Turbulent Skies: The History of Commercial Aviation (Sloan Technology Series) (Paperback)

by T. A. Heppenheimer (Author) "SCIENCE-FICTION WRITERS have often projected a world in which ordinary people have their own airplanes, flying them as casually as we drive our cars on..." (more)
Key Phrases: Pan Am, New York, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
This third entry in the Sloan Technology series is an important addition to the history of technology as well as business. Heppenheimer (Colonies in Space) is as gifted at explaining the development of the jet engine in terms a nonspecialist can follow as he is at tracing the rise and triumph of the aircraft industry over ground transport. U.S. commercial flight got off the ground in the 1920s principally because Washington subsidized it for carrying airmail. Government assistance has continued up to the present as such major manufacturers as Boeing, Pratt and Whitney and GE have converted advances financed by the Air Force to building aircraft for the commercial market. Heppenheimer's accounts of the collapse of Pan Am, the demise of Eastern, the enormous gamble made by Boeing in the 1970s, the abandonment of plans for an American answer to the Concorde and the still-reverberating 1978 deregulation demonstrate some of the "unintended consequences" that are the focus of this informative study. Illustrations.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal
Science writer Heppenheimer (The Coming Quake, Times Bks., 1988) details the history and development of the $200 billion-a-year commercial aviation industry from the aviation pioneers to the Boeing 777. Offering interesting vignettes of the aviation pioneers and company founders, he tracks the advances in aircraft design, aerodynamics, power plants, radar, and air traffic control that paralleled the growth of the airline industry. Of particular interest is coverage of the U.S. Air Force's influence on aircraft development and the federal government's regulation of the industry. The author's account of the advent of the jet in Nazi Germany and Britain is absorbing and notable. Considering the interwoven technological, economic, and political complexity of aviation, Heppenheimer's book is comprehensive enough for specialists yet readable enough for general readers, who might nevertheless have welcomed even more photos. For public libraries.?William A. McIntyre, New Hampshire Technical Coll. Lib., Nashua
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Wiley (March 13, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471196940
• ISBN-13: 978-0471196945
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #631,790 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not so turbulent AIRCRAFT history, March 2, 2000

By A Customer

I was disappointed in this book, primarily because I was expecting more information on commercial airlines, their history, problems, and development. There is only one 30 page chapter, "Shake-up and Shakeout", which really talks about airlines in any detail. The rest of the book concentrates on the history of aircraft and related technology as well as some limited information on the aerospace companies (Boeing, Lockheed, etc.) and personalities which produced the aircraft.

The title, "Turbulent Skies", is a little more titillating than this basic historical rundown deserves and the subtitle which mentions "Commercial Aviation" may mislead some people.

Content may be OK for those looking for aircraft development through history but look elsewhere if your interest is in the commercial airlines.

7 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book!, November 6, 1999

By	F. Lybrand "Black Mesa" (Chapel Hill, NC US) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a great book, giving a detailed history of commercial aviation, but doing so in a lively manner cognizant of the interests of any reader. It hits on all aspects of the development of commercial flight, paying attention to those connections between actions in the aviation industry and what was going on with the rest of the world at the time.

1 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars GOOD PACKED FULL TEXT ON AIRLINES AND RELATED TOPICS., June 20, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Turbulent Skies: The History of Commercial Aviation (Sloan Technology Series) (Hardcover)

GOOD BUY FOR ANY AVIATION LIBRARY