Book Description
From the author of the classic study of the aviation industry, The Sporty Game, a new book that chronicles the high-stakes rivalry between the world’s two largest aircraft manufacturers—companies that will bet the house on a single airplane.
Long one of America’s most successful and admired corporations—and its biggest exporter—Boeing struggled to maintain 50 percent of the market share for commercial aircraft after being overtaken by the European upstart Airbus in the late 1990s. But Airbus did not remain on top for long. By 2006, the company suffered from mismanagement and had adopted the kind of complacent, risk-averse culture that had once characterized its competitor.
Incorporating interviews he conducted throughout the industry—with everyone from company leaders, past and present, and Wall Street analysts to design engineers and factory workers—John Newhouse takes us inside these two firms to help us understand their struggle for supremacy in a business based as much on instinct as on economics. He examines the critical issues that Boeing has faced in recent years, including its difficult merger with McDonnell Douglas, its controversial move from Seattle to Chicago, and a series of corporate scandals that made front-page news. And he analyzes the troubles that have beset a once ascendant Airbus, notably an institutional structure aimed at satisfying the narrowly focused interests of its European stakeholders. Newhouse also explores the problems that now face Boeing and Airbus alike: potential competition from China and Japan, the challenge of serving burgeoning Asian markets, and the need to undo years of mismanagement.
Boeing Versus Airbus is a fascinating, informed, and insightful tale of success, and failure, in the turbulent, do-or-die world of the aircraft industry.
Customer Reviews:
A Must Read for All Aviation History and Airline Buffs.......2007-10-17
If you follow the Aviation and Airline businesses, you need to read this book. It is well written and organized, especially in describing the alternating ascendency of Boeing and Airbus. As a fan of Boeing and US aviation in general, I am personally pleased to see Boeing in the lead right now. However, I will not be surprised to see the pendulum swing again, and I hope that John Newhouse will be around to write a sequel to this excellent volume. Oh, and by the way, every airline passenger needs to read the chapter on the airlines. in fact, if you buy or borrow this book, be sure to have some of your air traveling friends read that chapter. My wife hates to fly, but is fascinated by airline operational details. She loved it.
Well-written, detailed and enjoyable.......2007-08-28
As a lecturer of tourism and aviation, I find this book very helpfull by its ability of exposing the reader to "the story behaind the story": highlighting managerial, economical, and marketing decisions of the 2 giants: Airbus and Boeing.
Highly recommended!
Hillel Avihai (PhD)
Inside look at the giants of the aircraft industry.......2007-07-12
John Newhouse, an experienced journalist and former "New Yorker" writer, has already written one book on the airplane industry ("The Sporty Game"). His fans will welcome the return of his expert insights, and may see this as a bonus supplement or extension. He has collected some fascinating new material for this work, so it is deeply informative, though perhaps not as dramatic as its title portends, since the titular competitors take turns winning. Newhouse clearly conducted extensive fresh research, and he presents interesting interview material throughout, although he gets a little awkward when he uses numerical data. We recommends this look behind the hangar doors of the airplane industry to business historians and, especially, to aviation buffs.
The case study in aviation.......2007-07-10
If you are interested in the rivalry between these two firms, look no further than this text...everything you need to know is in this book.
Second Act.......2007-07-05
"The Sporting Game" by the same author was a blockbuster. It described how Boeing gambled its net worth on developing a completely new and revolutionary airliner, the 747. After a rocky few years, this became a great commercial success, vindicating the daring gamble.
The new book, "Boeing Versus Airbus," describes an equally primal contest for survival, and the diametrically opposite strategies pursued by Boeing and Airbus. Unfortunately, the book is neither as well-written nor as well-edited as the first book, repetitive and full of opinions that don't always stand the test of time. Think of the book as a collection of articles, put into one set of covers. If you are or were involved in this industry (as I was) it's still a good read -- but more like a magazine article than the coherent book I had anticipated.
Book Description
Although many books have been published about the B-29, none has been an in-depth look, with most being either superficial pictorials or focusing on the bombing campaigns, particularly the incendiary attacks and atomic bombings. This book, using rare, previously unexplored sources, intends to provide the definitive look at the bomber and crew, detailing every facet for the air enthusiast, historian and modeler. The author was granted rare access to the Pima Air & Space Museum's restored B-29 "Sentimental Journey" for inspection and photography, resulting in the most extensive photographic documentation of the B-29 ever published. The Pima Museum's archives, filled with B-29 technical and crew manuals also gave the author extensive information that had not been previously published. These sources, the author's extensive personal library, and microfilm resources enabled the author to produce this comprehensive look at the bomber and its crew in the context of the bomber's development and operational use. It is truly monumental in scope, both in words and photos.
