BIBLIOGRAPHY
for the
AVIATION ANSWER-MAN
History & Industry
website section

Copyright 2004 by R. Harris
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NOTE:   This bibliography is almost exclusively limited to detailing books instrumental in the preparation of the articles on this website. Books with asterisks (*) are listed in more than one category, because of their exceptional contribution. This list does not detail the many primary sources (direct contact with people, companies and aircraft), nor over 2,000 periodical articles and other documents reviewed by the author in the last decade, which have contributed to (or validated) information presented in this website. For a more detailed list of sources, contact the author of this website.

TOPIC  CATEGORIES  (details below):
·        GENERAL HISTORY & REFERENCE
·        ALMANACS

·        AVIATION (GENERALLY)
                and specifically:
·        HISTORIC AVIATION
·        GENERAL AVIATION HISTORY
·        TECHNICAL AERONAUTICS
·        GENERAL AVIATION
·        AIRCRAFT COMPANIES of KANSAS & OKLAHOMA
(Longren, Laird, Swallow, Travel Air, Stearman, Cessna, Beech, Culver, Mooney, Rearwin, Funk, Porterfield, Nicholas-Beazley, Great Lakes, Luscombe, Alon, Helio, Aero Commander, Commander, Bede, RANS, Seibel Helicopter, Bombardier/Learjet, & major factories of Boeing, North American, Consolidated, Piper, etc.)
·        CESSNA
·        STEARMAN & BOEING
·        BEECH / HAWKER / HAWKER-BEECHCRAFT / RAYTHEON AIRCRAFT
·        PIPER
·        MOONEY
·        AERO COMMANDER
·        LEAR JET / GATES LEARJET / BOMBARDIER-LEARJET
·        HELICOPTERS
·        MILITARY AVIATION & HISTORY
                and specifically:
·        WORLD WAR II
·        SPACE
·        WICHITA & KANSAS (GENERALLY)

DETAILS BELOW:
__________________________________________________________

GENERAL HISTORY & REFERENCE

(For wars, see special category, MILITARY, below.)

    Bureau of the Census, U.S. Gov't., Historical Statistics of the United States, 1789-1945:  A supplement to the Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1949, GPO, Washington D.C. (with errata notes)

    Commager, Henry Steele & Allan Nevins, ed., The Heritage of America, 1951, Little, Brown, Boston

    Drucker, Peter, Innovation & Entrepreneurship, 1985, Harper & Row, NY

    Flowers, Charles, A Science Odyssey: 100 Years of Discovery, 1998, WGBH Educational Foundation, Boston / Wm.Morrow, NY (history of 20th-Century science & technology)

    Newsweek, History of Our Times, Vol. 1, 1949, 1950 Funk & Wagnalls, NY

    New York Times, The New York Times Great Stories of the Century, 1999, Galahad, NY

    Norris, Floyd & Christine Bockelmann, The New York Times Century of Business, 2000, McGraw-Hill, NY (fwd. by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker)

    Sann, Paul, The Lawless Decade: A Pictorial History of a Great American Transition, 1957 (Roaring Twenties history)

    Terkel, Studs, Hard Times: An Oral History of the Great Depression, 1986, Random House, NY

    also, for history, various issues of Smithsonian, American Heritage, Current History, and National Geographic, as well as the major news magazines.  also, American Demographics, Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Fortune, Forbes, Harvard Business Review, the Economist, World Press Review, Orbis, & Foreign Affairs.

    and specifically:

    ALMANACS

    World Almanac, Commemorative Edition (1868, 1893, 1943, 1968 excerpts)

    World Almanac, 1936,'40,'42,'46,'55,'60,'64,'67,'69,'75. 1980-82,'85-'91,'93,'95-'97, 2000,'01,'03

    Information Please Almanac, 1981,'87,'91,'92,'97

    Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1993 & 1998

    Other almanacs for: 1969,'75,'76,'78,'83-87

    __________________________________________________________

AVIATION

    Air Transport Assn., The Airline Handbook-Online Version, 2003, online at http://www.airlines.org/public/publications/display1.asp?nid=961

    Angellucci, Enzo, Aircraft: from the Dawn of Flight to the Present Day, 1971, Arnoldo Mondadore Editore, Milan/Venice, translated 1982 ed., Greenwich/Crown, London

    Aviation Week & Space Technology, Aerospace Annual (later titled Global Outlook), various issues, 1982-present

    de Saint Croix, Philip, ed., with William Green, Gordon Swainborough, John Mowninski, Bill Gunston, et. al. *Modern Commercial Aircraft, Salamander/Crown, London/NY, 1987.

    Donald, David, The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft, 1st ed., 1997, Aerospace Publishing/Orbis, London, and 1999 Barnes & Noble, NY  (THE most complete single-volume compendium of world aircraft, throughout history, currently in print and general circulation)

    Fitzgerald, John, ed., World Aerospace Development, 1993, Cornhill, London

    Hinkel, Ralph E. & Leo Baron (fwd. by Jack Frye, TWA president), An Educational Guide in Air Transporation, 1944, Transcontinental & Western Air, Inc. (later Trans World Airlines - TWA), Kansas City, MO

    International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), United Nations, Annual Review of Civil Aviation, ICAO Journal, July 2000

    Jerram, Mike, Business Aircraft Special Directory, Air International, Sept., 1997, Stamford, U.K.

    Kingsley-Jones with AirClaims, "World Airliner Census, part I, Major Airlines," Flight International, 2003, U.K.

    _______________________, "World Airliner Census, part II, Regional Airlines," Flight International, 2003, U.K.

    Mondey, David, ed., with John Cook, Michael John Hooks, & Chris Chant, The Encyclopedia of The World's Commercial and Private Aircraft, Aerospace Publishing & Hamlyn / Crescent & Crown, London/NY, 1981.

    Müller, Claudio, ed., Flugzeuge von die Wold (Aircraft of the World) , Neue Zurcher Zeitung, Zurich, 2003 / Mud Puddle Books, Inc., NY, 2004. (compendium of current production aircraft worldwide)

    Taylor, John W.R., (ed., Jane's All the World's Aircraft),  Civil Aircraft of the World, 1972, Chas. Scribner & Sons, NY

    and specifically:

    ______________________________________

    HISTORIC AVIATION

    Bach, Richard, Nothing by Chance, (autobiography of modern barnstormer, reliving Golden Age barnstorming with period aircraft).

    Berliner, Don, Record-Breaking Airplanes, 1985, Lerner, Minneapolis

    Bryan, C.D.B,  National Air & Space Museum:  Air,  Smithsonian Institution, ca.1979

    Cadogan, Mary, Women with Wings: Female Flyers in Fact & Fiction, 1993, Academy Chicago Publishers, Chicago, Illinois

    Casey, Gerry A., Flying As it Was:  True Stories from Aviation's Past, 1987, TAB, Blue Ridge Summit, Penn. (detailed accounts, largely first-hand, of encounters with many important aircraft & aviators during aviation's "Golden Age," by noted general aviation history writer & pioneer aviator).

    Corn, Joseph J. (former fellow, National Air & Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution),   The Winged Gospel: America's Romance with Aviation, 1900-1950,  Oxford Univ. Press, NY, 1983.

    Chanute, Octave ("the Godfather of Aviation") Progress in Flying Machines, originally published in 1894, this version by Cory Kotowsky & Gary Bradshaw (full orig. text, 2/3 of the pictures). Sections reflecting the 27 articles first written for The Railroad & Engineering Journal. Now in Digital Library of the the Invention of the Airplane, part of the Virtual Museum of the Invention of the Airplane. Online at: http://invention.psychology.msstate.edu/i/Chanute/library/Prog_Contents.html

    Crouch, Tom (curator, National Air & Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution),   A Dream of Wings: Americans and the Airplane, 1875-1905,  W.W. Norton, NY, 1981.

    Duke, Neville, and Edward Lanchberry, ed., The Saga of Flight: an Anthology, with historical articles and essays originally written by daVinci, Graham Bell, B.Franklin, d'Arlandes, Santos-Dumont, Wright Bros., Bleriot, Churchill, Fokker, Rickenbacker, Lindbergh, Amundsen, Byrd, Murchie, de Saint-Exupery, Earhart, Cochran, Mignet, Ellsworth, Boyington, Sakai, Galland, Yeager, Glenn, U.S. Navy, et. al.; John Day / Avon-Hearst, NY, 1961/1964.

