Spirit of America Bookstore

A History of Aviation

color postcard of Boeing 314 flying boat over the Golden Gate Bridge & Marin County          short history

books on aviation history

pioneers

timeline

famous American sircraft

The Space Race

film festival

links

some pungent quotation
— somebody



          B I O

          t e x t

          h e r e

Aviation Vintage Art category at AllPosters.com



Books on Aviation History
History of Aviation catalog at Amazon

"Before Amelia" by Eileen F. Lebow (Brassey)
"Mavericks of The Sky" re mail pilots
"Come Fly With Us" re stewardesses
CReeve "The Aviator" post-WW1 + book > SA/flight + maybe ML/WW1?
"After Sputnik"
"Space Odyssey: First Forty Years of Space Exploration" by Brunier
"Enola Gay" book by Thomas & Witts + atomic

"Whatever Happened To Curtiss-Wright?: The Story of How A Very Successful Aircraft Company
Took Itself Out of The Business, 1945-1953" [12/89] by Robert W. Fausel /0897450809/

"Legacy of Flight" photo book [] by Romanowski & Keiser



Aviation Pioneers

folks who preceded Kittyhawk were
Lyman Gilmore of Colfax, California (steam-powered aeroplane, 1902)
Samuel Langley
Richard Pearce of New Zealand (uncontrolable flight)
Preston Watson of Scotland (glider)


The Wright Brothers
Orville Wright [1871–1948] & Wilbur Wright [1867–1912]
bookswebsitePBS 'Innovators' episodeCentennial Dec 2003PBS bio

Amazon's 'Celebration of Flight'


The Golden Age of Aviation
http://www.earlyaviators.com/ebanning.htm

aviatrix Pancho Barnes
"Pancho Barnes" [1988 TV movie] /tt0095816/ starring Nance Williamson

aviatrix Amelia Earhart
"Amelia Earhart" [1976 TV movie] /tt0074132/ starring Susan Clark
"Amelia Earhart: The Final Flight" [1994 TV movie] /tt0109096/ with Diane Keaton
"Amelia" [2009] with Hillary Swank {see below}

aviator Charles A. Lindbergh [1902-74] & Anne Morrow Lindbergh
"The Lives of Beryl Markham" by Errol Trzebinski (pb- Mar 1995) 0393312526
aviator Wiley Post [1898-1935]
aviatrix Louise M. Thaden



Aviation & Space Timeline
1834 June: Albert Mason displayed a working model of his 'aerial steamboat' in Cincinnati, Ohio.
1903 Kittyhawk
1904 Wright Bros. made significant improvement to their flying machine
1905 Wright Bros.s built the historically-official 'first practical heavier-than-air flying mcahine'
1906 Brazilian ex-pat Alberto Santos-Dumont made the first FAI-certified flight in France (leading to chauvinistic claims that Wrights were not first)
1906 May 22: The Wright Brothers received the patent for their flying machine.
1908 Wright Bros. added a more powerful engine to their flying machine, allowing easier takeoffs and better maneuverability
1908 Wilbur Wright flew exhibitions in Europe, shattering all previous records for distance, duration and altitude

  • 1909 July 25: French aviator Louis Bleriot became the first person to fly an airplane across the English Channel, traveling from Calais, France to Dover, England in 37 minutes.
    1912 Wilbur Wright died of typhoid fever
    1915 Orville sold Wright Co., became almost recluse in Dayton (xx Hill)
    1927 May 19-20: Aviator Charles Lindbergh made the first successful solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean, traveling nonstop from Roosevelt Field in Long Island, New York to Paris, France in 33.5 hours.
    1927 June 13: Aviator Charles Lindberg was honored with a ticker-tape parade in New York City.
    1929 Nov 29: First airplane flight over the South Pole, with U.S. Navy Cmdr. Richard E. Byrd, pilot Bernt Balchen & photographer Ashley McKinney aboard.
    James Herman Banning was the first Afro-American to fly coast-to-coast, accompanied by mechanic Thomas Allen. The flight encompassed 42 hours aloft, but took 21 days because they needed to raise money for gasoline at each stop.
    1933 July 22: American aviator Wiley Post completed the first solo flight around the world in seven days and 18-3/4 hours.
    1948 Jan 27: Orville Wright died
    1971 Nov 24: Airplane hijacker D.B. Cooper escaped by parachute with a suitcase of cash over a forest in Washington State; he was never identified, the case is unsolved, he was never heard from again.