Customer Reviews:
In Defense of a Labor of Love and Years of Research (See BillH review).......2007-08-28
Like many of my fellow aviation writers, this B-29 book and my seven other books (amateurs write one book for a vanity press) were done as a labor of love and the many years of research and writing certainly are not equally remunerated monetarily. So when reading a review such as that by BillH that does not comment on the quality and quantity of the text but focuses on the quality of hundreds of B&W and original color photos and on the rare original B-29 drawings and charts; it is much like saying that someone's baby is ugly.
The B&W photos originally showed their 60 years as did the drawings and charts from yellowed manuals. Many of the photos and drawings were actually enhanced from the originals. One manual had a bullet hole through it! As for using a professional photographer, this was not allowed by Pima and would be exceeding expensive (as I found when engaging a professional photographer for my daughter's wedding!). Access to the aircraft was only allowed for a very short period of time during closing hours. With the bomber's limited interior space, lighting considerations, framing, and focusing were very difficult. The quality of the drawings and photos in this book certainly equals or exceeds that of the only other available B-29 books (e.g. Crowood (200 pages), Warbird Tech (96 pages), and B-29 Combat Photo Diary (160 pages, paperback).
Portions of the text, are paraphrased from original B-29 manuals and official publications and documents, and put into layman's terms as that method best explains the various too technical aspects and components of the bomber. From what other sources besides these rare materials could an "ultimate look" be written? There is some repetition only to clarify and maintain continuity of the overlapping components being discussed in different sections of the book. As the bibliography shows, the book used literally 100's of sources from my collection of 16,000 WW-2 books and magazines and 15,000 feet of official WW-2 aviation microfilm.
Since the book was so detailed it was difficult to write captions that would add any new information. Many readers do not read a book of this size from cover to cover but use it as a reference. They thumb though it, looking at photos and reading captions first to find subjects of interest in the text.
The book is meticulously organized and contains an extensive index. At 360 pages and 500+ drawings and photos from many rare sources; this book is by far the most comprehensive, detailed "Ultimate Look" on the B-29 to date.
A lot of material, poorly presented.......2007-07-14
Wiliam Wolf's "Boeing B-29 Superfortress" is awash in detail covering every aspect of the bomber from earliest development to the final missions at the end of WWII in the Pacific.
That said, the book was a great disappointment to me. The author has clearly researched every detail of the bomber's history and has an impressive bibliography at the end of the book. Nevertheless, the entire presentation seems amaturish. The book badly needs an editor. The text, often parphrased from or quoted from manuals and government publications of the day is sometimes repetitive. Occasionally, directions to the printer to insert pictures in particular locations are left in.
Perhaps the biggest problem with the book is the illustrations and photographs. The graphic content is crucial for a book like this; every reader wants to see the wealth of pictoral detail the author tries to present. Unfortunately, most of the black and white photos and reproductions of drawings and charts are muddy and indistict. Even worse, while the author was allowed complete access to the B-29 in the collection of the Pima Air Museum, he failed to engage a professional photographer or even to learn basic lighting techniques himself. The result is that nearly all the color pictures of the B-29 interior and exterior details are glaringly lighted by the single flash on his camera, leaving some detail washed out and over-exposed and other components lost in shadow. A simple bounce flash or two-flash technique would have produced much better results. A couple of pictures are even blurry because of camera movement or poor focus. This was a unique opportunity to illustrate a rare aircraft wasted.
Picture captions, usually used to impart information that supplements the text of a book and to describe some unique features of the illustration, are, in this book, simply a sentence or two lifted from the nearby text without modification.
In a history and reference book such as this, a comprehensive index is essential. The index in this book is scanty.
Anyone with an interest in the B-29 will want to read this book. Because of its poor quality, I suggest borrowing a copy or buying it used.
The awesome result of complete research!.......2006-05-19
This is book that every famous plane deserves.Every aspect of the plane is covered.That is an understatement!It is all here.Great photos of the plane from Pima Air Museum(another must see).This is definitely a technical book that delves deep into the design,opearation,and logistics of a plane that has remained elusive though known by almost everybody because of its place in history.This book will give all the aviation lovers something to savor for hours on end.
