights of each aircrafts development plus a broad overview of its operational history. Legends of the Air 6. Sftbd., 8 1/4x 11, 186 pgs., 225 bandw ill., 60 color.
The DC-10 tri-jet began as an idea 30 years ago and is now in frontline service with some of the world's largest airlines. This volume follows the aircraft's wide-body development and service history. A technical profile describes the airframe, engine and systems for each variant.
The Douglas DC-8, which began life in the 1950s as the Douglas Model 1881, became available to airliners about a year after the first Boeing 707s. However, from the outset, Douglas regarded this time lag as an advantage. In particular, it determined that safety and performance standards should be maintained without loss of flying qualities and, unlike Boeing, was able to pursue its design unhampered by consideration of military requirements. Flying with airlines such as KLM, Philippine Airlines, and VIASA, the Douglas DC-8 proved suited to work around the world. As a testament to its excellent airframe, there are currently still a handful of the 556 DC-8s built in service today, over 60 years after their introduction. This book, which features over 190 images, most of which have never been published before, explores the history of the DC-8 and those who made it the success it still is today.
A guide to the plane that changed commercial aviation: “A whopping 109 color photos shows kits in various stages of completion . . . Enjoyed it.” —Historical Miniatures Gaming Society No airliner in the history of commercial aviation has had a more profound effect than the Douglas DC-3. Reliable and easy to maintain, it carried passengers in greater comfort than ever before. Its origins stem from a design by the Douglas Aircraft Company of Santa Monica, California. Known as the Douglas Commercial One, or DC-1, this new aircraft was revolutionary in concept. It was quickly developed into the DC-2, which led to Douglas’ domination of the domestic air routes of the United States, and of half the world. Experience with the DC-2 led to an improved version, the Douglas Sleeper Transport (DST), first flown on December 17, 1935. This in turn evolved into a 21-seat variant, the DC-3, featuring many improvements. The first American Airlines DC-3 entered service in June 1936, and within three years of its introduction the aircraft accounted for a staggering 95 percent of all US commercial air traffic. From commencement of service to the attack on Pearl Harbor, the DC-3 increased domestic revenue passenger miles more than fivefold. Of the 322 aircraft operated by the country’s airlines in December 1941, 260 were DC-3s. At the pre-war peak, 30 foreign airlines operated the DC-3. On the eve of war, the DC-3’s scheduled flights represented 90 percent of international air traffic. In addition to over 600 civil examples of the DC-3, 10,048 military C-47 variants were built, as well as 4,937 produced under license in the USSR as the Lisunov Li-2 and 487 built by Showa and Nakajima in Japan as the L2D. After the war, thousands of surplus C-47s were converted for civilian use. These aircraft became the standard equipment of almost all the world’s airlines, remaining in frontline service for many years. The ready availability of cheap, easily maintained ex-military C-47s, large and fast by the standards of the day, jump-started the worldwide postwar air transport industry. The full remarkable story of the DC-3, and its ancestor the DC-2, is told in these pages, providing a wealth of information for the modeler and the enthusiast alike.
The NIV is the world's best-selling modern translation, with over 150 million copies in print since its first full publication in 1978. This highly accurate and smooth-reading version of the Bible in modern English has the largest library of printed and electronic support material of any modern translation.
This aircraft was used as a transport, VIP carrier, station hack, a trainer with VT-29, and its usage in Antarctica with VX-6 from 1952 into the 1980s. The DC-3S was a Douglas venture to add capability and life to the post-war fleet of surplus DC-3s, C-47s and R4Ds. It was an remanufactured aircraft with a stretched fuselage, new taller and wider tail group, new square tip outer wings, larger engines and fully enclosed main gear housings. It did not find favor with the airlines which instead turned to Convairs and Martins, but found a home in the Navy and Marines. 96 aircraft were eventually re-manufactured as R4D-8s and 4 as R4D-8Zs.