    Famous American Aircraft
    AT-6 Texan trainer
    B-25
    Lockheed B-45 Tornado jet bomber + book by John C. Frederiksen
    U.S. Navy F-4U Corsair
    F-16 Thunderbird
    H-4 / HK-1 'Hercules' Flying Boat [1947] aka the 'Spruce Goose'
    P-51 Mustang
    USAF SR-71 operational 12/64, halted 1990; did Mach 3 (approx 2,280 MPH) at 85.000 feet
    U-2 / OL-20 reconnaisance plane



    The Space Race

    SPACE TRAVELERS Carlo Burton aka Charles Evans - 2009 - 80m
    A documentary on legendary aerospace pioneer & designer Burt Rutan

    Truth, Lies, and O-Rings / Inside the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster
    Allan J. McDonald & James R. Hansen http://booksxyz.com/profile3805018.php

    scientist Robert Goddard = 'father of rocketry'? --refer to Hermann Oberth in Germany?

    BOOK on Apollo Pgm "For All Mankind" by Harry Hunt III

    "Apollo 13" [1995]
    full credits from IMDb

    rocket scientist Robert Goddard [1882-1945]



    World War I German Luftwaffe Fokker triplane

    Aviation Film Festival

    "Wings" [1927]: full credits at IMDb

    "Hell's  Angels" [United Artists Nov 1930]
    Produced & directed by Howard Hughes; starring Ben Lyon, James Hall,
    Jean Harlow & John Darrow; Oscar nominated for Best Cinematography
    full credits from IMDb

    "Flying Tigers" [1942]
    Starring John Wayne; full credits at IMDb

    "Flight for Freedom" [1943] /tt0035888/
    with Rosalind Russell & Fred MacMurray

    "The  Memphis  Belle:  A  Story  of  a  Flying  Fortress"
    [Produced by F.M.P.U. of the U.S.A.A.F.; Paramount theatrical release April 1944]
    Memphis Belle movie  Directed by William Wyler; cinematography by 1Lt. Harold J. Tannenbaum; listed by National Film Directory 2001
    Platinum color DVD [11/2001] for $6.99
    Timeless color VHS [3/2000] for $12.99
    Tapeworm color VHS [12/99] out of stock/used
    Tapeworm color VHS [11/90] out of stock/used
    full credits at IMDbmovie fansite
    Memphis Belle remake  1990 remake [Warner Bros.]
    Directed by Michael Caton-Jones; script by Monte Merrick; starring Matthew Modine, Eric Stoltz, Tate Donovan, D.B. Sweeney, Harry Connick Jr., David Strathairn & John Lithgow
    Warner color DVD [5/98] for $9.88
    Warner color VHS [5/95] out of prodn/many used
    Varese soundtrack CD [10/90] for $16.98
    full credits at IMDb

    Memphis Belle B-17 Flying Fortress official website
    restored Liberty Belle B-17 Flying Fortress of Atlanta, Georgia

    "Strategic Air Command" [1955]: full credits at IMDb
    Directed by Anthony Mann; starring James Stewart & June Allyson

    "Lafayette Escadrille" [1958]
    Co-written & directed by William A. Wellman; starring Tab Hunter, David Janssen, Will Hutchins
    & Clint Eastwood; full credits at IMDb