    Emme, Eugene M. (NASA Historian; fwd. by Hugh Dryden), Aeronautics & Astronautics: An American Chronology of Science & Technology in the Exploration of Space, 1915-1960, (aviation & spaceflight history) National Aeronautics & Space Administration, 1961, GPO, Washington, D.C.

    Flying Magazine, "50th Anniversary Issue", September 1977 (432-page comprehensive history of aviation, with particular detail on general aviation, written by major industry writers, leaders & historians)

    _____________, "75th Anniversary Issue", August, 2002 (150-page anecdotal history of aviation; particular detail on general aviation; selected excerpts from 75 years of Flying)

    Forden, Lesley, The Ford Air Tours, 1925-1931, 2003 Edition,  1972/2002, Aviation Foundation of America,

    Gambrill, Jeremy, & Derek Wood, ed., Timechart History of Aviation, 2001, Lowe & B. Hould/Borders, London

    Gilbert, James, The Great Planes, Ridge Press / Madison Square / Grosset & Dunlap, NY, 1970

    Hatfield, D.D, ed., Pioneers of Aviation, 1976, Northrop University Press, Inglewood, CA

    Josephy, Alvin M., Jr. (Ed.) et. al., Arthur Gordon, Marvin W. McFarland, et. al., (introduction by Gen. Carl A. Spaatz and Gen. Ira C. Eaker), The American Heritage History of Flight, 1962, American Heritage / Simon & Schuster,  NY. (oversized, 400-page, comprehensive, authoritative history of world aviation, from ancient history to 1962, with particular detail on early aviation, major sections on Golden Age and World War II, and exceptional photographs)

    Lindbergh, Charles A., The Spirit of St. Louis, 1998 reprint, Scribner, NY (the definitive work, by Lindbergh himself).

    Loftin, Laurence K., Jr,  Quest for Performance : The Evolution of Modern Aircraft, NASA History Office publication, NASA SP-468, NASA Scientific & Technical Information Branch, Washington, D.C. 1985. (traces aircraft technical development since World War I), online at:  http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-468/cover.htm

    Nicholls, Mike, ed., Century of Flight:  A Celebration of 100 years of powered flight 1903-2003, Key Publishing, Stamford, U.K.

    Royal Aeronautical Society, 100 Years of Flight, (the History section contains information about the Wright Brothers as well as notable pilots, theorists, industry pioneers and space pioneers within the last century.) Available from: http://www.raes.org.uk/public2003

    Schamburger, Page and Joe Christy, *Command the Horizon: A Pictorial History of Aviation, 1968, Castle Books/A.S. Barnes & Co., NY,  (an exceptionally thorough history of U.S. aviation from Civil War balloons to start of World War II, 325 pp., oversized, by two famed expert aviator/writers, with vignettes dictated or written by pioneer aviators, and extraordinary collection of rare and historic photos).

    Smith, Elinor, Aviatrix, 1981, Harcourt Brace Javonovich, New York (early aviation history and autobiography by famed aviator, trained by Orville Wright, colleague & friend of Lindbergh, Earhart, Doolittle & Thaden) (endorsed by Doolittle and NASM/Smithsonian curator Tom Crouch)

    Taylor, John W.R., Aircraft, Aircraft!, (World aviation history, by the editor of Jane's All the World's Aircraft), 1967, Hamlyn, London

    Vivian, E. Charles, A History of Aeronautics, originally published 1920, this is Project Gutenberg "e-text," Release #874 (April 1997). distributed by Professor Michael S. Hart through the Project Gutenberg Association at Carnegie-Mellon University. Available from: http://digital.library.upenn.edu/webbin/gutbook/lookup?num=874

    Wright, Orville, "How We Made the First Flight," originally published in Flying and The Aero Club of America Bulletin, Dec. 1913, reprint by Federal Aviation Administration, APA-6-155-88, ca.2001, (reprinted completely by FAA; edited by Michael E. Wayda; introduction by Dr. Paul E. Garber, Historian Emeritus, NASM/Smithsonian), Office of Public Affairs, Aviation Education Program, Federal Aviation Administration, U.S. Dept. of Transportation, Washington, D.C.

    Villard, Henry Serrano   CONTACT!:   The Story of the Early Birds:   Man's first decade of flight from Kitty Hawk to World War I, Bonanza/Crown (Crowell), NY (UK), 1968   (detailed history and collective biographies of the world's first airplane-aviators -- the "Early Birds" -- and their aircraft, and the evolution of early aviation, between the Wright Brothers' first flights and World War I.)

    Yenne, Bill   Seaplanes & Flying Boats:   A Timeless Collection from Aviation's Golden Age, BCL Press, NY, 2003   (thorough history and description of nearly all major seaplanes, 1911 to modern times, with particular emphasis on Golden Age, WWII & postwar flying boats)

    and specifically:

    ______________________________________

    GENERAL AVIATION HISTORY

    Abel, Alan & Drina Welch Abel & Paul Matt, Aeronca's Golden Age, 2001, Wind Canyon, Niceville, FL

    Campbell, Jim, *Air of Injustice (biography of Bob Hoover, particularly detailed on his general aviation activity, including Aero Commander, FAA and general aviation politics) (fwd. by F. Lee Bailey, afterword by AOPA president Phil Boyer),  1999, Kindred Spirit, Winter Haven, FL

    deVries, John A., Col., USAF (ret'd), *Alexander Eaglerock: A History of the Alexander Aircraft Company, Century One Press, Colorado Springs, 1985

    Hollenbaugh, Bob & John Houser, Aeronca: A Photo History, Aviation Heritage, Destin, FL, 1995 (by Aeronca's former experimental shop boss & former design engineer, verified by phone interviews with them, Feb, 2004)

    Kobernuss, Fred WACO - Symbol of Courage and Excellence (Volume 1), Sunshine House, Inc., Terre Haute, Indiana, 1992

    Schamburger, Page and Joe Christy, *Command the Horizon: A Pictorial History of Aviation, 1968, Castle Books/A.S. Barnes & Co., NY,  (exceptionally thorough history of U.S. aviation from Civil War balloons to start of World War II, with vignettes written or dictated by pioneer aviators, and extraordinary collection of rare and historic photos; by two famed aviator/writers; exceptional coverage of general aviation history).

    Szurovy, Geza, Wings of Yesteryear: The Golden Age of Private Aircraft, 1998, Motorbooks International (summary history of Golden Age private aviation and many of its leading aircraft and personalities; richly illustrated with modern photos of vintage aircraft)

    Thomas, Stanley G. (forward by Ercoupe designer Fred Weick), *The Ercoupe, 1991, TAB/Aero (McGraw-Hill), NY

    WACO Museum, History of the WACO Aircraft Company, online at http://www.wacoairmuseum.org/history/history_part1.html, 1999, WACO Museum & Aviation Learning Center, Troy Ohio (endorsed & linked to by the Waco Classic Aircraft Corp., current makers of Waco biplanes.)

    Weick, Fred with James R. Hansen, *From the Ground Up:  The Autobiography of An Aeronautical Engineer (Navy/NACA engineer; former NACA research leader, renowned pioneer aerodynamicist and propeller expert, who also introduced tricycle landing gear, modern cropdusters, Ercoupe, and Piper Cherokee)

    Westin, Larry, The Stinson 108 Voyager & Flying Station Wagon Page, ca.1998-2004, online at: http://personalpages.tdstelme.net/~westin/ac-0.htm (actually a comprehensive history website on all Stinson aircraft)

    (see also " AIRCRAFT COMPANIES of KANSAS & OKLAHOMA ", below)

______________________________________

TECHNICAL AERONAUTICS

Brown, Gregory N., & Mark J. Holt, The Turbine Pilot's Flight Manual, 2nd ed., Iowa State Press/Blackwell, 1995/2001

Federal Aviation Administration, Aircraft Data, AC#150/5325-5C, June 29, 1987, GPO, Washington, D.C.

________________________, Airman's Information Manual, reprinted by Aviation Supplies & Academics, Inc. (ASA), 2000, Newcastle WA.

________________________, Private Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Information, various editions, 1970-present, GPO, Washington, D.C.

