Wonderful Flying Machines: A History of U.S. Coast Guard Helicopters [Hardcover]

Barrett Thomas Beard (Author), Howard B. Thorsen (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1996

Handsomely illustrated, this book is a history of the helicopter and its creator, lgor Sikorsky, and chief promoter, Lt. Frank Erickson.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Naval Institute Press (November 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 155750086X
• ISBN-13: 978-1557500861
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,078,671 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Strong-willed officers advance the cause of whirly birds., December 11, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: Wonderful Flying Machines: A History of U.S. Coast Guard Helicopters (Hardcover)

U. S. Coast Guard aviator, Lt. Frank Erickson, on December 7, 1941, saw sailors struggling in the waters of Pearl Harbor. He remembered an article about a small helicopter developed by Igor Sikorsky. Erickson felt here was the ideal rescue tool for the U.S. Coast Guard aviators to help those in distress. From this time forward Erickson worked toward this goal. In the end, it cost him his career. Erickson ran head-long into those officers who felt seaplanes were the ideal rescue device. The book traces the struggle to have the helicopter accepted by the U.S. Coast Guard. One of the interesting currents running through the book is that of strong-willed officers fighting for a cause and willing to sacrifice their careers to advance it. This is one of those rare histories that show the contributions the U.S. Coast Guard has made to naval history. The book is recommended to anyone interested in military and naval history, either in or out of aviation.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars PTom's a Ptop Drawer Ptero!, June 21, 2001

By 

Pterodactyl (Coast Guard Aviator) #2797 (Honolulu, HI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wonderful Flying Machines: A History of U.S. Coast Guard Helicopters (Hardcover)

Tom is a gem. He's one of the few people who has written of Coast Guard Aviation who knows that of which he speaks, having been there and done it. This is not to disparage the various historians and popular authors such as Sebastian Junger who have tried to get a handle on what it is we do, but we Pterodactyls are a tight-lipped bunch to outsiders. But Tom is one of us, and we're glad he blabbed. He has done a meticulous study of Frank Erickson and the evolution of the search & rescue helicopter and the mundane, but necessary innovations such as the rescue hoist. Without the machinations that Frank went through, rescue at sea would be a very different business today. Many people do not understand that the United States Coast Guard INVENTED hoisting people from the water. Frank was brilliant, uncredited, and unknown, outside of CG Aviation. He was disdained by the seaplane community in the CG during his lifetime. The passage of time has proven Frank right. In his book, Tom grasped and articulated the struggle that Frank went through proving his theories and nicely packaged Igor Sikorsky's vision for the helicopter as a tool for humanitarian service. Even my non-flying friends enjoyed the book...which I recommend when they ask what the heck it is that I do for a living.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very interesting and inlighening about Coast Guard aviation, June 11, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Wonderful Flying Machines: A History of U.S. Coast Guard Helicopters (Hardcover)

This book kept me interested thru out. The story of LT Frank Erickson is one of persistance and will. I felt the books ending is what really made it all come together "The Sum of All dreams". The story of Michael Odom is a book within itself. This autor really did his home work and left me understanding the importance of helicopters and the U.S. Coast Guard.