    "The Right Stuff" [The Ladd Company 1983]
    full credits from IMDb

    "The Aviator"
    feature film [Miramax 17 Dec 2004]
    The Aviator movie   Produced & directed by Martin Scorsese; written by John Logan {'inspired by' the book "Howard Hughes: The Untold Story" by Peter Harry Brown & Pat H. Broeske, as well as "Howard Hughes: The Secret Life" by Charles Higham}; starring Leonardo DiCaprio as the young Howard Hughes; cast includes Kate Beckinsale as Ava Gardner, Cate Blanchett as Katharine Hepburn, Gwen Stefani as Jean Harlow, and John C. Reilly as Noah Dietrich; with Ian Holm, Alan Alda, Alec Baldwin & Willem Dafoe; nominated for Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Script, Best Actor [LD], Best Supporting Actor [Alda], Best Sound; won Oscars for Best Supporting Actress [CB], Best Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Costumes; also won ACE/Eddy, 4 BAFTA Awards, SAG's Best Supporting Actress [CB], and others; nominated for DGA & WGA awards
    Warner widescreen color DVD [5/2005] 2 disks for $6.99
    Warner full-screen color DVD [5/2005] 2 disks for $11.99
    Warner color VHS [5/2005] out of prodn/used
    Sony soundtrack CD [12/2004] for $14.99
    full credits from IMDb
    FK's unofficial fansite movie pagestudio's official website
    screenplay by John Logan: Miramax 9x6 pb [12/2004] for $10.95

    "Flyboys" [2006]: full credits at IMDb
    Young Americans of the Lafayette Escadrille; directed by Tony Bill

    "Amelia" [Fox Searchlight Oct 2009]
    2009 Amelia Earhart movie poster   Amelia Earhart followed her dream of flying, from the first woman to fly across the Atlantic to the first woman to fly around the world. Her tragic disappearance over the South Pacific in July 1937 cemented the legend that she wanted to become. Co-produced by Ronald Bass, Hilary Swank & others; directed by Mira Nair; written by Ronald Bass & Anna Hamilton Phelan, officially based on two books; starring Hilary Swank, Richard Gere, Ewan McGregor, Mia Wasikowska, Christopher Eccleston, Joe Anderson & Cherry Jones
    Fox widescreen color Blu-ray [2/2010] 2 disks for $26.49  
    Fox widescreen color DVD [2/2010] for $17.49  
    full credits from IMDbofficial movie site
    Gabriel Yared soundtrack CD from Varese Records [11/2009] for $17.98
    East to the Dawn biography of Amelia Earhart by Susan Butler  
    "East To The Dawn: The Life of Amelia Earhart" [1997]
    by Susan Butler

    Da Capo Press 8¾x6 movie tie-in pb [8/2009] for $10.85
    Da Capo Press 8¾x6 pb [5/99] for $17.95
    Da Capo Press 8¾x6½ hardcover [10/97] out of print/used
    Sound of Wings biography of Amelia Earhart by Mary S. Lovell   "The Sound of Wings: The Life of Amelia Earhart" [1989]
    by Mary S. Lovell

    St. Martin's Griffin 9x6 pb [9/2009] for $12.23
    St. Martin's Griffin 8¾x5¾ pb [2/91] out of print/many used
    St. Martins Press 8½x6 hardcover [10/89] out of print/many, many used

    untitled feature film is now 'under development' about aviation pioneer Louise M. Thaden
    and the all-female transcontinental air race of 1929
    based on her 1938 book “High, Wide and Frightened”
    http://www.amazon.com/HIGH-WIDE-FRIGHTENED-Louise-Thaden/dp/155728766X/



    Links
    Flight Path Learning Center & Museum at LAX = www.flightpath.US
    NATL AVIATION HALL OF FAME >> hrh
    http://www.nationalaviation.org/website/index.asp?webpageid={29B403C2-424A-40CE-9A74-0DB137828215}
    http://www.earlyaviator.com/
    http//www.firstflightcentennial.org/
    http://www.flight100.org
    http://www.MuseumOfFlight.org in Seattle WA



    Online sales in association with  History of Aviation catalog at Amazon  and  Aviation Vintage Art category at AllPosters.com

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