The story of the revolutionary strike-fighter which has been at the forefront of American air combat for nearly three decades From failed Air Force fighter to the Navy's "universal soldier," this history chronicles the evolution of the Hornet. Built to replace both the A-7 Corsair II light attack aircraft and the F-4 Phantom II fighter in Navy service, the F/A-18 evolved from Northrop's YF-17 in the late 1970s. Production aircraft reached the Navy in May 1980, with the Marine Corps receiving Hornets two years later. More than 800 examples would eventually be built for American service, with a further 500 aircraft being sold to seven export customers. Earning its battle spurs in April 1986 flying strike missions against Libya from U.S. carriers in the Mediterranean, the Hornet would subsequently participate in Operation Desert Storm five years later and the various "policing" operations in Iraq and the Balkans that followed. Still very much in frontline use with the Navy and Marine Corps today, the "legacy" Hornet, as all non-Super Hornet variants have been dubbed, provides the backbone for carrier-based naval aviation.

Penetrating the mythology surrounding the bizarre life of the billionaire businessman, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative team portrays Howard Hughes as a man who, in time, came to be ruled by his madness

Drawing on letters, diaries, eyewitness accounts, oral histories, and other primary source material, this incisive portrait focuses on the accomplishments of the Wilbur and Orville Wright, in a volume celebrating the one hundredth anniversary of their first successful flight at Kitty Hawk. 75,000 first printing.

The author of Attack From the Sea examines the pioneering work of Glenn Curtiss and his role in the origins of aviation in the U.S. Navy in the leading up to, and during, World War I, in a book with more than 45 photos.

Displays the 20,000 item collection of Colonel Richard Gimbel on the history of flight. After retiring from the U.S. Air Force, Gimbel became Curator of Aeronautical Literature at Yale where he continued building his collection, eventually donated to the US Air Force Academy in 1970. Five thousand year-old seals carved from semi-precious stones and used to inscribe clay tablets record some of the earliest known instances of the dream of flight. Of thousands of books, some date from the 15th century, some are scientific like Robert Hooke's Philosophical Collections (1682), and others are about imaginary voyages into space and other worlds, including Ludovico Ariosto's Orlando Furioso (1547), Cyrano de Bergerac's account of a voyage to the moon (1651), and the 19th-century classics of Jules Verne. There also some 2,000 prints, portraits, woodcuts, and lithographs, and letters and hundreds of commemorative medallions, sheet music, posters, dime novels, postcards, postage stamps, early flight manuals, catalog of aircraft equipment, match boxes, and children's games and toys. Oversize: 9x12. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Recounts Dahl's life as a young man from his employment with the Shell Company in Tanzania through his service in the Royal Air Force during World War II

Looks at all aspects of flight from the history, pioneers, and early craft of flying, to the development of rockets and spacecraft

In 1935 Donald W. Douglas set out to build a fast, comfortable airliner to ply coast-to-coast routes in the USA. Little did he and his team realize it would become the standard transport of the world's airlines. With some 1000 DC-3s still flying, this volume pays tribute to six decades of service.

Reconstructs the early years of aviation and discusses famous and lesser-known aviators, ranging from Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart to Calbraith P. Rodgers