On Miniature Wings: Model Aircraft of the National Air and Space Museum (Hardcover)

by Thomas J. Dietz (Author), Eric F. Long (Photographer)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Providing a brief introduction to the world of model aeroplanes, Thomas J. Dietz then goes on to present a selection of model aircraft from the National Air and Space Museum, at the Smithsonian Institute. Fourteen years before the Wright brothers' famous 1903 flight, Samuel P. Langley, then Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, acquired a model of John Stringfellow's triplane and began the museum's model aircraft collection. Since then the museum's curators and modellers worked to develop what has become one of the finest collections of model aircraft and spacecraft in the world, exhibited today in the National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C. Most of the 3000 models are hidden away in the museum's research and storage areas but this book will take you on a guided tour of some of the collection's highlights, from the simple wooden flying toys of the nineteenth century to a recent ten foot model of the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise which took its modeller more than a decade to complete. Containing over 150 full colour photographs the book offers a fact-filled introduction to the miniature world of aeromodelling.

About the Author
A lifelong aviation enthusiast and modeler, Tom Dietz joined the staff of the National Air and Space Museum's Aeronautics Department in 1987, as part of the curatorial team for Legend, Memory, and the Great War in the Air, a World War I exhibit. Since then, he has contributed to exhibits on World War II air power and Cold War naval aviation. He currently serves as the museum's Curatorial Assistance for Model Aircraft.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 180 pages
• Publisher: Legacy Words (October 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565660854
• ISBN-13: 978-1565660854
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 11.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #279,735 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful introduction to the world of model aircrafts., August 13, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: On Miniature Wings: Model Aircraft of the National Air and Space Museum (Paperback)

I did not know anything about the world of model aircrafts until I picked up this book. This book does a wonderful job of interweaving the history of the Air and Space collection with the role model aircrafts played in the war effort. I would be remised if I did not strongly encourage the reader to really take the time to look at each picture in the book. Some of the pictures give you up close detail information on the the intricate work involved in the models (i.e. maps in the cockpits). This book gives you a new appreciation to a hobby that is finally getting the respect it deserves.