Bill GunstonReseñas

Alphabetical survey of man's attempts since 1852 to design, develop and mass-produce aeroplanes and rotorcraft has more than 3000 entries

Uses contemporary accounts to trace the history of aviation and describe records, events, and technical developments

End of 1980s and mid 1990s were times where high technology applications to the aerospace industry in particular where awed at and people wrote about it (information was much more available I have a feeling than it is case today, or there was no information overload like today that IMHO has somewhat blocking nature). From introduction of fully digital cockpit demonstrators (today called full glass cockpits), concepts of FBW flight concts, to concepts of machines that can fly almost in space, VTOLs and tiltrotors and various multipurpose light fighters used for attack and air supremacy roles, like Tigershark and Mitsubishi CCV. Who can forget EPA and later competing French designs that at the end gave birth to Typhoon, revolutionary Grumman X29 or various Sikorsky prototypes of hi speed choppers. This was also time when Russian combat aircraft started becoming more known in the West, from air superiority fighters to heavy bombers and helicopters.

Excellent overview of technologies that are still in operational use and get ever improved.

Very informative little book. Highly recommended to all fans of aerospace technology.

OK

This text is a record of the great sweep of aviation history from man's first faltering attempts to fly to the modern technological triumphs such as the VTOL Harrier, Concorde and Stealth Bomber. This comprehensive account charts every significant aviation event, whether technological, social or miltiary and portrays the part played by the courage, imagination and ambition of the people involved.

OK

Bill Gunston takes a thorough look at the theory, history, development and application of piston aero engines, from those used by the Wright Brothers for their pioneering flights right up to the small engines fitted to micro lights today. Illustrated throughout.

Ilustrovaná příručka představuje slovem i obrazem nejvýznamnější bojová letadla používaná v průběhu 2. světové války.
Detailní seznámení s technickými parametry, vojenským vybavením a praktickými příklady bojového nasazení stíhacích letadel a bombardérů všech významných armád, účastnících se ať již na straně spojenců či fašistické koalice bojů na jednotlivých frontách 2. světové války. Kniha vyniká bohatými ilustrativními přílohami - bokorysy, schématy a fotografiemi.

This 1993 book is written by Bill Gunston, noted aviation writer and former Royal Air Force pilot. The topic is a daunting one where the author is challenged to chart the history of a technology yet make that history legible to readers who may not be technically oriented. Let's see how Gunston approaches that ideal.

This is a slim volume for the topic--a mere 222 pages. Gunston starts with an introduction that broadly outlines his topic, following that with two sections of text. Section I is the shorter of the two at 93 pages wherein Gunston explains how a piston aircraft engine works and is different from other types of internal combustion engines. There are four chapters in this section: Basic Principles; Engine Cycles; Engine Design I; and Engine Design II. Each chapter includes historical examples to highlight the author's discussion. Section I is where some readers' eyes may gloss over because of the scientific and engineering fundamentals are discussed, but this section is important to understand what is coming in Section II.

Sectin II is the history part of this book organized into another four chapters arranged chronologically: The Dawn of Powered Flight; Between the World Wars; The Big-engine Peak; and Piston Engines Today and Tomorrow. That last chapter also includes a contemporary (early 1990's) listing of general aircraft engines and manufacturers/designers, the last stronghold of the aircraft piston engine. Gunston follows Section II with a list of piston engine aircraft speed records, an appendix of abbreviations, a brief bibliography, and an index. The author is a noted writer of the old school who did not believe in footnotes/endnotess; however, Gunston's reputation is such that those appendages are not really needed.

This is a useful and needed primer for readers interested in this admittedly narrow-scoped topic. I wish I had read this book prior to my reading Whitney's "Vees for Victory", as what Gunston discusses would have clarified at least some of what Whitney was trying to say in his book. My Gunston schooling has already come in handy on my current read, Calum Douglas' "The Secret Horsepower Race". Gunston's work shows how the intricate interplay between mechanical engineering, materials science, fuels chemistry, and economics can make or break a particular concept, engine, or company. This book is profusely illustrated, which aids the reader in understandng the concepts and history in Gunston's text.

Overall this book is a must read for those with an interest in the history of technology and desires a basic understanding of aircraft internal combustion engines before embarking on deeper dives in more specialized aircraft engine books.

A comprehensive guide to modern military aircraft features diagrams and descriptions of more than one hundred types of planes and air-launched missiles as well as reviewing the air forces and military capabilities of each nation…Arranged alphabetically in three sections, it has over six hundred entries on all military aircraft in service, their missile systems and the air forces that fly them…contains more than a thousand illustrations and diagrams, and has a text of half a million words compiled by a team of eighteen leading aviation writers.

00011225

A comprehensive record of aviation history from man’s earliest attempts at flight through the end of the twentieth century. Filled with photographs, illustrations, facts, and figures, this inclusive account of technological, social, and military aviation events highlights the courage, imagination, and ambition of those involved in each event. Timelines and annual photo-galleries underscore significant aircraft and developments in technology as well as important flight records. And an encyclopedic cross-reference system links relevant articles.

Begin in 1500 with dreams of flight inspired by birds and myths and with Leonardo da Vinci’s designs and ingenious experimental flying machines. Fly with Montgolfier brothers in their historic 1781 balloon flight and with the Wright brothers in the “Flyer” at Kitty Hawk in 1903. Research by year . . . 1937: the Hindenburg explodes at Lakehurst, New Jersey; Amelia Earhart is lost over the Pacific; Howard Hughes sets a new transcontinental speed record from Los Angeles to Newark. 1957: B52s fly non-stop around the world; the Boeing 707 makes its first flight; Joseph Kittinger flies to a record 96,000 feet in the balloon “Man High 1.”