Book Description
747 is the thrilling story behind "the Queen of the Skies" -- the Boeing 747 -- as told by Joe Sutter, one of the most celebrated engineers of the twentieth century, who spearheaded its design and construction.
Born in 1921 in Seattle, Sutter grew up on a hilltop overlooking the Boeing plant and flying field. It was a thrilling era of open cockpits, silk scarves, leather helmets, and goggles. After serving in World War II, Sutter joined Boeing, then a small company, eager to build airplanes.
In July 1965, he was asked to lead the large Boeing team designing the new 747. Pan Am wanted a new airliner as quickly as possible. This all-new transport had to be far bigger than anything in service or even on anybody's drawing board. To make it fly, Sutter and his team would have to push far beyond the technological boundaries of the late 1960s. Could it be done?
Almost everything about the 747 would be unprecedented. Its cabin would be so wide that it would need two aisles. Its horizontal tail would be bigger than the wings of most airliners ever built. Jet engines big enough to lift it off the ground didn't yet exist. Runways at the world's airports couldn't handle it, and neither could Boeing's factories. They had to erect the world's largest building just to produce it. A truly mammoth undertaking, the 747 became one of the most successful airplane models ever.
Sutter's vivid narrative takes us back to a time when American technology was cutting-edge -- the 747 came on the market the same year that men first set foot on the moon -- and jet travel was still glamorous and new. With wit and warmth, he gives an insider's sense of the larger-than-life-size personalities -- and the tensions -- in the aeronautical world. Ultimately, 747 is an inspiring story of grit and glory.
Customer Reviews:
Great lessons on aircraft manufacturing and project management.......2007-08-06
As a project manager/engineer and aviation enthusiast, I knew I had to read this book. It did not disappoint. Joe Sutter seemed at first like a typical engineer thrust (no pun intended) into a dream job--designing and building a new aircraft that most couldn't even imagine. By the end of this book, however, he'd discussed not only the technical challenges he faced, but the political roadblocks he encountered along the way. The story is compelling and interesting and taught me a few lessons on dealing with angry higher-ups and demanding customers.
I especially liked how Joe weaved in a few details about his personal life and his background, without detracting from the story of designing the 747.
This was a fascinating read and one that I may have to revisit. Thank you, Mr. Sutter, for sharing this story with the newest generation of engineers.
Great, Fast Read.......2007-07-22
This book is a quick read because it is well-written and fascinating. Not only is it an account of the creation of the 747, but it is also an interesting autobiography of a man who has been deeply involved in commercial aeronautical engineering for sixty years. I found it to be a truly rewarding read.
...or how to navigate your dream.......2007-01-15
This book is an inspiring, informational and well written account of how Joe Sutter's dream came to be. An excellent read for anyone interested in aviation, commercial aircraft, management and start-up growth. While his was focused on aviation and the birthing pains of the 747, it is analogous to many of our own dreams and trials as we strive to do what we 'know' in our gut to be our contribution to our businesses, organizations, or environment. His lessons in leadership, perseverance and a healthy dose of 'independence of thought' are great reminders not to follow the crowd, but carve your own path through them. Joe sounds a little arrogant at times, which you can easily ignore. He does give plenty of credit to legion members of the team, including those he didn't particularly get along with. An excellent read.
Father of the Queen of the Skies.......2006-09-14
There have been many books written about the 747, but none of them tell the human side of taking one of the largest aircraft off the drawing board and into the skies in two years time. Joe Sutter is the consumate engineer, he engages you in a voice that keeps you interested all of the way through the book. He does it in such a way that makes you feel that maybe you where there. Boeing bet the company on the 747, if it had been a failure the company would probably be a footnote in history. The company put their trust in one single man, who claims he and Boeing grew up together. Joe also includes the stories of many others along the way, he never takes credit for himself but always makes you aware that it was a team effort. In fact he leads off with a disclaimer that if he remembered it wrong he was sorry.
The book arrived just in time for the bi-annual Farnborough airshow in England, he was asked by several reporters to critique the A380. Being ever the gentleman he declined to take the bait. But he is straight forward on his views of NASA and the Challenger accident, still just as analytical when he was half his age. His love of the 747 is evident, he is excited to see it exist today and hopes with newer technology that it will be around 50 years from now.
