Encyclopedia of Technical Aviation [Paperback]

Gary v. Bristow (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0071402136 | ISBN-13: 978-0071402132 | Publication Date: September 25, 2002 | Edition: 1

This work features hundreds of informative illustrations! If aviation is your profession - or if you're simply an aircraft enthusiast - here's an authoritative, easy-to-use resource that puts a world of technical information right at your fingertips. Written by noted aviation expert and airline pilot Gary V. Bristow, the comprehensive "Encyclopedia of Technical Aviation" offers coverage of a complete range of technical aviation topics, with each alphabetically arranged entry designed to provide maximum insight. From absolute ceiling to jetstream, rotation rate to wind drift formulae, and everything in between, this encyclopedia covers it like no other resource available. With the "Encyclopedia of Technical Aviation", you get instant facts on topics such as: aerodynamics; engines; aircraft performance; aircraft speed; atmosphere; meteorology; navigation; type qualifications; and much, much more! Packed with hundreds of useful illustrations, the "Encyclopedia of Technical Aviation" is an essential reference for industry professionals and students. Locate key data, improve safety conditions for yourself and others, and especially, increase your opportunity for job security and career advancement. From light aircraft to heavy jet operations and everything in between, the "Encyclopedia of Technical Aviation" is the one-stop, info-packed resource you need to keep your working knowledge of aviation flying high!

Editorial Reviews

Review

This single-volume encyclopedia of more than 450 pages, hundreds of illustrations, and thousands of entries is logically arranged in alphabetic order. Five pages of useful abbreviations precede the entries. A wide variety of formulas, equations, diagrams, tables, and charts add visual appeal and clarity to the explanations. Extensive cross-referencing is accomplished simply with see and see also notes.

...Author Gary Bristow, an experienced airline pilot, states in the preface that this is a book for pilots at any stage of their career. The entries assume a basic knowledge and have a technical focus. The Encyclopedia is well designed as a trainer or quick refresher of technical aviation topics.

...Bristow has apparently drawn extensively from his own flight training and heavy commercial time to compile an excellent and truly encyclopedic collection of significant technical aviation terms. Bristow has created detailed explanations of terms that are of daily importance to pilots...This book is a treasured addition to current aviation literature, and an exceptionally good value for the reader. Every school supporting any aspect of ground or flight training and every serious pilot should own this valuable resource. (American Reference Books Annual 20021101)

by Steve Whitson

Sometimes I see a book and its title just makes me pick it up. Then I scan the back cover and feel compelled to leaf through the pages. Rarely, but often enough to merit notice, the contents make it a must-buy. In this case the back cover promises "instant facts" on aerodynamics, engines, aircraft performance, aircraft speed, atmosphere, meteorology, navigation, type qualifications, and more.

So it was with eager anticipation that I took home the Encyclopedia of Technical Aviation by Gary Bristow. This 453-page softcover book of aviation explanations is arranged alphabetically, making it ideal for reference material. It's also excellent to take on a trip or place in any strategic location where the reading opportunities vary from a few minutes to an hour or so. Of course, this presumes you're interested in the technical aspects of aviation. But, then again, because you're reading the review, that's an excellent conjecture.

As a pilot, it's one thing to be able to maneuver an aircraft from A to B and do so without damage or bloodshed. This is the realm of the novice, the student pilot, the once-a-month-fly-for-lunch devotee. But for those who take flying seriously, it behooves all of us to understand the medium through which we fly, as well as the machine we use. I'm sure we all agree on this simple premise.

What has held us back is the lack of immediately available information. I personally have many textbooks and other tomes that cover the most esoteric of subjects. Not that I understand everything in them. But locating a specific item in a general-subject textbook is often a frustrating experience.

Many of the school texts can put you to sleep in a heartbeat and are written by pedants more involved in impressing the reader than explaining the subject. Others are written for the engineer or the highly advanced student and require a great deal of requisite reading beforehand. Another problem is that they, and most of the other books, have indices that are woefully inadequate. It's a matter of guessing which subjects may contain the information you're seeking.

Because this book is arranged alphabetically, there's little opportunity to miss the item, provided it's included. The explanations are succinct, yet sufficient for understanding. They also vary greatly in length. For example, "hypertension" is given five words, while "drag" goes on for four pages with four diagrams.

Another example is "coffin corner." We all know it exists, but it's almost impossible to find a good explanation in a text. The term is slightly in the slang idiom, but airline pilots talk about it all the time. For those of you who are interested, here's part of the explanation in the book: "Coffin corner occurs at the aircraft's absolute ceiling, where the speeds at which the Mach number buffet and prestall buffet occur are coincident..." The explanation continues for a half page, and there's a diagram also... (Private Pilot )

Quick! Can you define Buys Ballot's Law? How about Fohn wind effect? Virga rain? Tire creep? If not--or if you're just not sure--you may find McGraw-Hill's new Encyclopedia of Technical Aviation a worthy addition to your personal library.

