At the Controls: The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Book of Cockpits [Hardcover]

Tom Alison (Editor), Dana Bell (Editor), Eric Long (Photographer), Mark Avino (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2001

This is perhaps the finest collection of cockpit photographs in existence. The National Air and Space Museum holds the world's premier collection of historic aircraft, but visitors to the museum must maintain a respectful distance. In At the Controls, NASM photographers Eric Long and Mark Avino use creative lighting techniques andphotography to duplicate the sensation of actually being at the controls inside the cockpit of 45 legendary aircraft, with access not only to the instrument panels but to the consoles as well. The reader experiences a pilot's-eye view. This book will be a treasured addition to every aviation library.

(20011124)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Spectacular, razor-sharp, full-color, pilot's-eye-view portraits... even the most casual reader will feel airborne. (American Profile Syndicate 20060615)

Beautifully lit, highly detailed photographs... insightful text on each aircraft. A treat to behold. (Vic Johnson Airforce 200201)

The photographs are excellent ... This is an excellent book for anyone interested in the evolution of aircraft. (Charles D. Haynes Science Books and Films 20020901)

Fantastic images... Aviation enthusiasts and historians alike will be captivated by these wonderful images. (Flight Journal 200608)

A technical marvel: A single photograph puts the reader right into the pilot's seat... rendered in exquisite detail. (Globe and Mail )

Aviation enthusiasts will love [this book]... perhaps the finest collection of cockpit photographs ever compiled. (Flyer (Newsletter of the National Air and Space So )

About the Author

Eric Long is a senior photographer for the Office of Imaging, Printing and Photography Services. He has photographed collections at both the Museum of American History and the National Air and Space Museum.

Mark Avino has been the chief photographer for the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution's Office of Imaging, Printing and Photographic Services since 1983.

Editor Tom Alison is the chief of the NASM Collections Division, responsible for managing all aspects of care for the National Air and Space Collections. He is a former curator for the military aircraft in the collection and a retired Air Force pilot.

Edtior Dana Bell has been on the staff of the NASM Archives since 1981. He is the noted author of 17 books on aviation and an expert on aircraft markings.

(200112)

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Boston Mills Press (September 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1550463659
• ISBN-13: 978-1550463651
• Product Dimensions: 12.3 x 9.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,640,279 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Get in the Cockpit and Fly, November 14, 2001

By 

David R. Braden - See all my reviews

This review is from: At the Controls: The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Book of Cockpits (Hardcover)

If you love aircraft, this is a book for you ! The photography of the cockpits is stunning. The information about the control and instruments of flying from the day Wright Brothers, to the Spirit of St. Louis, the Warbirds of WW II, to today's Spacecraft
is extraodinary ! I bought the book just to have a photo of the greenhouse of th B-29 Superfortress, my plane in WW II. I was not disapointed. A plus was a view of the A Squares of my 497th bomb Group, 73rd Wing of the 20th Air force in formation.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great photography, broad sweep of history, but uninspiring prose., August 6, 2005

By 

Mel Beckman (Oxnard not just a pretty name, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: At the Controls: The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Book of Cockpits (Hardcover)

This is a very nice, broad look at lots of cockpit interiors and aircraft exteriors. It's not as good as Nijboer and Patterson's Cockpits of the Cold War, but I found the pictures very clear and devoid of the overly-dramatic (and obscuring) artsy-fartsy photography typical of aviation history books.

This is a Smithsonian book, covering aircraft in the Smithsonian collection, so the authors and photographers had unfettered access to each of the aircraft involved. This is evident in the consistent image quality. The images are still not as inspiring as Patterson's work, though, and he had to go traipse across the world to get his aircraft. The thin volume covers the Wright Flyer to the Space Shuttle, which is a little overreaching in my opinion. I tend to like more narrow focus.

The prose is a historian's perspective, not the gritty pilot first-person accounts captured in Cockpits of the Cold War. It's not bad prose, but it's clear that the cover of the book correctly lists the writers as "editor" rather than "author." Still, this is a must-have tome for any serious aircraft afficianado.

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful book, January 8, 2012

By 

R. W. Perry "old mystery man" (tempe, az usa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: At the Controls: The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Book of Cockpits (Paperback)

I bought this book as a Christmas gift for a brother-in-law who pilots small planes. His review as a technical guy was very positive. I liked the great photo's--literally taken from a pilots seat. The descriptions of each plane provided history of the aircraft as well as issues in flying it. I've never gone wrong with a Smithsonian book.