________________________, Type Certificate Data Sheets, on file, online, for most U.S.-certificated civil aircraft.

Jeppesen-Sanderson, Inc., A&P Technician Airframe Textbook, 2002, Englewood, CO

___________________., A&P Technician Powerplant Textbook, 2002, Englewood, CO

___________________., Flight Engineer's Manual, 9th ed., 1978, Englewood, CO (includes partial aircraft manuals of major 1950's-1970's era airliners)

Loftin, Laurence K., Jr,  Quest for Performance : The Evolution of Modern Aircraft, NASA History Office publication, NASA SP-468, NASA Scientific & Technical Information Branch, Washington, D.C. 1985. (traces aircraft technical development since World War I), online at:  http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-468/cover.htm

Talay, Theodore A., Introduction to the Aerodynamics of Flight, NASA Special Publication, NASA SP-367, published in 1975. (aerodynamics primer, with short history of flight, background, fluid flow, subsonic flow effects, transonic flow, supersonic flow, beyond the supersonic, performance, stability and control; appendices & bibliography. Full text is online (in HTML format) at  http://history.nasa.gov/SP-367/cover367.htm

Weick, Fred with James R. Hansen, *From the Ground Up:  The Autobiography of An Aeronautical Engineer (Navy/NACA engineer; renowned propeller expert; introduced tricycle landing gear, modern cropdusters, key general aviation aircraft)

Whitford, Ray, (Royal Military College of Science, Shrivenham, Swindon, UK) "Fundamentals of Fighter Design," 13-part series, published 1996-1998 in Air International

___________________________________________________________, "Fundamentals of Airliner Design," 20-part series, published 2001-2003 in Air International

______________________________________

GENERAL AVIATION

Aviation Consumer magazine, Used Aircraft Guide, 1980

Business & Commercial AviationBuying Guide & Handbook, various annuals, 1983-1997

Downie, Julia, Kitplanes 2001 Annual Directory, Primedia, San Diego, CA & Harrisburg, PA

Ellis, James E., Buying and Owning Your Own Airplane, 2nd ed., 1991, Iowa State Univ. Press, Ames, IA (by widely experienced commercial general aviation pilot. Includes extensive analyses of most major general aviation aircraft in current use, including acquisition, operations, maintenance and ownership issues).

Ethell, Jeffrey, Used Aircraft Guide, 1979, Charles Scribners & Sons, NY

Flying Annual & Buyer's Guide, various annuals, 1965-1973  (industry's chief catalog and data analysis of current general aviation aircraft)

King, Jack L., Corporate Flying, 1979, Aviation Book Co., Glendale CA (author is former NACA-Langley engineer, combat pilot, test pilot and famed corporate pilot; co-founder Professional Pilot magazine), (book endorsed by head of General Aviation Mfr's. Ass'n, Special Programs director of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical Univ., former FAA Deputy Director and president of Flight Safety Foundation.)

and specifically:


AIRCRAFT COMPANIES of KANSAS & OKLAHOMA

(Longren, Laird, Swallow, Travel Air, Stearman, Cessna, Beech, Culver, Mooney, Rearwin, Funk, Porterfield, Nicholas-Beazley, Alon, Helio, Bede, Bombardier/Learjet, RANS, Luscombe, Aero Design / Aero Commander / Rockwell / Gulfstream, Commander Aircraft, and major factories of Boeing, North American, Douglas, Consolidated, Piper, Piaggio, etc. -- some only partially or briefly in Kansas or Oklahoma )


  • KANSAS AVIATION COMPANIES GENERALLY:

    • Bauer, George R., A Century of Kansas City Aviation History: The Dreamers and the Doers, 198pp., Historic Preservation Press; 1st edition, 1999. ISBN-10: 0965876128; ISBN-13: 978-0965876124

    • Berger, Alain-Yves and Norman Burr, (foreword by Paul H. Poberezny, Pres. EAA), * Berger-Burr's Ultralight and Microlight Aircraft of the World, 2nd. ed., a Foulis aviation book, France / J.H.Haynes Co., Sparkford, England, U.K., , 1985; Massive, 500-page, detailed, illustrated encyclopedia and catalog of ultralight and microlight aircraft. Includes sections on Kansas planemakers and developers RANS (Hays), Advanced Composite Technology (Wichita), Aircraft Development (Wichita), and forerunners of Belite (Wichita): Denny Aerocraft and Light Aero (each of Boise, Idaho).

    • Bissionette, Bruce, The Wichita 4:   Cessna, Moellendick, Beech & Stearman , (from interviews with Matty Laird, Lloyd Stearman, Olive Ann Beech, Dwayne Wallace, Rawdon, Burnham, and other principals).

    • Phillips, Edward, H. Travel Air:  Wings over the Prairie, revised ed., Flying Books International, 1982/1994, Eagan MN (coverage of Laird/Swallow, Travel Air and early careers of Cessna, Stearman & Beech)

    • Murphy, Daryl E., The Planes of Wichita: The People and the Aircraft of the Air Capital (Google eBook), iUniverse, May 30, 2008, 156 pages, online at: http://books.google.com/books/about/The_Planes_of_Wichita.html?id=Pjzl72Hf4RoC

    • Quastler, I.E.:

      • _______, Pioneer of the Third Level: A History of Air Midwest, 1980, Airlines Press, San Diego, California, (detailed history of America's 1st certificated commuter airline, eventually one of America's largest intermediate carriers, pioneering important general aviation airliners, incl. major aircraft of Cessna, Beech, Swearingen & Saab/Fairchild) (verified though my work at Air Midwest during these years). 162pp., illust., index.

      • _______, Air Midwest: The First Twenty Years , 1985, Airline Press of California, San Diego (extended edition of his previous book, Pioneer of the Third Level: A History of Air Midwest, 1980, to include 5 more years), 296pp., illust., index..

    • Reed, Earl C., A Brief Photographic History of Early Midwest Aviation - Including Airmail & Commercial Aircraft - Plus Kansas City Regional Airport Directory, Publisher: Earl C. Reed, 1960, 84pp., ASIN: B001Q798OU

    • Rowe, Frank J. & Miner, Craig. Borne on the South Wind: A Century of Kansas Aviation . Wichita Eagle & Beacon Publishing Co., Wichita . 1994. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT REFERENCE WORK ON KANSAS AVIATION HISTORY. Written by Rowe (a senior aerospace engineer for Beech) and Miner (a history professor at Wichita State Univ.), this is the probably the most wide-ranging book on Kansas Aviation History, with the most comprehensive coverage of important themes, companies and individuals.

    • Schamburger, Page and Joe Christy, *Command the Horizon: A Pictorial History of Aviation , 1968, Castle Books/A.S. Barnes & Co., NY,  (exceptionally thorough history of U.S. aviation from Civil War balloons to start of World War II, with vignettes written or dictated by pioneer aviators, and extraordinary collection of rare and historic photos; by two famed aviator/writers; exceptional coverage of general aviation history, and Wichita's companies in particular).

    • Taylor, Richard, I Love Kansas:  History Made, History Remembered , 2001, Leathers/Squire, Leawood, KS  (Includes definitive study of planes -- and person -- of Kansas' first aircraft manufacturer, Albin K. Longren, later V.Pres. of Cessna, whose designs included the first Alexander Eaglerock and first composite/monocoque aircraft;  Rev. Taylor is the acknowledged expert on Longren and his aircraft.)

