Customer Reviews

Wings of History: The Air Museums of Europe

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Just a quick note. Louis Divone, or better known to us in Skywagon land as Lou and Old Charlie passed away last week. He will be missed by the aviation community. Thanks for your wit and wisdom. You are missed.

Lou Divone has written an excellent compendium of the history of aviation preserved in the musuems of Europe. His book is laced with stories that breathe life into the mechanical relics that once filled the European skies. In an age when flying is an common occurence to most people, it is fascinating to read about the artifacts of an age that awed those who lived just a few short decades ago. This book belongs in the library of anyone who wishes to recapture the era when aviation was new and pilots were exploring the frontiers we now find so familiar. Lou's love of aviation and his admiration of those who built and flew the flying machines of the not-so-distant past illuminates each page.

Using aviation museums throughout Europe as a backdrop, some wonderful, little known facts of aviation history are presented as only a passionate aficionado of the topic could do. For example, many know of the retirement of the Schneider Trophy by the British, but this book presents the details in glorious fashion, taking as motivation the awe inspiring presence of the Supermarine racer in the British Science museum. The prose is occasionally a bit on the amateur side, but the author's passion for aviation makes up for it and it never really gets in the way of the story.

This book is a total surprise. I haven't figured out why he put the word "museum" in the title. It's full of stories -- 25 or 30 of the best short stories I've read about people who flew early aircraft that ended up in a museum (ugh) somewhere.