FIRST FLIGHT: The Wright Brothers and the Invention of the Airplane.

US,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn.FINE/FINE.No owner inscrptn,and no price-clip to dw/dj.Bright,clean,photographic illustrated dw/dj; with negligible shelf-wear and creasing to edges and corners - no nicks or tears present.Top+fore-edges bright and clean; contents bright, tight,clean and near pristine.Bright,clean,sharp-cornered,air-force blue paper-covered boards with bright,crisp,blocked silver gilt letters to spine/backstrip and ISBN to rear board's lower edge/ corner,blue+yellow headband and immaculate plain white endpapers.US,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn,1-r394pp [paginated] includes 10 chapters,profuse contemporary,aeronautical b/w photographs and diagrams interspersed throughout the text and the book,notes, a bibliography,an index; plus [unpaginated] half-title+title pages,and contents list/table. How did a couple of bicycle mechanics from Dayton,Ohio, accomplish what some of the greatest minds in the world had been trying and failing to achieve for an entire century? Dumb luck? Trial and error? Or were the Wright brothers superb engineers whose invention was the product of diligent study,careful analysis,and a thorough understanding of the successes and failures of their predecessors? In 'First Flight',acclaimed aviation writer T. A. Heppenheimer debunks the popular assumption that the Wright bothers were a pair of amateurs whose succesful attempt to build and pilot a powered airplane was the result of simple persistence and serendipity.He demonstrates that Wilbur and Orville Wright were true engineering geniuses who had already produced substantial improvements on the inventions and research of others - and whose feat equalled those of Thomas Edison,Alexander Graham Bell,and other giants of the age of invention. This compelling biography/technological history traces the brothers' interest in mechanics,engineering,mathematics,and flight to their earliest childhood,when they "lived together,played together,worked together,and,in fact,thought together." It shows how,from early efforts in the printing business - which included a press designed and built by Orville and a paper-folding device designed and built by Wilbur - to their successful ventures in the newly emerging bicycle industry,both brothers demonstrated a high degree of ingenuity, creativity,and engineering prowess. Recounting the contributions of such important aviation pioneers as Samuel P. Langley,Octave Chanute,and Otto Lilienthal,'First Flight' reveals that the Wright brothers succeeded by focusing on the single problem that none of their predecessors fully confronted: how to control the flight of a powered,heavier-than-air vehicle. Follow the Wrights as they reason their way to "wing warping" as the key to directional control,rethink accepted ideas on the optimum shape of an airfoil,and devise methods for the sustained and repeated testing of their theories and designs.You'll go with them to Kitty Hawk,North Carolina,where they test a series of gliders, develop crucial piloting skills,and race against the well-financed Langley/Smithsonian Institution project to achieve the first piloted, powered flight. 'First Flight' features clear,easy-to-understand explanations of early flight technology and detailed accounts of the Wright brothers' substantial post-1903 contributions to air travel.It is must reading for aviation buffs,history and biography readers,and anyone who enjoys a rousing tale about real people who set their sights on a goal and triumph against the odds. An aviation expert uncovers the brilliance behind the first successful flight of an engine-powered plane In the centennial year (2003) of the Wright Brothers' first successful flight,and acclaimed aviation writer T.A.Heppenheimer re-examines what Wilbur and Orville Wright achieved. Please contact seller @ rpaxtonden@blueyonder.co.uk ,because of the weight of this item,for correct shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page! ** N.B. ALL buyers please note,stocks' actual shipping/P+p costs are adjusted and any difference is refunded,after order's receipt and before the order's despatch,especially if the item(s) are offered either P+p included/FREE. ** N.B. US/Canada customers please be aware: Standard AIRMAIL postage from UK to these destinations can now cost more than the price of the book! If speed is not of the essence,then Economy rate is recommended - at approx. anything from a 1/3rd to 1/2 of the standard AIR quote/rate - sometimes arriving sooner than the 42 days - but not always.