    • Thomas, Stanley G. (forward by Ercoupe designer Fred Weick), *The Ercoupe , 1991, TAB/Aero (McGraw-Hill), NY  (Includes Alon Aircraft, Kansas manufacturer of Ercoupe/Aircoupe)

    • Weyand, Ken., Managing Ed., et.al, Aviation History in Greater Kansas City, 102pp., Historic Aviation Magazine, Cub Flyers Publications, Kansas City, Kansas; 1974. LOC: 74-119630

    ...see also SPECIFIC COMPANIES below:

  • KANSAS companies

    • LONGREN & AMERICAN EAGLE

      • Bauer, George R., A Century of Kansas City Aviation History: The Dreamers and the Doers, 198pp., Historic Preservation Press; 1st edition, 1999. ISBN-10: 0965876128; ISBN-13: 978-0965876124

      • Taylor, Rev. Richard, (Topeka, Kansas - Longren's chief biographer)

        • ________, Albin K. Longren: Henry Ford of the Air, April 1996, self-published (principal biography on Kansas' first aviator and plane-maker, Albin K. Longren, whose aviation career began near Taylor's home. Taylor has been Longren's chief biographer and the pivotal promoter of Longren's memory in Kansas, and is the acknowledged expert on Longren and his aircraft. Illustrated)

        • ________, I Love Kansas:  History Made, History Remembered , 2001, Leathers/Squire, Leawood, KS; Eclectic book by amateur historian and popular modern-day Kansas alcohol-prohibitionist and former state legislator Rev. Richard Taylor, former head of the "Kansas Dry Forces" and "Kansans for Life at its Best." Book contains coverage of Kansas-related historic topics of personal interest to Taylor, with a particularly detailed, illustrated chapter on Kansas' first aviator and plane-maker, Albin K. Longren, whose aviation career began near Taylor's home. Taylor has been Longren's chief biographer and the pivotal promoter of Longren's memory in Kansas.
      • Weyand, Ken., Managing Ed., et.al, "American Eagle" in "Manufacturers" in Aviation History in Greater Kansas City, 102pp., Historic Aviation Magazine, Cub Flyers Publications, Kansas City, Kansas; 1974. LOC: 74-119630

    • LAIRD/SWALLOW & TRAVEL AIR

      • Bissionette, Bruce, The Wichita 4:   Cessna, Moellendick, Beech & Stearman , (from interviews with Matty Laird, Lloyd Stearman, Olive Ann Beech, Dwayne Wallace, Rawdon, Burnham, and other principals).

      • Laird, Emil Matthew ("Matty"), et. al., Special Collection: E. M. LAIRD PAPERS: MS 89-18, Special Collections, Ablah Library archives, Wichita State University; includes
        • Box 1 FF1: transcribed interview with E. M. "Matty" Laird on April 10, 1978 by Mrs. Sondra Van Meter and Dale Schrag.
        • Box 1 FF2 Transcribed interview with E. M. Laird on September 13, 1978 by Dale Schrag.
        • Box 1 FF3 of transcribed interview with E. M. Laird on September 13, 1978 with Dale Schrag, REVISED copy.
        • Box 1 FF6 transcribed interview conducted on April 10, 1978 with E. M. Laird by Mrs. Sondra Van Meter and Dale Schrag.
        • Box 1 FF7 & FF8: Audio tapes of interviews.

      • Phillips, Edward H.:
        (also note other works by Phillips in specific sections below, including CESSNA, BEECH and STEARMAN & BOEING),

        • _________ "E. M. Laird - Aviation Pioneer", from "Barnstorming Wichita's Aviation Past," online at: http://www.wingsoverkansas.com/phillips/article.asp?id=887

        • _________ Laird Aircraft: A Legacy of Speed, Specialty Press; illustrated edition edition (December 1, 2002), ISBN-10: 1580070701, ISBN-13: 978-1580070706, 144 pages, Reviewed by Phillips' online editor, Carl Chance, WingsOverKansas.com at: http://www.wingsoverkansas.com/books/article.asp?id=244

        • _________ Mystery Ship: A History of the Travel Air Type R Monoplanes (Historic Aircraft Series) Flying Books (September 1, 1999), ISBN-10: 091113929X, ISBN-13: 978-0911139297, 112 pages

        • _________ Travel Air:  Wings over the Prairie, revised ed ., Flying Books International, 1982/1994, Eagan MN (coverage of Laird/Swallow, Travel Air and early careers of Cessna, Stearman & Beech)

      • Post, Joan Laird (relative of subject), and Paul H. Poberezny (former Pres., Experimental Aircraft Assn.), Shoestrings to the Stars: The Life Story of E.M. "Matty" Laird 1st Book Library (2000), ASIN: B00858QLPC

      • Weyand, Ken., Managing Ed., et.al, "Art Goebel and the Dole Derby" in "Racers" in Aviation History in Greater Kansas City, 102pp., Historic Aviation Magazine, Cub Flyers Publications, Kansas City, Kansas; 1974. LOC: 74-119630

    • CESSNA

      • Christy, Joe; revised by Brian J. Dooley, The Complete Guide to Single-Engine Cessnas , 4th.ed., 1993, TAB/McGraw-Hill, NY

      • Denau, Gerald, An Eye to the Sky , 1962, Cessna Aircraft Co., Wichita, KS (semi-official company history, with exceptional detail and unusual candor about some products)

      • Phillips, Edward, H. Wings of Cessna: Model 120 to the Citation III ., Flying Books International, 1986, Eagan MN

      • Rodengen, Jeffrey, The Legend of Cessna , Write Stuff, 1998, Ft.Lauderdale, FL (a massive book, company-sponsored but comprehensive nevertheless, with extensive historical, business and technical details that the company officially stands behind.  Thoroughly footnoted and documented as to sources, with exceptional historic images.).

      • Thompson, William D, (former very senior Cessna engineer)

        • ________, Cessna:  Wings for the World — The Single-Engine Development Story, 1991, Maverick Publications, Bend, Oregon / Thompson Aero Products, Bella Vista, Ark.; (a big, authoritative book; extensive technical and development details about all single-engine Cessnas to 1990.) ISBN: 0-89288-221-2; LOC: 91-61548; 196pp., illust.

        • ________, Cessna:  Wings for the World II — Development of the 300 Series Twins and Miscellaneous Prototypes, 1995, Maverick Publications, Bend, Oregon / Thompson Aero Products, Bella Vista, Ark.; (a big, authoritative book, by very senior Cessna engineer; extensive technical and development details about smaller twin-engine Cessnas, and other prototytpes -- including the C-620 airliner and the XMC (eXperimental Magic Carpet).) ISBN: 0-89288-257-3; LOC: 95-82078; 142pp., illust.

        • ________, Cessna:  Wings for the World III — Development of the 400 Series Twins, 2000, Maverick Publications, Bend, Oregon / Thompson Aero Products, Bella Vista, Ark.; (a big, authoritative book, by very senior Cessna engineer; extensive technical and development details about large, cabin-class, twin-engine Cessnas -- 401 & 411, thru to the 441.) ISBN: 0-89288-280-8; LOC: 00-091869; 172pp., illust.

      • Cessna aircraft manuals:   120/140, 150/152, 170, 172 (several variants), 175, 177/177RG, 180, 182 (several variants), 185, 188, 190/195, 206, 208/208B, 210 (several variants); most twins and Citation jets, etc.

      • Cessna Aircraft Co. Aircraft Genealogy Chart , Cessna Aircraft Co., ca.2002, Wichita, KS

    • STEARMAN &
      BOEING
      (merged 1930)

      NOTE: Stearman Aircraft originated, brielfy, in Venice, Calif. but promptly relocated to Wichita, Kansas (where its namesake had worked at Travel Air, Swallow and Laird).
        In the 1930s, it was absorbed by the United Aircraft conglomerate, which also absorbed Seattle-based Boeing and California-based Northrop. Briefly, Stearman & Northrop were combined as Stearman-Northrop.
        A federal lawsuit broke up the United Aircraft conglomerate, and Boeing emerged with Stearman as a subsidiary. The Stearman factory later became Boeing-Wichita.
        Today, the factory is owned and operated by the world's largest aerospace subcontractor, Spirit Aerosystems. But the factory is still performing the same role for Boeing as when Boeing last owned it, building Boeing jetliner fuselages & subassemblies.
      • STEARMAN only

        • Avis, Jim and Martin Bowman, Stearman: A Pictorial History, 1997, Motorbooks Int'l, Osceola, WI (detailed history of Stearman planes, company and pioneers, esp. re: Kaydet line)

        • Halliburton., The Flying Carpet , Indianapolis, Bobbs Merrill, 1932 (first-person account of famous round-the-world flight in Stearman C-3)

        • Phillips, Edward H., Stearman Aircraft: A Detailed History, Publisher: Specialty Press; 1st edition (April 21, 2006), ISBN-10: 1580070876, ISBN-13: 978-1580070874, 192 pages

        • Stearman, William Lloyd (son of Lloyd Stearman): An American Adventure:  From Early Aviation Through Three Wars to the White House, 2012, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland; ISBN 978-1-59114-827-2 (partially a memoir of early Wichita aviation, as seen through the eyes of the author -- son of Lloyd Stearman -- as a child.) (Some details confirmed and enhanced in visit with him at McConnell AFB, Oct.18, 2016)

      • BOTH COMPANIES

        • Boeing Co., Pedigree of Champions: Boeing Since 1916, 6th ed., 1985, Seattle, WA (official company history, also detailing each major aircraft)

        • Boeing Aircraft Genealogy Chart , Boeing Co., ca.1968, Seattle, WA

      • BOEING only

        • de Saint Croix, Philip, ed., with William Green, Gordon Swainborough, John Mowninski, Bill Gunston, et. al. *Modern Commercial Aircraft , Salamander/Crown, London/NY, 1987.

