Aircraft History?

motoputz

Filing Flight Plan
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Dec 23, 2019
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motoputz
Hi all
I'm new to the forum and aviation in general really. I like mechanical stuff; machining, tools, sailboats, motorcycles, cars ...stuff that moves!
I've just started getting into aircraft, there are so many cool aircraft out there
are there any books, films, video's, magazine's you'd recommend for a history of the different manufacturers, models produced and just general tech info
I've watched a bunch on air related content on youtube, but I prefer books for my pre bed time reading
thanks
 
For Cessna, the best is Cessna - Wings for The World by former Cessna engineer and test pilot William Thompson. It’s a 3-volume series, the first covering the single-engine models; the second the 300-series twins and several experimental types; and the third volume covers the 400-series twins. The books have been out of print for a while, but can be found on Amazon.

The late Larry Ball’s books, including Those Incomparable Bonanzas and Those Magnificent Mooneys, are excellent.
 
The Al Mooney Story

Kaman: Our Early Years

From the Ground Up: The Autobiography of an Aeronautical Engineer by Fred Weick
 
There's also a multi-part series on Youtube of Arthur Young talking about the development of Bell Helicopter. It's a great watch:

 
The best aviation documentary ever made was the BBC’s 12-hour Reaching for The Skies (1988). Intelligent, well-researched and beautifully-photographed segments on aviation pioneers, fighters, bombers, transports, rotary-wing, lighter-than-air, and more. There’s even great general aviation material, including a look at Oshkosh, mid-‘80s style. There are lots of interviews of aviation legends, and rarely-seen archival footage.

Most if not all the episodes are available on YouTube.
 
thanks everyone, this is a great start

here's a neat youtube video for you history buffs

the fun starts at 3:20
 
thanks everyone, this is a great start

here's a neat youtube video for you history buffs

the fun starts at 3:20
Thank you for sharing!
Btw I started reading Cessna - Wings for The World. I found a lot of interesting info and I'll recommend it to my friends:)
 
Buying and Owning Your Own Airplane has lots of facts, observations and some history of various airplane types. The Coot Story is a good history of the Coot Amphibian and it's designer, Molt Taylor. Flying the Knife Edge is about how a pilot worked his way up to the airlines by bush flying in Papua New Guinea. A great read about the day to day work of bush flying with type specific information and history mixed in.
 
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