From "absolute ceiling" to "ZFW" (zero fuel weight), author Gary Bristow has compiled clear, concise definitions and explanations for thousands of aviation-related terms, acronyms, and concepts. Appropriately, some entries require little more than a sentence or two, while others cover two or more pages--such as the description of ground marshaling signals and the differences between a jet and a propeller aircraft. Hundreds of simple diagrams, graphs, and illustrations also help to clarify many subjects.

For novice pilots, the Encyclopedia of Technical Aviation won't teach you to fly, but if there's ever a term you don't quite understand, it's probably included. Flight instructors will find it an excellent resource for providing understandable explanations of sometimes-complex theories, and even experienced, professional pilots will appreciate it as an easy-to-use refresher when some of those long-forgotten terms pop up.

At $44.95, the Encyclopedia of Technical Aviation seems a reasonable investment for pilots seeking a comprehensive guide to everything from the mundane to the arcane in aviation. (Airline Pilot Careers )

From the Back Cover

Features hundreds of informative illustrations!

KEEP FLYING SPEED WITH THIS UNIQUE, COMPREHENSIVE RESOURCE!

If aviation is your profession — or if you’re simply an aircraft enthusiast — here’s an authoritative, easy-to-use resource that puts a world of technical information right at your fingertips.

Written by noted aviation expert and airline pilot Gary V. Bristow, the comprehensive Encyclopedia of Technical Aviation offers coverage of a complete range of technical aviation topics, with each alphabetically arranged entry designed to provide maximum insight. From absolute ceiling to jetstream, rotation rate to wind drift formulae, and everything in between, this encyclopedia covers it like no other resource available. With the Encyclopedia of Technical Aviation, you get instant facts on topics such as:
* Aerodynamics
* Engines
* Aircraft Performance
* Aircraft Speed
* Atmosphere
* Meteorology
* Navigation
* Type Qualifications
* And much, much more!

Packed with hundreds of useful illustrations, the Encyclopedia of Technical Aviation is an essential reference for industry professionals and students. Locate key data, improve safety conditions for yourself and others, and especially, increase your opportunity for job security and career advancement.

From light aircraft to heavy jet operations and everything in between, the Encyclopedia of Technical Aviation is the one-stop, info-packed resource you need to keep your working knowledge of aviation flying high! (20040317)

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 453 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Professional; 1 edition (September 25, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071402136
• ISBN-13: 978-0071402132
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,316,731 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Aviation Reference For All Experience Levels, February 24, 2004

By 

Robert I. Hedges - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Encyclopedia of Technical Aviation (Paperback)

"The Encyclopedia of Technical Aviation" is a valuable addition to the library of any pilot, or for that matter anyone interested in aviation. It is organized alphabetically, as you would expect, and has extensive explanations of most any aviation related term you can think of. As an aside, the only term I have tried to look up and have not found is "RAT" (Ram Air Temperature). It does include "TAT" (Total Air Temperature), but I was trying to find the definitive answer on how the two differ.

The lack of "RAT", though, is (by far) the exception, as the book covers most all other topics more thoroughly and concisely than any other single volume I have found. This volume would be especially useful to people upgrading to complex aircraft (especially jets) for the first time. The section discussing FMS (Flight Management System) information and use would be very helpful to pilots transitioning to their first 'glass' airplane. The book has hundreds of illustrations, and all key points requiring visual illustration seem to have an easy to grasp drawing, chart, diagram, or graph, as appropriate.

This book is useful to pilots at all levels, as it discusses the very basic things like the forces acting on an aircraft in flight, to advanced EFIS and FANS concepts. This book is a one stop reference goldmine for pilots. The chances are very high that if it isn't in here, it isn't that important for a pilot to know.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Weak Supplemental Resource, March 27, 2008

By 

P N J - See all my reviews

This review is from: Encyclopedia of Technical Aviation (Paperback)

I used this book to help me with an upcoming interview. The book contains alot of good content, however it is poorly organized. The author has altered and changed many fundamental terms used in aviation. An example would be L/D Max is referred to as VIMD. VIMD is not a valid term, and for a first time reader it can be misleading. I believe a book that is titled as an "Encyclopedia" should stay true to it's content and be well researched. The content is all there, however many of the fundamental acronyms and terms in the book have been reworded by the author.
All in all, it is not a bad book to use as a backup reference to help assist the learning of certain concepts. I would not recommend this book as a sole reference. The shortest definitions were the best. No index in the back of the book made it difficult to read or find certain key terms. This is an encyclopedia, so it shouldn't be needed, however the overly wordy text had me thumbing back and forth throughout the book attempting to decipher certain key words that the author decided to invent.
I know this seems like a overall negative review, if you do purchase read with caution. Again not a bad supplemental resource, just have a lot of supplemental information to back your research up.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must for every pilot, January 13, 2007

By 

Mehrdad (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Encyclopedia of Technical Aviation (Paperback)

It is a big help for the pilot who really wants to know aviation. I think all pilots should have this book as a perfect source. At the end I have to indicate my appreciations to the author who has done the best.