        • Mansfield, Harold, Vision: The Story of Boeing , 1966, Duell, Sloan & Pearce, NY

        • Redding, Robert & Bill Yenne: Boeing: Planemaker to the World, Publisher: Bison Books (1986), Greenwich, Conn. / Crescent-Crown, U.K. ISBN: 0-517-422700, 256pp., illust.

        • Serling, Robert. J., Legend & Legacy:  The Story of Boeing & Its People. , 1992, St.Martin's (company-aided history).

      • SPECIFIC BOEING AIRCRAFT

        • Jablonski, Edward, Flying Fortress , Doubleday, 1968 (the classic study of the B-17)

        • Collison, Thomas The Superfortress is Born Publisher: Duell, Sloan & Pearce, New York (1945), (includes chapters on Wichita & "Battle of Kansas")

        • Vander Meulen, Jacob:  Building the B-29 Publisher: Smithsonian Institution (1995), ISBN: 1-56098-609-3, 104 pages, illust. (includes chapter on Boeing-Wichita)

        • LeMay, Gen. Curtiss E., USAAF/USAF (commander of most B-29's in World War II and Korean War; First SAC Commander; later Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force) and Bill Yenne, *Superfortress: The B-29 and American Air Power , McGraw-Hill, NY, 1988.

        • Holder, William G., Boeing B-52 Stratofortress , (Aero Series Vol. 24), 1975, Aero Publishers, Fallbrook, CA,

        • Veronico, Nicholas A., Boeing 377 Stratocruiser (Airlinertech Vol, 9), 2001, Specialty Press.

        • Seo, Hiroshi., Boeing 747 , 1984, Jane's Publishing, London, England, U.K.

    • BEECH / HAWKER /
        HAWKER-BEECHCRAFT / RAYTHEON AIRCRAFT

      • Ball, Larry:
        • ________, Those Incomparable Bonanzas , McCormick-Armstrong, Wichita. KS, 1975 (former Beech Aircraft senior executive, writing after departure; rather candid)
        • ________, They Called Me 'Mr. Bonanza' , McCormick-Armstrong, Wichita. KS, 1990
        • ________, From Travel Air to Baron: How Beech Created a Classic Ball Publications, Indianapolis, IN, 1994

      • Beech Aircraft Corp., Annual Report, 1969

      • Beech aircraft manuals:   17 ("Staggerwing"), 18 ("Twin Beech"), 19, 23, 24, 24R Musketeer line, 33 Debonair/Bonanza, 35 Bonanza, V-35TC Bonanza, 36 Bonanza, D95A Travel Air, B55 Baron, E55 Baron, B58TC Baron, Model 50 Twin Bonanza, 76 Duchess, 77 Skipper, King Air line, Starship 2000A, and others

      • Beech Aircraft Genealogy Chart , Beech Aircraft Co., ca.1969, Wichita, KS

      • Farney, Dennis: The Barnstormer and the Lady. (2010), Rockhill Books, Kansas City, Missouri, ISBN 978-1-935362-69-2. (Extensive illustrated biography of Walter and Olive Ann Beech).

      • Phillips, Edward, H.:

        • _________ Beechcraft:   Pursuit of Perfection:   The History of Beechcraft Airplanes , 2nd Ed., Flying Books International, 1992, Eagan MN
        • _________ The Staggerwing Story: A History of the Beechcraft Model 17, Flying Books (January 1, 1996), ISBN-10: 0911139273, ISBN-13: 978-0911139273, 110 pages

      • McDaniel, William H., The History of Beech:  Four Decades of Aeronautical & Aerospace Achievement , 1971, McCormick-Armstrong, Wichita; (336-pp, illustrated corporate history, autographed 1976 by Beech Board Chairman Olive Ann Beech, & her nephew, Beech President Frank Hedrick. Has misleading remarks about history of Travel Air (omits any coverage of its co-founders: Clyde Cessna, Lloyd Stearman, Walter Innes, Jr., & Bill Snook). A Beech history to generally regard with a healthy dose of skepticism. Arguably a very "varnished"/"sanitized" version of Beech history, apparently shaped by Beechcraft public relations priorities.)

      • Raytheon Aircraft (esp. Cheryl Crowley), " A Short History of Beechcraft & Raytheon Aircraft, 1932-2002 ," The Beechcrafter, Special 70th Anniversary Edition, Vol I, #20, Sept.20, 2002  (8-pp official corporate history, in company newsletter)

      • Raytheon Aircraft Genealogy , (chart), Raytheon Aircraft Co., ca.1999, Wichita, KS

      • Walter, Harold, Airplane Beans, Jan 2005, Walter Aircraft, January 2005, 182pp. Autobiography of prominent Beech Aircraft aeronautical engineer, with particular details on development of the Beech Super King Air 200 and Beech Starship.

    • MOONEY

      (NOTE: Although Mooney Aircraft is typically associated with its current base in Kerrville, Texas, it originated -- twice -- in Wichita, Kansas)
      • Ball, Larry, Those Remarkable Mooneys, Ball Publications, Indianapolis, Ind., 1998

      • Baxter, Gordon with Al & Art Mooney, The Al Mooney Story: They All Fly Through the Same Air , Fredericksburg, Texas: Shearer Publishing, 1985 (Al Mooney's memoirs, as dictated to Gordon Baxter of Flying Magazine ).

      • deVries, John A., Col., USAF (ret'd), *Alexander Eaglerock: A History of the Alexander Aircraft Company , Century One Press, Colorado Springs, 1985 (Al Mooney's first designs were Alexander planes; the first Alexander planes were Longren and Laird/Swallow aircraft from Kansas).

      • Thomas, Stanley G. (forward by Ercoupe designer Fred Weick), *The Ercoupe , 1991, TAB/Aero (McGraw-Hill), NY  (Includes Mooney, last manufacturer of Ercoupe/Aircoupe -- as Mooney M-10 "Cadet")

    • LEAR JET / GATES LEARJET / BOMBARDIER-LEARJET

      • Bombardier, Inc., Bombardier: A Dream with International Reach , 1992, Bombardier, Inc., Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (official company history)

      • Gates Learjet Corp., Gates Learjet Milestones: A Chronology of Progress , ca.1974, Gates Learjet Corp., Wichita, KS. (official company history)

      • Lear Jet Corporation, Lear Jet Flight Manual , ca.1968, Lear Jet Corporation, Wichita, KS (Official manual for the Learjet Model 24B; also manuals for several other Lear models, 24F to 40/45 & 60XR)

      • Lear, Moya Olsen (Bill Lear's widow), " Bill Lear's Legacy of Learjet, Challenger (Learstar) & Lear Fan ," Professional Pilot , May, 2001, page 26 (Biography of Bill Lear and history his aircraft developments, written by his longtime wife, who served as his business partner and successor.)

      • __________________, " Bill and Moya Lear: An Unforgettable Flight," (Biography of Bill Lear written by his longtime wife, who served as his business partner and successor.); 1996, Jack Bacon & Co., Reno, Nevada, ISBN 0-93-0083-06-7 / 0-93-0083-05-9 / ; LOC: 83452; 260pp., illustrated.

      • Neal, Ronald D. (former LearJet engineer and manager), " Development of the Lear Jet Model 23 ," Journal of the American Aviation Historical Society (AAHS Journal) , Vol.34, #3, Fall 1989, pp.162-177, American Aviation Historical Society, Santa Ana, CA. (Detailed, documented history of development of the first Lear Jet, written by a Lear Jet engineer/manager involved with the event.)

      • Olcott, John W., " Learjet Safety: Facts & Fiction ," Business & Commercial Aviation magazine , July 1987, page 40 (Detailed statistical and technical analysis of the controversial safety history the LearJet product line, with a review of flight characteristics, by a leading industry analyst/reporter.)

      • Searles, Robert A., " Reflections: Lear's Legacy... Model 23... ," Business & Commercial Aviation magazine , July 1989, page 84 (History of the beginnings of the LearJet product line, by a leading industry analyst/reporter/historian.)