If you love big airplanes, or want to know what it took to build something that changed the World. This book will capture you for every page. Straight from the man who's shoulders carried a company and probably most of livelyhoods of the Pacific Northwest. It is a joy to still have Joe around to tell his story. To me the 747 will always be the greatest airplane ever built and Joe will always be the greatest airplane engineer that ever lived.
Joe Sutter IS " one of the great ones " .......2006-06-19
The above partial quote is plagerized from Joes book as he quotes Charles Linderbergh comments about the 747 which in its entirety was " This is one of the great ones "
I'm a retired Boeing Engineer, and while never meeting or dealing with Joe since I was working in other areas [supersonic transport, etc ] I did hear and work in later years with several who did have personal knowledge. Joe pretty much tells it like it WAS/IS.
I especially appreciated his efforts to avoid highly technical terms, and in few simple words explaining some of the basics of flight, powerplants, design criteria, safety concerns, etc. In some ways, it could be considered ' high school' level courses on flight and design criteria- but without ' talking' down to the reader.
It is an 'easy read' and does lift the curtain on a few, but not all the insider political games typical of Boeing and most other aerospace companies. [ I've also worked at Rockwell and Ling Temco Vought ]
Joe is definitely from the 'old school' as far as ethics and integrity, and his comments about serving on the Challenger Shuttle disaster commission and the NASA attitude re safety and risk in the last chapter seem as if they were written this week [ June 16,2006- see news items about safety concerns re the impending Shuttle flight in July 2006 ]. Hopefully, his comments and concerns will NOT be proven to be " deja vue all over AGAIN."
In my opinion - a keeper, and readable from Junior high up.
Average customer rating:
|
Boeing B-52: A Documentary History (Schiffer Military Aviation History)
Walter Boyne
Manufacturer: Schiffer Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 General
| United States
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Aviation
| Military
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Military Science
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Aviation
| Transportation
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
History of Technology
| Technology
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
Aerospace
| Engineering
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
| Advanced Mechanics
| Aerodynamics
| Aircraft Design & Construction
| Applied
| Avionics
| Gas Dynamics
| General
| Heat Transfer
| Propulsion Technology
| Structural Dynamics
Military Engineering
| Special Topics
| Engineering
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0887406009 |
Book Description
Conceived in 1948, first flown in 1952 and projected still to be in front-line service in the 21st century, the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is one of the most extraordinary aircraft in history. Here is the book to do justice to the story of the development and operational career of this legendary bomber. The book features a comprehensive history of the development of the U.S. heavy bomber, and intensive discussion of the Boeing B-47 and its effect upon the B-52 design, and perhaps more important than either of these today, the enormous number of modifications and changes which have kept the aircraft viable. The important contributions of the Strategic Air Command, with its concepts of the dedicated crew, rigorous training and ceaseless evaluation is well covered, and special attention is given to the B-52's role in the Vietnamese conflict. The book is reinforced with over 200 photographs and drawings, and includes a comprehensive set of appendices. The material for the book was derived almost entirely from the primary sources--the men who designed, built, flew, maintained and improved them and the documents created at the time. The author, a former B-52 and B-47 pilot himself, conveys the spirit of the B-52--the men and the missions behind the hardware, as well as a superbly detailed analysis of the aircraft itself., over 200 b/w photographs, cut-away drawings, charts, diagrams, 8 1/2" x 11"
Book Description
The history of the Stearman Aircraft Company is about American entrepreneurship, aeronautical innovation, and the sheer determination to design and manufacture custom-built airplanes that set a standard for the competition to follow. In his new book Stearman Aircraft, author Edward Phillips follows the career of Lloyd Carlton Stearman from his work on the New Swallow biplane to the expansion of Stearman facilities into Boeing Airplane Company plants. In between was the Travel Air years, out of which came the Model A, B, CH, CW, BW, and Type 5000. The book also pays special attention to Stearman's rare C1 and C2 biplanes, as well as later upgraded C2s, the C3 series, the M-2, the LT-1, the luxurious CAB-1, the Model 6 Cloudboy, and others. During World War II, Boeing's sprawling facilities churned out thousands of Kaydet biplanes to train fledgling aviators, more than 1,600 B-29 Superfortresses heavy bombers to pound Japan into submission, and a steady stream of critical airframe assemblies for the famed B-17 Flying Fortress to reduce Hitler's Third Reich to rubble. For its work on these great aircraft, Boeing's Wichita Division earned six Army-Navy "E" awards for excellence in manufacturing and production.
