Skywritings

The World Record Paper Airplane Book
By Ken Blackburn and Jeff Lammers

This book, containing 100 tear-out-and-fold airplanes of 16 different models, was in danger of getting a bad review at first. Our editors made two models called The Basic Square and The Dart; frankly, they didn't fly well. Either they were not folded properly or they were more show than go. Then one staffer suggested making The Vortex, a narrow tube of paper folded on one end to make a thicker leading edge. It is thrown like a football, with spin added as it is released. It went 20 feet with the first toss, and suddenly everyone in the AOPA Publications Division was flying it. Encouraged, our researchers then built The Eagle, another success. Its slow, straight glides were a delight. Not much work was accomplished that day, but it was just before Christmas so nobody cared much except maybe the boss. For a good time, buy The World Record Paper Airplane Book. $12.95. Workman Publishing, 708 Broadway, New York, New York. 212/254-5900. — Alton K. Marsh

Airborne Trailblazer: Two Decades With NASA Langley's 737 Flying Laboratory
By Lane E. Wallace

Airborne Trailblazer offers a unique insight into air transport research done by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration aboard a Boeing 737-100. The book is well illustrated and well written, something we would say even if it weren't written by AOPA Pilot contributor Lane Wallace. NASA's 737 first flew in 1967, and has since played a role in 20 major projects, including the development of glass cockpits, airborne wind shear detection systems, data link for air traffic control communications, microwave landing systems, and the satellite-based Global Positioning System. It is best known for having a second complete cockpit in the cabin where new systems are tested. The aircraft has tested autoland software and proven the usefulness of electronic map displays now used in the Boeing 767/757. Aviation history buffs will find the book a valuable resource. $27, including shipping. Order from Superintendent of Documents, P.O. Box 371954, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15250-7954. Ask for GOP stock number 033-000-01140-7. Fax orders to 202/512-2250. — AKM

Amelia
By Fred Wehr

Young girls who have entertained the slightest notion of learning to fly will love this exceptionally illustrated book. Cookie, the main character, awakes from a dream about Amelia Earhart to find a leather flying helmet and goggles gift-wrapped on her bed. Turns out the helmet is magic, and sends Cookie on an imaginary aerial adventure each time she puts it on. She finally meets the woman from her dream in the final adventure. $16.95 plus $4 shipping. The Nautical & Aviation Publishing Company of America, 8 West Madison Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21201. 410/659-0220. — AKM

Fliers: In Their Own Words
By Katie Goode

Writer Katie Goode set out to explore aviation for her own enjoyment, but stopped along the way to meet famous and not-so-famous pilots. This book is the happy result. You'll meet David Cronin, a Boeing 747 captain flying United 811 when it lost a cargo door 100 miles south of Honolulu in 1989. Explosive decompression blew passengers and seats into both right-side engines, causing them to be shut down, yet Cronin and his crew landed safely with minimum loss of life. Also interviewed are aerobatic champions such as Patty Wagstaff, air show performers, Lockheed F-117A stealth fighter pilots, and average citizens with a love of flying. $14.95. Aviation Supplies and Academics, 7005 132nd Place Southeast, Renton, Washington 98059-3153. 206/235-1500. — AKM

Born On The South Wind
By Frank Joseph Rowe and Craig Miner

The photographs may be in black and white, but along with the well- researched text they tell a colorful history of aviation in Kansas. Rowe, an aviation design engineer, and Miner, a history professor at Wichita State University, are right: Kansas has a lot to be proud of, and not only because it is home to much of today's general aviation industry. Kansans pioneered in dirigible-style aircraft about the same time the Wright brothers were perfecting heavier-than-air flight.

Those tracking the history of aviation will discover a large percentage of it happened in Kansas. Authenticity is enhanced by quotes from articles in the Wichita Eagle and Beacon, which published the book. $29.95 plus $2.75 shipping. The Wichita Eagle and Beacon Publishing Company, P.O. Box 820, Wichita, Kansas 67201-0820. 800/825-6397, extension 6663. — AKM

Videos

Tales From The Cockpit
Swamp Fox Communications

Videos for kids are kid-tested before they are reviewed, and this one passed with high marks from a 12-year-old. Swamp Fox Communications knows a lot about good video editing, camera technique, and scripting. The tape is narrated by Chris Edwards, announcer for a Flying Circus show that operates from the spring through the fall each year in Bealeton, Virginia. The tape provides a wealth of information on aviation careers from good role models such as airline captains, flight instructors, and air show performers. In-cockpit sequences of Patty Wagstaff and Sean D. Tucker performing their high-G routines holds the attention of adults, as well as kids. Available for $19.95 plus $3.95 shipping from Swamp Fox Communications, 9891 Broken Land Parkway, Suite 300, Columbia, Maryland 21046, or call 800/543-8431. — AKM

Flying the Turks & Caicos Islands
Island Star Productions

Anyone wanting to get into the aviation video business should purchase this and other tapes by Island Star Productions, because producer Ross Gault has found the right formula. It promises valuable information and from the time the tape is shoved into the VCR, that is what it provides. Gault has spent the time and money to do it right, returning to the islands again and again for additional scenes and interviews that illustrate key points. Even if you can't afford to fly to the Turks and Caicos, you can travel there vicariously through this tape. 60 minutes. $19.95. Call 800/940-6084, or write: Island Star Productions, 2225 State Road 3, Suite 14, St. Augustine, Florida 32084. — AKM