This book examines the reality behind the myths of the legendary RAF fighter aces during the Battle of Britain. It explains why only a small minority of pilots, those in whom the desire for combat overrode everything, accounted for so large a proportion of the victories. It surveys the skills that a successful fighter pilot must have a natural aptitude for flying, marksmanship, keen eyesight and the way in which fighter tactics have developed. The...

Beryl Markham, born Beryl Clutterbuck in England, spent her life defying all expectations of how a woman should live and what any single person can achieve. Markham and her father moved to Kenya when she was a girl, and she grew up with a zebra for a pet, horses for friends, and baboons, lions, leopards, and gazelles for neighbors. She also became the first person to fly nonstop from Europe to America.

"High adventure and high ideals merge when a corps of intrepid female aviators battle to take part in the hugely popular air shows of the 1920s and 1930s. Ultimately, one of our heroines would win a race that earned her the right to be called America's best pilot"--

On the 250th anniversary of Captain Cook's successful navigation to the coast of Australia, this is Alistair MacLean's absorbing story of one of Britain's great national heroes, from his obscure beginnings to his sudden and violent death at the age of fifty-one. When James Cook was hacked to death by Hawaiian islanders on 14 February 1779, he was already considered the greatest explorer of his age. Born in obscurity but gripped by a boundless passion...

This book introduces artists to basic drawing concepts and describes in step-by-step instructions how to turn simple shapes into aircraft. Young readers will learn to draw a blimp, cargo plane, helicopter, passenger plane, and fighter jet.