      • Szurovy, Geza, Learjets , 1996, Motorbooks International, Osceola, WI (photo history of Learjet line, from its origins with the Model 23, through all models up to the Models 31, 60 and 45, richly illustrated with photos of LearJets inside and out.)

    • OTHERS

      • Carpenter, Dorr B. & Mitch Mayborn: Ryan Guidebook , 1991, TAB/Aero (McGraw-Hill), NY  (T. Claude Ryan, of Parsons, Kansas, moved to California where he established one of the most innovative U.S. aircraft manufacturers and aviation schools: Ryan Aircraft, whose legendary Spirit of St. Louis, flown solo across the Atlantic by Charles Lindbergh, sparked a revolution in U.S. aircraft design; other Ryan designs pushed the frontiers of aeronautical technology and enterprise throughout the 20th Century.)

      • Swick, John C. (forward by Luscombe Assn. officer), Luscombe's Golden Age , 2005, Wind Canyon Books, Braley, Calif.,   ISBN: 1-891118-51; 300pp., illustrated. (Probably THE definitive history of Luscombe Aircraft, some of which were made in Kansas City -- some involving Topeka pioneer Albin K. Longren.)

      • Thomas, Stanley G. (forward by Ercoupe designer Fred Weick), *The Ercoupe , 1991, TAB/Aero (McGraw-Hill), NY  (Includes Alon Aircraft, Kansas manufacturer of Ercoupe/Aircoupe; also Mooney Cadet)

      • Weyand, Ken., Managing Ed., et.al, "Manufacturers" in Aviation History in Greater Kansas City, 102pp., Historic Aviation Magazine, Cub Flyers Publications, Kansas City, Kansas; 1974. LOC: 74-119630
          including:
        • "American Eagle"
        • "The Rearwin Story"
        • "The Butler Blackhawk"
        • "The Luscombe Phantom"
        • "The Porterfield"
      • Wright, William C. ("Bill"): Rearwin:  A Story of Men, Planes and Aircraft Manufacturing During the Great Depression , 1997, Sunflower University Press, Manhattan, Kansas.,   ISBN: 0-89745-207-0; 300pp., illustrated. (Probably THE definitive history of Rearwin Aircraft, of the Kansas City area.)


  • OKLAHOMA companies

    • AERO COMMANDER  &  RELATED COMPANIES
      (NOTE: Ted Smith's Aero Commander line originated at the Oklahoma City airport in Bethany, Okla., under the name "Aero Design"; it later absorbed several other smaller aircraft manufacturers from around the nation. When Aero Commander became part of Rockwell Corp., the line's name eventually changed to Rockwell Commander. Upon sale to Gulfstream, it became Gulfstream Commander. The line was discontinued, but the single-engine 11x series models were kept in production under the company name "Commander Aircraft," still at Bethany. Aerostar was another line concocted by Smith, but after his departure from Aero Commander)

      Aerostar Aircraft Corp., Ted R. Smith, 1906 - 1976:   Aerostar Designer . . . AVIATION LEGEND, online in 2003, at http://www.aerostaraircraft.com/TedSmith.html

      Campbell, Jim, *Air of Injustice (biography of Bob Hoover -- in collaboration with Hoover -- particularly detailed on his key role at Aero Commander) fwd. by F. Lee Bailey, afterword by AOPA president Phil Boyer,  1999, Kindred Spirit, Winter Haven, FL

      Harris, Thomas J., (Vice President & General Manager, Aero Commander, Inc.), The Magic of Aero Design, 1963, The Newcomen Society in North America, NY/Princeton. (history of Aero Commander -- and its predecessor, Aero Design -- as reported by its General Manager, member of the Newcomen Society for the study and honoring of industrial history.).

      History of Air Tractor, Inc., Air Tractor, Inc., ca.1999, Olney TX, online at: http://www.airtractor.com/history/history.html

      History of Meyers Aircraft, 1999, Meyers Aircraft Co., Bulverde, Texas, online at http://www.meyersaircraft.com/Meyers%20History.html

      Hoover, Robert A. "Bob" (famed aviator, Rockwell / Aero Commander Vice President and demonstration pilot), (fwd. by Gen. Chuck Yeager, USAF-Ret'd.), Forever Flying (autobiography of Bob Hoover, including details of his general aviation activity, including Rockwell / Aero Commander work), 1996, Pocket Books / Simon & Schuster, NY

      Meyers Aircraft Ass'n., Meyers Aircraft Ass'n Newsletters, 1999-2000, Meyers Aircraft Co., Bulverde, Texas, online at: http://www.meyersaircraft.com/Meyers%20Owners%20Assn/Newsletter.html

      Rockwell, Col. Willard F., Sr. (Chairman, Rockwell Standard Corp. & Aero Design), "Why we entered business plane manufacturing," Flying, October 1959, Ziff Publishing, NY. (official explanation of Rockwell's acquisition of Aero Commander line, by the person in charge).

      Twin Commander Aircraft Data, (detailed data on most major Aero Commander twins, dating to original models), ca. 2000, Twin Commander Aircraft Corp., Arlington WA

      Twin Commander Historical Outline, (detailed chronology & narrative of the history of the entire Aero Commander twin-engine line, with additional chronology detailing engineering changes, model-to-model.), ca. 2000, Twin Commander Aircraft Corp., Arlington WA

    • PIPER
      (NOTE: Piper originated in Bradford and Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, and migrated to Vero Beach, Florida. However it also briefly operated a factory in Northern Oklahoma, after World War II.)

      Bowers, Peter, et.al., Piper Cub Special Issue, AOPA Pilot, July 1996, Aircraft Owners' & Pilots' Assn., Alexandria VA. (extensive historical and technical report on Cub, Super Cub & offshoots, and early Taylor & Piper Aircraft companies).

      Cavanagh, Jim, ed., Standard Catalog of Piper Twin-Engine Aircraft, 1954-1993, 1994, Jones Publishing, Iola, WI

      Francis, Devon, Mr. Piper & His Cubs, 1973, Iowa State Univ. Press, Ames, IA

      Murphy, Tom & Hans Halberstadt, The Illustrated Piper Buyer's Guide, 1993, MBI, Osceola, WI

      Piper, William T., Sr., (pres., Piper Aircraft Corp.), "Let's be realistic about private flying," Flying, May 1946

      Weick, Fred with James R. Hansen, *From the Ground Up:  The Autobiography of An Aeronautical Engineer (Fred Weick, former senior Piper engineer, developed Cherokee, Pawnee and other important Piper aircraft)

      Piper aircraft manuals:  J-3 Cub, Apache, and others

      Piper Aircraft Genealogy Chart, Piper Aircraft Co., ca.2001, Vero Beach, FL

      ______________________________________

  • HELICOPTERS

    Federal Aviation Agency,  (now "Administration"), Flight Standards Service, Basic Helicopter Handbook, AC61-13, GPO, Washington, D.C.

    Gregory, Col. H.F., (director of U.S. Army's WWII helicopter-development program) The Helicopter: A Pictorial History, 1976, A.S. Barnes, NY

    Gunston, Bill & John Batchelor, Helicopters, 1900-1960, 1977 Phoebus, London

    Hirschberg, Michael J. and David K. Daley, U.S. and Russian Helicopter Development in the 20th Century, American Helicopter Society, International, 2000, Alexandria, VA  online at: http://www.vtol.org/History.htm  (detailed tertiary history, under the auspices of the AHS-International, by its magazine editor and an expert on U.S. and Russian rotorcraft.  Detailed business and technical history of most major manufacturers and their aircraft.)

    Jeppesen-Sanderson, Inc., A&P Technician Airframe Textbook, Chap.1, Sec. C., "Fundamentals of Rotary Wing Aircraft," 2002, Englewood, CO

    Leishman, J. Gordon, (Prof. of Aerospace Engineering, Univ. of Maryland), A History of Helicopter Flight, 2000, Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD (with excerpts from author's book Principles of Helicopter Aerodynamics, Cambridge Univ. Press, 2000, Cambridge, UK), online at www.enae.umd.edu/AGRC/Aero/history.html (early global rotorcraft history and technical development; modern U.S., Russian and British developments, with summary histories of each country's major manufacturers and their aircraft).

