Product Description
LIFE AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF YEAGER AS TOLD BY HIMSELF. ... Read more

Product Description
an autobiography. the personal story of the greatest test pilot of all ... Read more

Product Description
An Autobiography by General Chuck Yeager and Leo Janos ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Very comprehensive
"Fields" takes the reader from the dusty start of air travel in the southwest and transports him to the age where modern aircraft fill the sky in one of the most congested areas in the world. While working for Long Beach Airport, I contributed to that airport's story to this book and am proud to be a part of a work that brings history to life through vivid photographs and exciting stories. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Ugh
Got this book as a gift. Great cover, interesting topic...dud of a book. Oh well, it was a thoughtful gift nonetheless.

Unfortunately, this book is less the story of the X-1 and more a case study in government and engineering beaurocracy at work. I made it halfway through the first chapter, until the author pointed out that the specs brought to the March 15-17, 1945 meetings didn't meet the required "flight capability as stipulated at the December 20-21 meeting between Bell and ATSC," because "the proposed design would carry a total fuel load of 6,740 pounds of propellant"...well, that's when I realized that this book is a regurgitation of meeting minutes, contracts, and technical data. There may be a story somewhere in 318 pages--but I can't find it. Ugh.

I'm sure the Smithsonian had good reason for publishing this book. I just can't figure out a good reason for reading it.

X-1 Story covers Adminstrative and Technical struggle
This book covers the struggle between the Army/Air Force, Bell Manufacturing and the NACA (predecessor of NASA) in the creation of the X-1, the first plane to break the sound barrier. It is a marvellous storyof the engineering decisions made not by any one of those agencies, but incooperation with all of them. For one who wants to learn why Edwards AirForce Base was chosen over the Florida base to test the new developmentplanes, or why the civilian pilot in charge of testing was replaced byChuck Yeager in the latter stages of testing the X-1, or why NACA was atsuch odds with the other entities over test procedures/schedules, and theexistence of the various X-1 'copies' and who owned and tested them ... theanswers are here.

Learn a little about the D-558-I, which used a jetpropulsion engine which is the mother of our modern jet aircraft (the X-1used rocket power, not jet power). Why do our modern military fighters usea jet engine, not a rocket engine for propulsion ?

The accidents and nearaccidents, including fires, loss of pressurization, flight instability, andsuch are discussed with an analysis of what might have caused them, andsteps taken to prevent reoccurences.

The book covers in fine detail thetechnical issues involved in designing and building the planes. Theadministration of the entire program is spelled out with names and memoswhich brings to life the heated arguments and disagreements arising inbuilding a machine many thought was merely a death machine, sure to killevery pilot who attempted to break the barrier.

Of lasting impression onme, was the realization that the designers, manufacturers, and pilottesters of these planes were in their twenties. The head of the NACA teamin charge of the X-1 project (for NACA) was 29 years old (or so). Thoseworking for him were even younger. Of particular interest to me is the roleof my father (John Gardner) who was part of the NACA team. He was 25 yearsold in 1947. Their counterparts at Bell were of similiar age.

The week Ibought this book I was visiting Edwards AFB. I got a chance to tour thebase, experiencing the climate 51 years to the day since the sound barrierwas broken, and view the surrounding terrain and landscape. It certainlyadded to my interest in reading the book. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Science and Its Times, brought to you by Gale®, a part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses.The length of the article is 446 words.The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase.You can view it with any web browser.The histories of science, technology, and mathematics merge with the study of humanities and social science in this interdisciplinary reference work. Essays on people, theories, discoveries, and concepts are combined with overviews, bibliographies of primary documents, and chronological elements to offer students a fascinating way to understand the impact of science on the course of human history and how science affects everyday life. Entries represent people and developments throughout the world, from about 2000 B.C. through the end of the twentieth century. ... Read more