Final Approach - Northwest Airlines Flight 650, Tragedy and Triumph

Final Approach - Northwest Airlines Flight 650, Tragedy and Triumph
Author: Lyle Prouse
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2011-11-29
Genre: Air pilots
ISBN: 9781460951996

The first airline pilot ever arrested and sent to prison for flying under the influence, and fired by his airline and stripped of his FAA licenses, recounts his rise, fall, and rise in the airline industry.

Reconsidering a Century of Flight

Reconsidering a Century of Flight
Author: Roger D. Launius
Publisher: UNC Press Books
Total Pages: 314
Release: 2015-12-01
Genre: Transportation
ISBN: 146962558X

On December 17, 1903, Orville and Wilbur Wright soared into history during a twelve-second flight on a secluded North Carolina beach. Commemorating the 100th anniversary of the first flight, these essays chart the central role that aviation played in twentieth-century history and capture the spirit of innovation and adventure that has characterized the history of flight. The contributors, all leading aerospace historians, consider four broad themes relating to the development of flight technology: innovation and the technology of flight, civil aeronautics and government policy, aerial warfare, and aviation in the American imagination. Through their attention to the political, economic, military, and cultural history of flight, the authors establish that the Wrights' invention--and all that followed in both air and space--was one of the most significant technologies of the twentieth century, fundamentally reshaping our world. Supported by the First Flight Centennial Commission The contributors are Janet R. Daly Bednarek, Tami Davis Biddle, Roger E. Bilstein, Hans-Joachim Braun, David T. Courtwright, Anne Collins Goodyear, Roger D. Launius, William M. Leary, David D. Lee, W. David Lewis, John H. Morrow, Dominick A. Pisano, and A. Timothy Warnock.

Flying Drunk

Flying Drunk
Author: Joseph Balzer
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
Total Pages: 225
Release: 2009
Genre: History
ISBN: 9781932714715

Jacket subtitle: The true story of a Northwest Airlines flight, three drunk pilots, and one man's fight for redemption.

Airstream Land Yacht

Airstream Land Yacht
Author: Ken Babstock
Publisher: House of Anansi
Total Pages: 114
Release: 2006
Genre: Poetry
ISBN: 0887847404

A love song to the worldless parts of the world, Airstream Land Yacht explores the inexpressible. Partly grounded in the concrete of everday experience and partly floating away in the ineffable, these poems delve into questions of conscience and problems of consciousness. Generating music from paradox, they treat the intellect as equal parts junk heap and life preserver, making for a spellbinding collection that charts a bold new direction for an acclaimed poet.

Locomotive to Aeromotive

Locomotive to Aeromotive
Author: Simine Short
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
Total Pages: 363
Release: 2011-08-01
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0252093321

French-born and self-trained civil engineer Octave Chanute designed America's two largest stockyards, created innovative and influential structures such as the Kansas City Bridge over the previously "unbridgeable" Missouri River, and was a passionate aviation pioneer whose collaborative approach to aeronautical engineering problems encouraged other experimenters, including the Wright brothers. Drawing on rich archival material and exclusive family sources, Locomotive to Aeromotive is the first detailed examination of Chanute's life and his immeasurable contributions to engineering and transportation, from the ground transportation revolution of the mid-nineteenth century to the early days of aviation. Aviation researcher and historian Simine Short brings to light in colorful detail many previously overlooked facets of Chanute's professional and personal life. In the late nineteenth century, few considered engineering as a profession on par with law or medicine, but Chanute devoted much time and energy to the newly established professional societies that were created to set standards and serve the needs of civil engineers. Though best known for his aviation work, he became a key figure in the opening of the American continent by laying railroad tracks and building bridges, experiences that later gave him the engineering knowledge to build the first stable aircraft structure. Chanute also introduced a procedure to treat wooden railroad ties with an antiseptic that increased the wood’s lifespan in the tracks. Establishing the first commercial plants, he convinced railroad men that it was commercially feasible to make money by spending money on treating ties to conserve natural resources. He next introduced the date nail to help track the age and longevity of railroad ties. A versatile engineer, Chanute was known as a kind and generous colleague during his career. Using correspondence and other materials not previously available to scholars and biographers, Short covers Chanute's formative years in antebellum America as well as his experiences traveling from New Orleans to New York, his apprenticeship on the Hudson River Railroad, and his early engineering successes. His multiple contributions to railway expansion, bridge building, and wood preservation established his reputation as one of the nation's most successful and distinguished civil engineers. Instead of retiring, he utilized his experiences and knowledge as a bridge builder in the development of motorless flight. Through the reflections of other engineers, scientists, and pioneers in various fields who knew him, Short characterizes Chanute as a man who believed in fostering and supporting people who were willing to learn. This well-researched biography cements Chanute's place as a preeminent engineer and mentor in the history of transportation in the United States and the development of the airplane.