Customer Reviews:
The Story of a Classic Airplane.......2006-05-04
Lloyd Stearman established one of the more famous airplane manufacturing companies in Wichita, Kansas. After a series of biplanes were designed and put into production the company built the primary trainer, (10,346 of them) that was used by the Army Air Corp in World War II. This detailed book is the complete story of Stearman and the aircraft that they produced.
It's also the story of the advances in aviation. It begins with fabric covered wooden biplanes powered by the War Surplus Curtis OX-5 engine. From there the story progresses to metal framed designs, and eventually to all metal monopplanes. As the depression deepened, the Stearman Company was merged into United Aircraft and Transport Corporation, which owned among other companies, Boeing. Unlike most companies, Boeing used the low prices during the depression to expand. When World War II started the company had the capacity to build not only the primary trainer, but 750 gliders, 1,769 B-29's and subsequently 1,390 B-47 and 467 B-52 jet bombers.
The book has an amazing collection of photographs, including pictures of just about every type of airplane built there. The final section of the book has several pages of color photographs showing the colorful paint schemes sported by Stearmans. You can still buy a Stearman in perfect flying condition for about $125,000.
Amazon.com
Even though the aviation industry has only about 100 important customers in the whole world, presidents and prime ministers have become its leading sales representatives. That's because so many purchases soar into the multi-billion-dollar range. The international rivalry between Boeing (a U.S. company based in Seattle, Washington) and Airbus (a European consortium centered in France) has become a foreign policy priority for their respective governments. Boeing completely dominated the skies for many years, but massive government subsidies have made Airbus a serious challenger. In Birds of Prey, Matthew Lynn tells the story behind some of the biggest business deals in the world today.
Customer Reviews:
a thrilling but technically inaccurate account.......2000-09-20
This work on Boeing (USA) and Airbus (Europe or what they call UE) competition is undeniably compelling. Unfortunately some faults about technical aspects make it a little bit incomplete. Anyway, once the book has caught the reader attention (forgiving the mistakes) it is hard to throw off its spell.
A precious facet is the historical reconstruction of political and economical process, describing the post war crises of aeronautical companies in Europe in the civil market. Emerging from the war, european countries were eager to start a new life. The aeronautical skill (grown during belligerent times) was put to work in leading program like the Comet, Caravelle, Trident, BAC 1-11, etc. . Unfortunately management and political control were so conservative that they were unable to drive the new technology evolution in full swing. So each european State basically never developed a sound industrial strategy (i.e. for shortsighted nationalistic interest). The nemesys of national designs and firms (as autonomous entities in the market) led to the pooling of energies called Airbus. This part of the book is quite organic and it is a clever description of cut-throat struggle with another arab phoenix like Boeing (the company emerging from internal US competition).
Many technical flaws appear from the narrative, two are important for the plot. First,Boeing 707 project was a masterpiece being the first design that made civil aeronautical "know-how" to grow fully (so far for DC-8 and Convair 880). Initially it was developed as a strategic tanker and, of course, research & development funding was available to boost the design during the cold war. Many advanced technologies were put to fruition from research centers (federal or private) and a "full steam ahead" was given to any study capable of making them affordable. Airbus never got the same opportunity. Second point, the airliners market is divided in segmets and even if new technologies are not enough cheap to change aicraft shapes, the quest for more efficient planes compels consolidated knowledge to mature completely. So 2engines Boeing 757 is the 727 replacement because they were designed to fulfill the same segment (according to lower unit cost per machine and equipment, in order to respect more restrictive regulations). To be more precise each segment is divided into specialized sectors; each manifacturer design a basic adaptable project for a segment, then engineers "customize" the plane for a particular requirements (just look at the Boeing 777, initially developed in "A" version, reveallingly dubbed "A" market, and in the "B" version or "B" market).
In the end lack of aviation expertise is quite limiting in this bold work, compromising a basically sound effort. Nevertheless this is an admirable attempt to reveal the insights of the most terrible struggle between two major corporate conglomerates in airliners industry.
Ian Fleming this story is not..........1999-06-02
I have been an aviation enthusiast for most of my life. The commercial aviation world is particular dear to me. Although I am but an amateur follower of the industry, I am fairly certain that I understand it better than does Mr. Lynn.
