The Electra Story (Bantam Air & Space Series No. 9) [Mass Market Paperback]

Robert Serling (Author)

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback
• Publisher: Bantam (January 1, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553288458
• ISBN-13: 978-0553288452
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,268,032 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the greatest factual avaiation stories ever written, February 16, 2000

By 

Jeffery Turner (Raymond, MS USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Electra Story (Bantam Air & Space Series No. 9) (Mass Market Paperback)

This is the story of a new kind of airplane that had a hidden problem. The problem was the worst kind -- it killed everyone aboard the airplanes and left virtually no clue as to why. The story is about the task force who figured out the problem with the Lockheed Electra and what they did to solve the mystery. If you liked "The Spirit of St. Louis", or "Apollo 13", you will not be able to put this one down.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the great mysteries of the air brought to view, February 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Electra Story (Bantam Air & Space Series No. 9) (Mass Market Paperback)

A great new challenge of the new jet age, brought to light the mysteries of the unexplained disintegration of the world's newest and mightest propjet airliner and strange phenomena that caused so much tripaditon in the commercial aviation world. This book explained something new and undiscovered just to prove that we still have a lot to learn about many things. The truth is out there! Excellent book!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A closer look at The Electra Story, February 18, 2003

By 

The Flying Finn (Ironwood, MI United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Electra Story (Bantam Air & Space Series No. 9) (Mass Market Paperback)

Robt. Serling's book on the electra is fascinating for two reasons: one, it is essentially the only published in-depth account of the airplane's accident history and two, it's rarity in both hardcover and paperback. It's destruction was due to "whirl mode", a combination of the harmonic frequency of the propellors and wing at cruise speed. If turbulence weakened an engine mount, the prop acted as an unstable gyroscope, transmitting different frequencies to the wing. When they matched the wing's harmonic frequency, it caused metal fatigue, resulting in structural failure. Aircraft engineers had not encountered this before. Great reading if you can find a copy.