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America's Round-Engine Airliners: Airframes and Powerplants in the Golden Age of Aviation
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About America's Round-Engine Airliners: Airframes And
Product Description Some of the most significant engineering and technological breakthroughs of the 20th century centered on the development of piston aero engines from 1920 to 1957. This book explains in detailed, well-illustrated, and easy-to-understand terms how these piston-powered radial-engine airliners advanced rapidly. The aircraft originated with fabric-covered fuselages with wooden wings and morphed into all-metal Ford Trimotors as the world’s first true "modern airliner," the Douglas DC-3, long-range four-engine transoceanic flying boats. Finally, the ultimate "Queens of the skies" Lockheed Constellations, Douglas DC-7s, and Boeing Stratocruisers flew at the zenith of the piston age in the mid-to-late 1950s. Many magnificent aircraft bridged the gap from small single-engine airliners carrying six passengers in the 1920s to large long-range, four-engine landplanes carrying 60-to-80 passengers and linking all the world’s continents by air in the 1950s. This book not only traces the technical evolution of every radial-engine powerplant used over that time span but also includes interesting and fact-filled sidebars that detail what it was like flying aboard each generation of these aircraft. In 1948, the largest radial piston engine ever produced entered airline service, the mighty 3,500-hp 28-cylinder Pratt & Whitney R-4360; it is one of 12 different radial engines covered in-depth by the authors of this book. With one author having been an airline pilot and the other an air racing enthusiast and lifetime member of the Aircraft Engine Historical Society, this book offers readers the best of both worlds. Colorfully illustrated stories of flying aboard the world's greatest piston-powered airliners are interwoven with detailed yet easy-to-understand descriptions and graphics showing the intricacies of high-performance piston radial engines. The advancement and success of America's air transportation system can be linked directly to the concurrent growth of long-range, high-speed airliners and their revolutionary powerplants, and this book tells the compelling story of aviation progress and development for the very first time. Review "It's a cool, colorful introduction to the roots of today's international air-transportation system." (David L. Veres Cybermodeler Online 2019-04-19) "Airframe and engines are discussed in depth with tons of superb photos and excellent drawings. In all, it makes for one of the most interesting books on the subject(s) that I have ever read. It is what one comes to expect from Specialty Press and I give this one my highest recommendation." (Scott Van Aken Modeling Madness 2019-05-15) "This is one of those books that is necessary to have if you want to have a complete aviation library. I would certainly recommend it even to modelers, as it helps to make the whole scene come alive, and presents the information in a way that even non-technical readers can understand. Don't miss out on this one." (Perry Downen IPMS/USA 2019-06-06) "It’s a splendid book whether you look at and read mainly the airliner nostalgia and history or the more technical engine and engineering aspects. Perhaps you’ll even do as this commentator and happily read it in its entirety and enjoy, reminisce, and learn with each turn of each page." (Helen Hutchings SpeedReaders.info 2019-07-01) "A thoroughly enjoyable book on a seldom-described subject." (Cmdr. Peter Mersky, USNR (Ret.) Naval Aviation News 2019-08-21) "A valuable addition to the aviation bookshelf since it clearly shows how America rapidly rose to dominate the world airline market." ( Air Classics 2019-11-20) "What has to be one of the best aviation books of 2019." (Peter Mersky Aviation History 2020-03-05) From the Back Cover "The amazing story of American ingenuity and determination as an industry advanced from varnish and bailing wire to the Golden Age of Air Transport." - Jon Proctor, Former Editor, AIRLINERS Magazine Some of t