REBEL & REFORMER OF AIRWAYS

REBEL & REFORMER OF AIRWAYS
Author: Ronald Edward George Davies
Publisher: Smithsonian Books (DC)
Total Pages: 456
Release: 1987-06-17
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN:

Twenty-five profiles of airline pioneers.

Classic American Airliners

Classic American Airliners
Author: Bill Yenne
Publisher: Zenith Press
Total Pages: 168
Release: 2001
Genre: Transportation
ISBN: 9780760309131

A combination of modern and period photos gives readers an overview of the evolution of American airliners and the heyday of luxury air travel. 100 photos.

Range Unlimited

Range Unlimited
Author: Bill Holder
Publisher: Schiffer Military History
Total Pages: 84
Release: 2000
Genre: History
ISBN:

Range Unlimited covers the developmental history of aerial refueling, including the United States and other countries, as well as modern advancements and technologies. Also covered are the current aerial refueling model types and configurations used in the world today, as well as a look at what refueling techniques may be applied in the 21st century and beyond.

Patton's Air Force

Patton's Air Force
Author: David N. Spires
Publisher: Smithsonian Institution
Total Pages: 569
Release: 2014-06-10
Genre: History
ISBN: 1935623508

From the time the Third Army became operational on August 1, 1944, until the guns fell silent on May 8, 1945, Lt. Gen. George S. Patton's troops covered more ground and took more enemy prisoners than any other Allied army in northwest Europe. Brig. Gen. Otto P. Weyland's XIX Tactical Air Command (TAC) provided air support every step of the way. Their combined success is something of an anomaly; air-ground relationships are notoriously confrontational and plagued with inter-service competition. How did Patton and Weyland work together to achieve such astounding success? Drawing on exclusive access to official records, David N. Spires finds that this success was due to four key developments: the maturation of tactical aviation doctrine, effective organizational procedures, a technical revolution in equipment, and, above all, the presence of pragmatic men of goodwill who made the system work. He focuses on the highly effective personal relationship between Patton and Weyland -- men who respected, trusted, and fully relied on each other and their respective subordinates. This collaboration extended all the way down the chain of command: Patton's ground troops and Weyland's airmen trained together in England, and so by the time they entered combat, they operated together as a single unit. Contrary to conventional wisdom, air-ground relationships in the field can be cooperative rather than confrontational. Today's air and ground officers can continue to benefit from the amazing success of the Third Army and the XIX TAC.

Flying Drunk

Flying Drunk
Author: Joseph Balzer
Publisher: Savas Beatie
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2009-07-28
Genre: History
ISBN: 1611210488

March 8, 1990: An intoxicated three-man crew, including Flight Engineer Joseph Balzer, fly a Northwest Airlines Boeing 727 with 91 passengers aboard from Fargo, North Dakota to Minneapolis, Minnesota.Northwest Airlines, alcoholism July 25, 1990: All three pilots stand trial for flying a commercial airliner while under the influence of alcohol; all three are convicted and sent to federal prison. July 26, 1990 – present: Joe Balzer fights for redemption and to regain all that he has lost. Flying Drunk is his story. Since he was a young boy, Joe Balzer dreamed of flying. He pursued his goal with a vigorous passion and earned his pilot licenses, piling up hours of flight time with a wide variety of planes and jets with one overarching goal: to one day fly for a major airline. But Joe had a problem. He was an alcoholic and refused to admit to himself that he had a problem. His alcoholism caught up with him in March 1990, when Joe was arrested with two other pilots for flying a commercial airliner while under the influence of alcohol. His world began crumbling around him and his new marriage faced the ultimate test. He lost his promising career and his dignity. Every major media outlet, including The New York Times, Newsweek, and Time Magazine covered the shocking story for the stunned American flying public. The trial that followed drained Joe’s life’s savings and federal prison nearly broke him. Flying Drunk is Joe’s bittersweet and thoroughly chilling memoir of his twisted journey to a Federal courtroom, his time in the notorious Federal penitentiary system in Atlanta, and his struggle to recapture all that he held dear. Today, Joe is a recovering alcoholic, celebrating more than nineteen years of sobriety. The long road back from perdition led him to American Airlines, where good people and a great organization recognized a talented pilot who had cleaned up his act and was ready to fly again, safely. Flying Drunk is an incredible journey of the human spirit, from childhood to hell, and back again. Everyone should read and heed its message of hope and redemption. No one who does will ever forget it. About the Author: Joe Balzer is a pilot for American Airlines with more than 15,000 hours of flight experience. He has a Master’s Degree in Aerospace Education and is also an inspirational speaker, traveling around the country speaking to pilots and other groups on the dangers of alcohol and other addictions, bringing his audience to laughter and tears with his powerful message of hope. Joe lives in Tennessee with his wife Deborah and their two children. Flying Drunk is his first book.