    Spenser, Jay P., Whirlybirds: A History of the U.S. Helicopter Pioneers, 1998,  University of Washington Press, Seattle (in-depth history of U.S. helicopter industry)

    Vivian, E. Charles, A History of Aeronautics, originally published 1920, this is Project Gutenberg "e-text," Release #874 (April 1997). distributed by Professor Michael S. Hart through the Project Gutenberg Association at Carnegie-Mellon University. Online at: http://digital.library.upenn.edu/webbin/gutbook/lookup?num=874

    and many articles in Rotor & Wing, Rotor, Business & Commercial Aviation, Professional Pilot, Flying, AOPA Pilot, Private Pilot, Army Aviation, Air Force, and other periodicals.  Also see other categories, including: STEARMAN & BOEING (Piasecki became Boeing-Vertol), CESSNA (built record-breaking Seibel Skyhook helicopters; Seibel later key Bell engineer), and BEECH (built Bell helicopters).

    ______________________________________

  • MILITARY AVIATION & HISTORY

    Aerospace Information Handbook, Vol. III, USAF Aerospace Vehicles, AFP 190-33, 15 Dec 1968, U.S. Air Force, GPO

    Air Force Ass'n & Air Force magazine, in cooperation with the USAF:  The Air Force Almanac (various years' issues, 1971-2003)

    Anderton David A., History of the U.S. Air Force, reprint: ca.1988

    Barron, John, MiG Pilot, 1980/198, Avon, NY

    Chant, Christopher, Air Forces of the World, 1983, HarperCollins Publishers

    Chinese War Machine, Salamander Books, distrib. by New English Library/Crescent, London; 1979 (technical miltary study of China)

    Cockburn, Andrew, The Threat:  Inside the Soviet Military Machine, 1983, Random House, New York (the classic counter to the Pentagon view of the 1980s, generally vindicated subsequently by revelations and public discoveries in post-Soviet Russia)

    Dunagin, James F., How to Make War:  a Comprehensive Guide to Modern Warfare ("All the World's Weapons, Armed Forces & Tactics"), Updated Edition, Quill, NY, 1983 (classic summary and analysis of military technology, organization and practices)

    Ethell, Jeffrey, "Wings of the Great War," Air & Space Smithsonian, Oct./Nov. 1991, Vol.6#4, p.60 (series of short first-person pilot reports on World War I aircraft, Allied and German, with historical background, by noted warbird expert/pilot)

    ________, Jeff Ethell's Pireps: AV-8B Harrier, Air & Space Smithsonian website, ca.1995

    ________, Jeff Ethell's Pireps: F-16 Falcon, Air & Space Smithsonian website, ca.1995

    Flight International, "World Air Forces: What they Fly," (global census and report) 2002 and 2003, U.K.

    Frawley, Gerard, International Directory of Military Aircraft, 1998/99, Aerospace Publications, Pty.Ltd., Fyshwick, Australia, 1998

    Gervasi, Tom, Arsenal of Democracy II:   American Military Power in the 1980's and the Origins of the New Cold War,  Grove Press; October 1981 (scholarly analysis of all significant U.S. weapon systems in use, on order or in final development, and the global military environment for them.)

    Gething, Michael J., Warsaw Pact Air Power in the 1980s:,   Arms & Armour Press, London, 1982   1981 (review of Soviet and Eastern European military aircraft of the 1980s)

    Gunston, Bill, Military Aviation Library:  Modern United States Aircraft, 1985, Salamander, London/Chartwell, NY

    __________, Air Commodore John F. Davis & Richard Humble, War Planes, 1945-1976, Salamander, 1975, London (global study)

    Institute for Strategic Studies, The Strategic Balance, 1999, London

            and issues from various other years. (World's chief single-volume standard reference on armed forces and military arsenals.)

    Lawson, Don, The United States in World War I, 1957, Abelard-Schuman, Ltd., London

    __________, The United States in the Korean War, 1958, Abelard-Schuman, Ltd., London

    LeMay, Gen. Curtiss E., USAAF/USAF (commander of most B-29's in World War II and Korean War; First SAC Commander; later Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force) and Bill Yenne, *Superfortress: The B-29 and American Air Power, McGraw-Hill, NY, 1988.

    Mason, Herbert Molloy, Jr., The United States Air Force:   A Turbulent History, Mason/Charter, NY, 1976

    Miller, Lt.Cmdr.H.B., USN, Navy Wings, revised ed., 1942, Dodd-Mead, NY (semi-official history of U.S. Naval Aviation)

    Polman, Norman, U.S. Naval Institute:  The Ships & Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet, 13th ed., Naval Institute Press, 1965-1984, Annapolis, MD

    Prados, John, The Soviet Estimate: U.S. Intelligence Analysis & American Strength, 1982, Dial, NY

    Robinson, Anthony (foreward by Air Vice-Marshal Stewart Menaul, RAF), Air Forces of the World, 1980/1982, Orbis/Crescent, London/NY

    U.S. Naval Historical Center, Kite Balloons to Airships:   the Navy's Lighter-than-Air Experience, monograph at U.S. Naval Historical Center website; many chapters covering U.S. Navy's lighter-than-air history. A series of PDF files, online at http://www.history.navy.mil/branches/lta-m.html

    U.S. Air Force, Air War - Vietnam:, Arno Press/New York Times, NY, 1978 (semi-official anecdotal history of U.S. military air operations during the Vietnam War)

    Whitehouse, Arch, Years of the Sky Kings, (respected aviation history of WWI)

    and specifically:

    ________________

      WORLD WAR II

      Brickhill, Paul, Reach for the Sky: The Story of Douglas Bader, Naval Institute Press; 2001 (biography of Britain's most remarkable WWII ace, a Hurricane pilot)

      Boyington, Gregory "Pappy", Baa, Baa, Black Sheep, (original Flying Tiger, and a leading Marine Corps ace) (note:  interviewed this author, and received from him another officially fictional book about his Flying Tiger years, Tonya,which he described as autobiographical and historical, except for altered names).

      Churchill, Winston, The Second World War, 7-volume set (various publishers and dates) (acclaimed war history and analysis, and wartime memoirs, of Britain's wartime Prime Minister -- and defacto Commander-in-Chief.)

      Deighton, Len, The Battle of Britain, Smithmark Publishing; 1st American Edition, 1983

      __ _________, Fighter: The True Story of the Battle of Britain, reprint: 1977, Vintage/Ebury (Div. of Random House Group);

      Eisenhower, Dwight D., Gen., U.S. Army (WWII Supreme Allied Commander in Europe), Crusade in Europe, Doubleday, Garden City, NJ, 1948 (war history and analysis -- and personal memoirs -- of the Allies' supreme commander in Europe, including "inside" history and analysis of WWII airpower.)

      Franklin, Noble, Bomber Offensive: The Devastation of Europe, 1970, Ballantine, NY

      Galland, Adolph, The First & the Last, 1969, Ballantine Books, NY, (memoirs of General of the Fighter Arm of the Luftwaffe, one of top five WWII aces & air combat commanders; world's 1st jet ace; instructed in Britain's 1st jet, after WWII)

      Gurney, Gene, Maj., USAF (fwd. by Gen. Curtiss LeMay) The War in the Air, Bonanza, 1962 (WWII aerial history)

      Jablonski, Edward, AirWar, Vol.I:   Terror from the Sky, Doubleday, Garden City, NJ, 1971 (detailed history of the early air war in Europe, particularly evolution of mid-century aerial warfare, early Blitzkrieg, and the Battle of Britain)

      ______________, AirWar, Vol.II:   Tragic Victories, Doubleday, Garden City, NJ, 1971 (detailed accounts of key aspects of the air war in Europe and Pacific, including German strategic and terror/depopulation bombing, Allied strategic bombing [Allied terror/depopulation bombing omitted], the Flying Tigers in China, Pearl Harbor, Doolittle's Tokyo Raid and the Battle of Midway; with political comments)

      LeMay, Gen. Curtiss E., USAAF/USAF (commander of most B-29's in World War II and Korean War; First SAC Commander; later Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force) and Bill Yenne, *Superfortress: The B-29 and American Air Power, McGraw-Hill, NY, 1988.

      Lord, Walter, Day of Infamy. New York: Holt Reinhart Winston,. 1957

      __________, Incredible Victory: The Battle of Midway. Pocket Books 1968 First Edition

      Overy, R.J.,   The Air War:   1939-1945,   Stein & Day, NY, 1980   (576-page, heavily docmented, detailed history and analysis of aerial warfare in World War II.)