Research an aviation pioneer, a specific aircraft, a specific event, a specific year. From aviation pioneer Jimmy Doolittle to test pilot Scott Crossfield to test pilot/fighter pilot/astronaut Neil Armstrong walking on the moon and setting business jet records, this treasure-trove of flight puts the world of aviation at the reader’s fingertips.

Highly recommended.

Lots of great pictures, thoroughly researched and very detailed reference book.

Shows and describes the specifications of attack planes, fighters, bombers, helicopters, experimental aircraft, air-refueling tankers, and transport and reconnaissance aircraft

Good book

Out of literally thousands of books in my library, this one is by far and away my favorite. Sometimes the author takes facts" and just turns them on their head. Other vignettes challenge the orthodoxy of modern thinking such as axial versus centrifugal compressors.
Highly recommended.

Dated, But Still Relevant

Good solid, one volume introduction to the aircraft piston engine.
As a reference book, I strongly feel that this needs to be a standard reference within my library. This purchase is to replace a copy that was stolen.
The book is divided into two sections of 4 chapters each on development and design. The book is sufficiently if not lavishly illustrated.
If you're looking for development stories related to specific engines, you'll be disappointed with this volume. However, there are ancedotes that make the reading a little more interesting.
The writing is descriptive, approachable and easy to understand.
The bibliography is interesting in that Mr. Gunston used the books that have been considered to have set the standards on this subject over the years.
I won't 5 star this or my recommendations below. Too the best of my knowledge, there is no single introduction to the aircraft piston engine that is comprehensive or inexpensive. The closest may be "The Power to Fly", which is rare, expensive, and decidedly "pro-British" in it's stance.
I do recommend that following two volumes be purchased as companion volumes as part of an aviation library with coverage of aircraft piston engines:
1. Aircraft Propulsion: "A Review of the Evolution of Aircraft Piston Engines" by C. Fayette Taylor
Although dated, from a technical stand point this book provides a excellent treatise of engine development from a then contemporary standpoint
2. "History of Aircraft Piston Engines: Aircraft Piston Engines from the Manly Balzer to the Continental Tiara" by Herschel Smith
This book provides a overview of design as well as a survey of specific engines divided into groupings of era, size and type of engine. There is also a chapter on the "oddballs"
This is not a critical review. This is an excellent book and I recommend it.

The history of propeller airliners, from the first dramatic passenger flights in converted World War I planes of the great turboprops of the 1940s and 1950s, is a proud one. Though outnumbered on today's major air routes, the propeller-driven airliner is successfully holding its own and is now challenging jet liners on short routes where fuel economy is important.

A Technical directory of the warplanes of the Allied and Axis Countries 1939-1945. printed full color throughout. Two huge fold-outs. Over 780 illustrations of more than 250 major combat aircraft, plus variants. 200 full-color profile drawings. More than 100 color action photographs of authentic wartime aircraft. 25 highly detailed accurate cutaway drawings… capsule specifications and history, detailed performance statistics provide a pictorial and descriptive survey of combat aircraft since the First World War.

A comprehensive guide to modern military aircraft features diagrams and descriptions of more than one hundred types of planes and air-launched missiles as well as reviewing the air forces and military capabilities of each nation…Arranged alphabetically in three sections, it has over six hundred entries on all military aircraft in service, their missile systems and the air forces that fly them…contains more than a thousand illustrations and diagrams, and has a text of half a million words compiled by a team of eighteen leading aviation writers.

Accurate drawings, including several cutaway diagrams, and detailed performance statistics provide a pictorial and descriptive survey of combat aircraft since the First World War.
book is arranged by manufacturer and aircraft. Many schematic pages illustrate the component structure of aircraft such as the Mustang, Spitfire, and the Messerschmitt fighter evolution from the BF109. MIG 15, 19, and 21. Factory records give interesting number and date information as well as sales…includes history of design, prototypes, first flight, performance, engines, armament, production numbers, and deployment.
…overview of the main types of combat aircraft in use from WW1 to the mid 1970's. Although time has dated it severely (the F-15, 16 and 18 were new when it was written, for example) it provides accurate descriptions and technical data for those aircraft in active use prior to its publication. reasonable-sized reference for the period 1914-1975. Types regarded as "classics" are accorded a two-page cutaway. Other less classical aircraft are accorded colour (or sometimes B&W) diagrams/pictures, although there are no photographs as such. Less common types get 3-view line drawings. Information given for each type includes a description of the aircraft's development and/or combat history (if they saw combat, which some between-wars types did not), a description of most major subtypes and information as to technical detail such as armament, physical dimensions, weights and so on.

historical analysis of the rise and fall of Nazi air power includes a technical directory filled with statistical information on aircraft production of all the major Luftwaffe aircraft flown in combat and in training. 2 sections; a historical analysis and a technical directory.
Pounding the enemy from the skies, the German Luftwaffe was the symbol of Hitler's power. With its decline came the fall of the Third Reich in 1945. This history includes a glossary of terms and abbreviations and an appendix detailing the Luftwaffe chain of command. More than 250 authentic color photos and over 130 full-color illustrations.

Over 250 full-color and b&w illustrations highlight this look at t he fighting helicopters presently in use by military forces around the world. The focus is on the technology behind these weapons, and combat techniques employed.