Aviation

New Zealand?s first licensed airline to fly scheduled services, operated the Hokitika to Haast route on the scenic West Coast of the South Island. Air Travel (NZ) Ltd was launched in 1934 by legendary pilot Bert Mercer, the first Kiwi to achieve 10,000 flying hours. The airline also pioneered airmail, air-ambulance, alpine to... read more

On 17 December 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright made the first sustained, controlled flights in a powered aircraft. So began a transport mode that steadily became fundamentally important to the people of the world. A century after the Wright brothers' first pioneering initiatives, this book, for the first time, provides a ... read more

DoP 2000, NZ A-4 / 148pp SPANZ (South Pacific Airlines of New Zealand) made a big splash in New Zealand's highly regulated aviation environment of the 1960's. this book tells how the airline boldly challenged the air licensing bureaucracy, political establishment and the government owned NAC monopoly of the day. With thei... read more

Adventures of the aviation pioneers of Gisborne and Hawkes Bay in NZ; joyriding off beaches; hand-swung propellers; forced landings and much more. A4 portrait format, 96 pages including 4 pages in colour.

When de Havilland proposed, in 1938, an unarmed bomber constructed almost entirely from wood, few would have thought it could become one of the most versatile aircraft of the Second World War. The Mosquito easily outran a Spitfire on its test flight and was ordered into mass production, soon proving itself a key weapon in the... read more

Cars designed to be flown and aircraft designed to be driven have been created surprisingly often, particularly in the United States, where the unfettered optimism of the 1930s and 1950s allowed such fanciful ideas to flourish from time to time. This book covers the subject, revealing the stories of many doomed ventures.

This is a guide to the existing WWII aircraft in aviation museums throughout the world. Each double page spread contains a color photo of an example of the aircraft as viewed in an aviation museum, examples of different marks (wartime shots in mono) and a textual resume of the type with statistics.

During WWII, on one raid alone, Nuremburg March 1944, more Bomber Command airmen lost their lives than were lost in the Battle of Britain. These were ordinary men who became part of extraordinary events. One such was Arthur Darlow, the author's grandfather. A pilot of a Lancaster crew in 405 RCAF crew, they were one of the le... read more

In 2010, what began as a routine long-haul flight from Singapore to Sydney came within a knife-edge of becoming one of the world's worst ever air disaster. When a sudden mid-air explosion shattered engine no. 2 of the Qantas A380 - the largest and most advanced passenger plane ever built - shrapnel ripped through the wing and... read more

The Douglas Aircraft Company was in the vanguard of the most important developments in the US air transportation industry of the 20th century. This in-depth study of the world's first truly modern airliners is crammed with stunning photographs of Douglas propliners from the golden age of air travel, as well as detailed techni... read more

In 1982, when he was travelling in India, Peter Vacher stumbled on the remains of a British plane - a Hurricane Mark 1, a veteran of the Battle of Britain. It was in a dreadful state. Could he restore it? Would it fly again? Not until 14 years later did he decide to act and after six years of wrangling he got the icon home. T... read more

The Avro Lancaster was the RAF's most famous and successful heavy bomber of the Second World War. Used predominantly at night, 'Lancs' dropped 608,612 tons of bombs in 156,000 sorties in the period 1942-1945. Some of these missions were incredibly daring - notably the 'dambusters' raid of 617 squadron on the Ruhr valley dams ... read more

There have been countless books written on the history of aviation, beginning in 1896, but there has not been a book that tells the story of the history of aviation safety from its origins to the present day until now. This book features the story of the United States airline system aviation safety history from its beginnings... read more

The inside story of how people invented and refined the airplane.Who were aviation's dreamers and from where did they draw their inspiration? What lessons did inventors learn from birds, insects, marine mammals, and fish that helped us fly? How did the bicycle lead to the airplane, and hot water heaters to metal fuselages? An... read more

This volume portrays the Hercules and its numerous variants in all its versatile roles around the globe over many decades, with photographs and specific design and production records.

The execution of aerial defense missions and precision attacks by fighter planes and fighter bombers are examined in this illustrated guide to the history and capabilities of aerial acrobats. Fascinating characteristics of fighter planes - such as their ability to fly thousands of miles away from their bases - execution of ae... read more

New Zealand has a proud history of powered flight dating back 100 years to the pioneering flights of Richard Pearse. Since then, hundreds of different aircraft have been seen in our skies together with many record-breaking pilots. Thanks to a growing number of individuals, groups and organisations dedicated to preserving our ... read more

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This book traces the combat history of the most famous and highest-scoring fighter group in France's World War I Aviation Militaire. Groupe de Combat 12 boasted the highest-scoring Allied fighter pilot, Ren

At the beginning of World War II, the Luftwaffe was the world's most advanced air force. With superior tactics, aircraft and training, it cut through opposition air forces. Despite this auspicious beginning, by 1945 the Luftwaffe was a dying force. The Allies were destroying German aircraft at unequal rates, and Luftwaffe avi... read more