Unlocking the Sky: Glenn Hammond Curtiss and the Race to Invent the Airplane
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.76 (998 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0060956151 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 288 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2016-04-17 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
While the Wright brothers threw a veil of secrecy over their flying machine, Glenn Hammond Curtiss -- perhaps the greatest aviator and aeronautical inventor of all time -- freely exchanged information with engineers in America and abroad, resulting in his famous airplane, the June Bug, which made the first ever public flight in America. Ultimately, however, it was Curtiss's innovations and designs, not the Wright brothers', that served as the model for the modern airplane.. Fiercely jealous, the Wright brothers took to the courts to keep Curtiss and his airplane out of the sky and off the market. Unlocking the Sky tells the extraordinary tale of the race to design, refine, and manufacture a manned flying machine, a race that took place in the air, on the ground, and in the courtrooms of America
"Fantastic! A real page turner" according to A Customer. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The first reviewer might be correct in saying that the author could have provided more details on the many innovations Curtiss made to flying machines, but I never thought about it until I read his review. The book is really enjoyable as it is. I agree that you don't have to be an airplane buff to enjoy this. It is just a good read. I had no idea prior to reading this book that advancement in manned flight progressed so quickly at the beginning of the century. I don't believe that type of progress has been seen since. I'd recommend this book to an. History Misunderstood Seth Shulman has written an adequate book about Curtiss, who did contribute significantly to aviation development. It is readable and interesting but very weak in evaluating history. Shulman either misunderstands, or misrepresents, the relative merits of the Wright Bros. and Curtiss. Curtiss was a talented and committed enhancer of the airplane. Orville and Wilbur were geniuses who invented, out of whole cloth, wing warping (and, therefore, control), aviation propellers, the wind tunnel, and the airplane engine (that is, an engine with a high enough power to weight ratio). Give . "Terrific" according to A Customer. This is a terrific book. You'll see other reviewers trying to rationalize their way out of having their view of the Wrights altered. If I found any shortcomings in this book, they would be (1) there's an awful lot more it could have covered about Curtiss (but Shulman himself directs the reader to "Glenn Curtis, Pioneer of Flight" by Roseberry), and (2) more could be said about the good things the Wright brothers did (but we have shelves full of books about that). The work the Wrights did leading up to, and including, the 190Terrific This is a terrific book. You'll see other reviewers trying to rationalize their way out of having their view of the Wrights altered. If I found any shortcomings in this book, they would be (1) there's an awful lot more it could have covered about Curtiss (but Shulman himself directs the reader to "Glenn Curtis, Pioneer of Flight" by Roseberry), and (2) more could be said about the good things the Wright brothers did (but we have shelves full of books about that). The work the Wrights did leading up to, and including, the 1903 flight was great. While they didn't invent wing warpi. flight was great. While they didn't invent wing warpi
"Curtiss surely belongs in the pantheon of America's greatest entrepreneurial inventors," writes Shulman. Miller. --John J. Unlocking the Sky suggests that Curtiss deserves at least near-equal billing with the brothers from Dayton. One of their most brutish acts involved a punishing legal fight with Glenn Hammond Curtiss, the inventor of the aileron (wing flaps that stabilize an aircraft in flight), retractable landing gear, pontoons, and much else. In the American imagination, Wilbur and Orville Wright are "earnest, young bicycle builders who attacked an age-old technological problem with fresh, ingenious thinking and dedication." There is plenty of truth to this, writes Seth Shulman, but it also obscures an important fact: The first flyers were so secretive and desperate to cash in on their invention that their behavior actually "retarded" the development of aviation. He pe