Milestones of Flight takes readers soaring through the high points of American aviation: from the Wright brothers and their competitors to the military pilots who first circumnavigated the globe, from the initial space rocket to the moon walk, from the earliest manmade satellite to today’s spy drones. The book also describes what inventions—such as rocket propulsion, the wind tunnel, and the silicon chip—helped move flight upward and beyond. Profusely illustrated with objects from the Smithsonian’s collection, Milestones of Flight provides an inspiring look at America’s contributions to aviation. The book includes a bibliography, author’s note, and index.
Experience the history of flight with the world-class aviation collection at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, which attracts millions and millions of visitors each year in Washington, D.C.From the moment the Wright Brothers first took flight in 1903 to the modern-day reliance on stealth aircraft and drones, there have been significant advances made in aviation. Milestones of Flight celebrates each era of advancements by showcasing the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum's world-class aircraft collection. Authored by Dr. Robert van der Linden, a leading expert on aviation and Chairman of the Aeronautics Department at the NASM, this book is a stunning profile of the advancements in flight from decade to decade, illustrated with beautiful, large-scale photography and enhanced with little-known facts, anecdotes, and insights from major players in the aviation industry.Climb inside the cockpit of the Spirit of St. Louis that Charles Lindbergh piloted solo across the Atlantic Ocean, making history. Contrast that with a Boeing B-29 Superfortress, the first aircraft to drop an atomic bomb. The full-page photos of each milestone-making aircraft are accompanied by timelines to showcase related aircraft as well as sidebars with interesting and little-known facts, stories, and related research.Milestone categories include:- Era of Early Flight- World War I First Fighters- Long-Range Record-Setting Flight- Popular Flight- First Commercial Airliners- World War II Aircraft- Experimental Flight- Cold War Military/Korean Conflict Aircraft- Commercial Jets- Modern Military AircraftWhat will the next milestone be?
"[This book] celebrates aviation's most significant achievements through the stories behind twenty-nine legendary aircraft housed at the NASM."--Jacket.
A history of exploration through eleven objects from the Air and Space Museum: “Takes you behind the scenes with firsthand stories and rare photos.” —William F. Readdy, former NASA astronaut and Space Shuttle commander Throughout human history, across cultures and landscapes, countless individuals have gazed with wonder in the same direction: upward. Getting to space was no easy task, and our quest to further explore the universe, to understand the impossibly vast heavens, continues. In Milestones of Space, Michael Neufeld and select curators of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum present a gorgeous photographic celebration of some of the most groundbreaking artifacts that played key parts in giving humanity its first steps into the cosmos. Focusing on the most iconic objects and technology—such as Friendship 7, the Lunar Module 2, Neil Armstrong’s Lunar Suit, the Hubble Space Telescope, and Space Shuttle Discovery—this book extensively profiles eleven of the NASM’s most important breakthroughs in space technology. The NASM curators feature each object in incredible detail with compelling timelines, sidebars and captions, and over 150 archival images that provide new and little-known insights into their development and historical context. We are still a long way from grasping our universe—but for now, Milestones of Space magnificently commemorates the individuals and inventions that have taken us this far.