Pilot Products

To most people, the history of powered flight began in 1903 with Orville and Wilbur Wright, but the Wrights based some of their work on the shoulders of giants, the intrepid inventors who preceded them.

In The Shoulders of Giants, author Phil Scott traces the early history of human flight from the Greek mythology of Daedalus to the year 1919, and it gives readers an interesting account of an often overlooked era. He balances word portraits of these bold personalities with the technological advances they added to the ever growing body of aeronautic knowledge. In the process he steps the reader from myth to the foundation of flight as we know it today.

For example, few people have heard of Felix du Temple, a French naval officer, but he is the father of retractable landing gear. In 1857 he built a flying machine with big, bat-like silk wings and an 11-bladed propeller driven by a one ton, six horsepower steam engine. This craft rested on a trio of wheels mounted on spindly legs, and after it became airborne (which it never did), a system of springs retracted the landing gear to promote a more aerodynamic voyage.

In addition, the author links seemingly unrelated inventions such as Archimedes' water screw to the angled blades that powered windmills, which, naturally, led to propellers. The book doesn't ignore the Wrights, and it gave me new insights on the brothers. After they got their Flyer into the air, they seemed to spend more time in court trying to protect their invention rather than carrying their technological advances further.

At 337 pages, with numerous woodcuts, sketches, and black and white photographs that complement the words, The Shoulders of Giants is an enjoyable read that gives more substance to the pursuit of flight before the Wrights. It's published by Helix Books, Addison-Wesley and has a suggested cost of $24. For more information, contact Addison-Wesley, Jacob Way, Reading, MA 01867; 781/944-3700.

Aerodine's Pilot Travel Guide

Depending on where you live, the weather at this time of year might not allow you to fly to new destinations, but there's no reason you can't start planning your fair weather adventures. If you seek new places to fly, you might want to take a look at Aerodine's Pilot Travel Guide. With 1,024 pages and nationwide coverage, it should satisfy the wanderlust of any pilot.

The book discusses more than 1,300 destinations in detail and 130 articles describe points of interest. It gives information on resorts, airport restaurants, and sightseeing and vacation spots. In addition, a special section of the book mentions more than 90 aviation museums.

The book explains the establishments in one-half to full-page detail. For example, it gives a resort's amenities; a restaurant's hours and type of food served, a preview of the decor, average prices for meals, groups, and banquets; how far it is from the airport; and directions on how to get there.

With excerpts from the Airport/Facility Directory, the book also gives airport information. In most cases, this section is to the left of an airport diagram, and includes the airport's location from the nearest town, coordinates, elevation, fuel, runway length and composition, hours of attendance, common frequencies, airport notes, and FBOs and their phone numbers.

The listings are grouped by state, and on the upper right-hand section of each page is the telephone area code and a reference number that gives the destination's approximate location on the state map that opens each section. On many listings, just below these numbers is a roster of additional nearby restaurants, lodging, available rental or courtesy cars, meeting rooms, and tourism councils. Attractions noted for each destination include golf courses, skiing, parks, nearby resorts, fishing, B, and almost anything else of interest.

If you're looking for someplace new to fly, check out Aerodine's Pilot Travel Guide. It costs $64.95 (plus $6 postage U.S., or $13 to Canada), and it's an investment in weekend or week-long flying adventures. For more information, contact Aerodine Magazine, P.O. Box 247, Palatine, IL 60078-0247: 847/358-4355.