Aircraft Books - Great Britain - History and Models

British Aircraft Before the Great War

For the very first time, the history of British pre-World War I aircraft has been gathered together in one volume, with more than 900 of them well illustrated. This book constitutes a most valuable contribution about a remarkable period in aviation history and is a memorial to the bravery and inventiveness of the intrepid pioneers of that far off era.
Among the many famous manufacturer's covered are Avro, Sopwith, Shorts, and Bristol. Many lesser known designers and builders such as Martin-Handasyde and Howard Wright are also given ample coverage.

Why Not? - The Story of the Honourable Charles Stuart Rolls

Charles Rolls was the first Englishman to be killed in an air crash. He was thirty years old. Rolls's death shocked the country and made headlines across the world. His relative youth at the time is perhaps the reason that he is a forgotten hero; a man who today receives little credit for the legacy that he left behind, even though at the time of his death on July 12th 1910 he was one of the most famous men in the country. His loss was regarded as a national tragedy.

Today he is most famous for the partnership he forged with Henry Royce to form Rolls-Royce, a name that today is as synonymous with excellence as it was then. Yet Rolls was a national hero long before he met Royce in Manchester in 1904. He made his first ascent in a balloon in 1898 and was experimenting with the possibilities of powered flight as early as 1901. One of the first Britons to fly, he made the first return crossing of the Channel in 1909 in a Wright Flyer and was acclaimed across the world.

The son of a peer, Rolls was one of the first, and certainly the youngest of Britain's pioneer motorists. He was a successful racing driver and achieved what many believed impossible - selling the motor car to Britain.
With the reliability of the car achieved, Rolls immersed himself in conquering the next great frontier, the air.
Charles Rolls was an enigma, a man of great paradox, and yet he was a great patriot, racing driver, record breaker, aviator, one of the United Kingdom's great industrialists, a pioneer in the true sense of the word and he had a prophetic ability to see the way of the future.

This biography quotes extensively from the writings of Charles Rolls himself and from contemporary accounts of the events during those pioneer days of motoring and aviation.

Flying Boats of the Solent and Poole

Flying boats have been a familiar sight in the Solent since the dawn of aviation. Two of Britain's major manufactures, Saunders-Roe and Supermarine, were based in Cowes and Woolston respectively. The area has been home to flying boats of Imperial Airways and, latterly, BOAC and Aquila Airways.

With a terminal at Hythe and then Southampton Docks, one could view not just majestic ocean liners but huge flying boats too, from the Empire boats of Imperial Airways to the majestic Saunders-Roe Princess, built in the post-war period. During wartime, BOAC operated their vital flying boat services from Poole Harbour. In fact, BOAC was based at Poole for longer than Southampton - a fact frequently overlooked, mostly due to wartime censorship.

Post-war route expansion was also undertaken while still at Poole. Military aviation in the area saw flying boats operated from RAF Calshot and RAF Hamworthy, with types ranging from elderly biplanes to Sunderlands.
Mike Phipp takes us on a tour of the Solent area and Poole Harbour's flying boat heritage using many previously unpublished images of the aircraft plus the men and women that flew and maintained them.

From War to Peace : a Photographer's View of British Aviation During the 1940s

A photographic record of the aviation scene in Britain between the years 1940-1949. The photographs were taken by E. J. Riding (1916-1950) who spent his working life in the aviation industry, but was tragically killed in a flying accident.
During his short life, he worked as an aircraft engineer, professional photographer, draughtsman, aero-modeller and aviation writer.

Riding began taking photographs of aircraft in 1931 aged fifteen. Fortunately, he kept copious notes recording the locations and dates of when and where aircraft were photographed.
During the 1940s, he covered the rapid transition from propeller-driven aircraft to first-generation jets. The early part of the book covers Riding's wartime work as an aircraft inspector with two major aircraft companies, mostly illustrated with photographs taken surreptitiously.

Once civil aviation returned in January 1946, Riding took many air-to-air photographs of light aircraft that made regular visits to Heathrow and Croydon to photograph the new generation of airliners.
Three Farnborough air shows are featured in addition to several race meetings, including one featuring the latest piston and jet fighters.

More Testing Times - Test Flying in the 1980s and '90s

Following his first three successful books, describing his long career as a military pilot, Mike Brooke completes the story with more tales of test flying during the 1980s and '90s.
During this period his career changed to see him take control of flying at Farnborough and then at Boscombe Down, as well as off-the-cuff delivery missions to Saudi Arabia, 'bombing' in the name of science in the Arctic and the chance to fulfil a long-standing dream and fly the vintage SE.5a.

This often hilarious memoir gives a revealing insight into military and civilian test flying of a wide range of aircraft, weapons and systems.
As in his previous books, Brooke continues to use his personal experiences to give the reader a unique view of flight trials of the times, successes and failures. More Testing Times and its earlier volumes make for fascinating reading for any aviation enthusiast.

SBAC Farnborough : a History

Home to the famous biennial Farnborough Air Show, the town of Farnborough in the south of England has had a pivotal role in the history of British aviation since flying commenced from the site in 1905.
The Royal Aeronautical Establishment was set up there and rapidly expanded as the scene of many significant developments in British aviation for many decades. Over the years, a range of buildings were constructed for various purposes and to house specific functions such as wind tunnels.

Many of these buildings are now listed and protected as part of a museum on the site. Farnborough is best known for its experiments and development of aircraft types. After the Second World War, it played host to a considerable variety of aircraft, including a number of Axis types captured during the war.

Beautifully illustrated and written by a leading aviation expert, SBAC Farnborough: A History is the definitive book on the subject of Farnborough from 1932 onwards.