      Ryan, Cornelius,  The Longest Day: June 6, 1944  , Simon & Schuster, NY, 1959; reprinted as D-Day & The Invasion of Normandy, 1962 (detailed history and eyewitness accounts by American journalist on the scene; the pre-eminent work on this event)

      Sakai, Saburo, with Martin Caidin, Samurai!,   Ballantine Books, ca.1970 (autobiography of Japan's most famed ace)

      Shirer, William L, Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, 1959, Simon & Schuster, NY (Traditionally regarded as the definitive, authoritative history of Nazi Germany, written by famed U.S. war correspondent working in Germany during Hitler's rise to power and until U.S. entered World War II; includes notes from interviews with Hitler's staff).

      Snyder, Louis L., (foreward by Eric Sevareid) The War: A Concise History, 1939-1945,  1960/1964, Messner/Dell, NY

      U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey Commission.  The Strategic Bombing Survey:  Europe

      U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey Commission.  The Strategic Bombing Survey:  Pacific

      WORLD WAR II AIRCRAFT:

        WORLD WAR II AIRCRAFT, GENERALLY:

        Davisson, Budd, ed., et.al. World War II Fighters, 2000, Ridgfield, CT  (special issue of Flight Journal, with comparative analyses & historical background on each major fighter aircraft of WWII, including review of the findings of the Joint Conference on Allied Fighters);  Co-authors include Capt. Eric Brown (most-decorated WWII Royal Navy ace, chief Royal Navy test pilot), Corky Meyer (founder, Society of Experimental Test Pilots, 1st civilian pilot carrier-qualified by U.S.Navy). Bud Mahurin (1st USAAF double-ace in Europe; fighter squadron commander, WWII & Korea), and Barrett Tillman (historian; pilot experience in many military aircraft, modern and historic).

        Dean, Jack, "Rating the Major Air Forces of World War II," Airpower, May 2000, Vol.30, #3, pp.8-55 (special issue, summarizing the plane-by-plane findings of postwar Allied study by the Joint Conference on Allied Fighters, with comparative assessments of each major WWII combat aircraft of U.S., U.K.,  France, U.S.S.R., Italy, Germany & Japan, particularly vis-a-vis their opponents -- with further detail notes about each major WWII bomber and attack plane.)

        WORLD WAR II AIRCRAFT, BY FACTION:

        Anderton David A., U.S. Fighters of World War II, Crescent, London, ca.1981

        Mondey, David, ed., Axis Aircraft of World War II, (The Hamlyn Concise Guide to...), Aerospace Publishing & Hamlyn / Chancellor-Bounty-Octopus, London; Chartwell, Edison, N.J., 1984/1996. (detailed history, description, specifications and performance data, drawings and photos of 137 Axis aircraft of WWII)

        Taylor, John W. R., British Combat Aircraft of World War II, Crescent, London, ca. 1981

        WORLD WAR II AIRCRAFT, SPECIFICALLY:

        Ethell, Jeff, Thunderbolt Flight Report - pilot's video tutorial on Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, by leading warbird expert and pilot/instructor.

        ________, Jeff Ethell's Pireps:  P-51 Mustang, Air & Space Smithsonian website, ca.1995

        ________, Jeff Ethell's Pireps:  Supermarine Spitfire, Air & Space Smithsonian website, 1995

        ________, Jeff Ethell's Pireps:  B-17 Flying Fortress, Air & Space Smithsonian website, ca.1995

        Jablonski, Edward, Flying Fortress, Doubleday, Garden City, NJ, 1968 (the classic study of the Boeing B-17 bomber)

        LeMay, Gen. Curtiss E., USAAF/USAF (commander of most B-29's in World War II and Korean War; First SAC Commander; later Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force) and Bill Yenne, *Superfortress: The B-29 and American Air Power, McGraw-Hill, NY, 1988.

        Okumiya, Masatake and Jiro Horikoshi, with Martin Caidin. Zero!, NY, Dutton, 1959; Ballantine Books, ca.1979 (The Pacific air war, from Japanese viewpoint, particularly as related by Mitsubishi Zero pilots, commanders and designers).

        AIRCRAFT MANUALS: 

        • Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress
        • Douglas DC-3 / C-47
        • North American P-51 Mustang (various models)
        • Republic P-47 Thunderbolt
        • and supplemental manuals for several other aircraft.

    _______________________________________________

    SPACE

    Aerospace Information Handbook, Vol. III, USAF Aerospace Vehicles, AFP 190-33, 15 Dec 1968, U.S. Air Force, GPO

    Air Force Ass'n & Air Force magazine, in cooperation with the USAF:  Space Almanac (various years' issues, 1971-2003)

    Bryan, C.D.B, National Air & Space Museum:  SPACE,   Smithsonian Institution, ca.1979

    Emme, Eugene M. (NASA Historian), Aeronautics & Astronautics: An American Chronology of Science & Technology in the Exploration of Space, 1915-1960, National Aeronautics & Space Administration, 1961, GPO, Washington, D.C.

    Garber, Stephen J., ed. Looking Backward, Looking Forward : Forty Years of U.S. Human Spaceflight Symposium, NASA report, NASA SP-2002-4107, published 2002, proceedings of conference organized by NASA History Office, at George Washington University, Washington, D.C. May 2001;  human spaceflight retrospective, the astronauts' spaceflight experience, and analysis of future of human spaceflight. Speakers included John Logsdon, Buzz Aldrin, Charles Murray, Neil de Grasse Tyson & Bill Shepherd. Online (PDF format) from NASA History Office web site, at http://history.nasa.gov/sp4107.pdf

    Larson, George C., Space Shuttle Special:   100 missions and counting;   special issue of Air & Space Smithsonian, Nov., 2000, NASM/Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.

    Neal, Valerie, Cathleen S. Lewis & Frank H. Winter, Smithsonian Guides:  Spaceflight, National Air & Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution, 1995, Ligature/McMillan, NY

    _______________________________________________

    WICHITA & KANSAS, GENERALLY

    Hund-Milne, Susan, ed., Spotlight on Wichita, '95-'96, Advanced Publishing, Wichita, KS

    Miner, Prof. Craig,  Wichita:  the Magic City, 1988, Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Assn., Wichita, KS

    Rowe, Frank J. & Miner, Craig. Borne on the South Wind: A Century of Kansas Aviation. Wichita Eagle & Beacon Publishing Co., Wichita . 1994

    Skaggs, Prof. James, et.al., Metropolitan Wichita: Past, Present & Future, Wichita State University, ca.1975

    Sunflower Journeys, various episodes, video magazine of Kansas history, 1995-2004, KPTS-TV (PBS), Wichita, KS

    Taylor, Richard, I Love Kansas:  History Made, History Remembered, 2001, Leathers/Squire, Leawood, KS

    ...and decades of personal experience and direct observation throughout Wichita and Kansas (including extensive involvement with the Kansas aviation industry and its people).

    ______________________________________________________

    In addition, this author's online and print articles have been researched through direct discussion with people involved with the companies, aircraft and issues in question.  This includes executives, engineers, marketing personnel, manufacturing personnel, pilots (test pilots, private pilots, combat pilots, airline pilots, flight instructors, bush pilots, astronauts, and more), mechanics, line crews, and industry analysts.   Further, research for this work has included careful review of over 2,500 periodical articles -- including over 500 first-person aircraft flight reports -- studied and recorded over the last twelve years.

    Further, the author has examined and/or boarded many of the aircraft (over 100), and worked on, or ridden in -- even flown -- several of the aircraft (dozens), and has even worked for some of their manufacturers, dealers and operators, in a wide range of activities -- from planning, marketing and administration, to engineering, production and technical support. 

    Additional material has been gleaned from aviation company documents (newsletters, bulletins, press releases, financial reports, production data, photos, advertising, aircraft manuals, technical drawings and service documents -- hundreds on file in my library alone), and company websites,  and from other selected, high-quality aviation websites -- including those of major organizations (NASA, FAA, NTSB, U.S. military, NAA/FAI, AIAA, EAA, AOPA, NBAA, ATA, Jane's, NAHF, Centennial of Flight Commission, National Air Tour, 99's, Women in Aviation, Int'l, etc), owner groups for specific aircraft (e.g.: Cessna Owners' Organization, American Bonanza Society, Short-Wing Piper Club.), and major or special-interest aviation museums (e.g. NASM, Air Force Museum, Waco Museum, Hiller Museum) and others.

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