The 91 Before Lindbergh

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{detailed description}Almost from the moment that man could leave the ground, even in uncontrollable balloons, the Atlantic has been a challenge, partly just `because it was there', but somehow its conquest has had a much greater fascination than the conquest of the Pacific or the Indian Ocean. Lindbergh himself wrote: 'There is something unique about this ocean that gives it character above all other seas'.
Just as it is now, Atlantic weather in those days was not only hostile but also unpredictable; high winds, rough seas, fog, rain, sleet, snow and icing conditions even in mid-summer were the rule and not the exception. Weather forecasting was non-existent; all that could be relied upon then was the probability that there would be a following wind for a west to east flight on the North Atlantic and in the opposite direction south of the Equator.
If the weather was a constant anxiety so too were the instruments available to the flyers; proper compasses, blind-flying aids and reliable radios simply did not exist and navigation depended on dead reckoning or sextant readings, which were often unobtainable for hours on end.
If this was not bad enough, the aircraft were still primitive in the extreme. Ash, spruce, plywood, canvas and dope, bracing wires, open cockpits were the rule; the engines were heavy and unreliable with a poor power/weight ratio. The aircraft were just able to 'stagger across, propelling their own weight, their crew and a vast load of petrol. The Vickers Vimy of Alcock and Brown, surprises you not by its smallness, for it is a fair size, but by its flimsiness.
Although many books have appeared on various aspects of the early Atlantic flights, until now no one book has described the conquest of the Atlantic North and South by aeroplane, airship, seaplane and flying boat. In telling the story of all the Atlantic flyers prior to Lindbergh's epic flight, this book reveals much fascinating matter unpublished before and underlines the courage and determination of pioneer aviators.
{Author / Publisher / Date}by Peter Allen
Published by Airlife 1984 1st edn. 182pp illustrated, index, bibliography. 18x24
{condition}very good, in slightly rubbed d/j.
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