First, allow me to report on the unforgivable mistakes in his book. Lynn's work is rife with typos and spelling mistakes (in a revised edition!). It is uncoordinated in many places and reads as though different sections were, hurriedly, written at different times and then given to an editor to splice together. "Hodgepodge" best describes Mr. Lynn's style.
Also unforgivable are the numerous mistakes of fact and gross misrepresentations to be found in "Birds of Prey." To be blunt, the B-17 was not a commercial failure (although, due to the hodgepodge nature of the book, I'm not actually certain Mr. Lynn really means to say this). The Boeing 707 was developed first as a military tanker and then as an airliner (using government-owned tooling, a "subsidy" Lynn totally misses, all the while slinging barbs at Airbus for receiving similar government aid). By stating that, because he was a lawyer by training, Bill Allen (father of the Boeing 747, among other aircraft) was not, and could not have been, an "airplane guy," is ludicrous. Bill Gates never finished his computer studies, so perhaps it follows that he can't be a "computer guy."
There is a regulation, which covers all twin-engined commercial flights over water, called ETOPS. This well-known rule states that twins cannot be certified to operate water routes unless manufacturers can show that the aircraft can safely remain aloft for 2-3 hours following an engine failure. It seems Mr. Lynn's "research" (more on this later) didn't uncover the ETOPS criteria for twin certification. If he had known about it, he would have seen that his explanation for the slow sales of the A300 and A310 is rather silly. Another mistake of fact becomes blatantly clear when Mr. Lynn calls the Boeing 757 a made over 727. He argues that because both share the same fuselage (actually just the cross section) the 757 is merely warmed-over 1960's technology. If he really understood what he was saying, he would have to say the 757 is actually based on 1940's technology. What Lynn misses is that the 707, the 720, the 727 and the 737 all share the same fuselage, albeit in different lengths and with certain modifications. The 757 uses the cross section (dimensions) of the 707 fuselage but the materials and construction techniques used today differ greatly from those employed 40, 30 or even 10 years ago. To label the 757 a re-winged 727, then, is "nonsense on stilts," to quote a British jurist. Never mind the fuselage and wings, the fact that the 727 has three engines, all mounted on the tail, and the 757 is a twin with wing-mounted engines underscores that these are different aircraft. The 757 even looks different from all other 707 derived aircraft (just look at the contours around the cockpit).
Of course, it goes without saying (but I will say it anyway) that the 727 and the Airbus A300 never competed with one another. The A300 could be used to replace 727's (the original trunk-liner on the American hub-and-spoke airport system) as passenger loads increased, but one does not pit a 160 seat aircraft against a 250-300 seat aircraft. A parallel would be to try and sell a bus to a mini-van customer.
Mr. Lynn contradicts himself in many places, and even (in one case) on the same page. On page 186 he states that, "Boeing was sitting on a pile of cash...[and to thwart a hostile takeover bid] some of the spare $3 billion could be used to buy back its own shares; an expensive and curious manoeuver for a cash hungry firm." It seems to me that a $3 billion bank balance put Boeing squarely into a cash surplus, not a crunch, and to call a move to halt a 1980's style hostile takeover bid "curious" is itself curious.
Going back to research, while the author undertook several personal interviews, the bulk of his research was done using secondary sources. Many of those are not scholarly and can best be describe as general aviation or business books. This is an issue because Lynn uses footnotes, which implies that his book is to be taken as a piece of well-research literature.
I believe that the book's subtitle is deceiving. I bought "Birds of Prey" because I thought I was getting a blow-by-blow account of the "Boeing vs. Airbus" struggle and that I was going to read about a "Battle for the Skies." In truth, we don't get to the real battle until page 175 (of 234 text pages). There is an account of the introduction of the A300 and A310, and the genesis of the A320, before page 175 but the author goes to lengths to reassure the reader that these Airbus products did not faze Boeing in the least. We can hardly call this era in aerospace history a "battle."
Finally, "landing slots" are not dependent upon aircraft size (they are time slots, when aircraft are permitted to enter the airport's pattern to land). And, just a note, on the cover there are two aircraft facing each other, head to head (as if to imply a battle of sorts is going on between them). That's an interesting marketing ploy for this book. Unfortunately, both airplanes are Boeing 737s.
Colin Saunders
Good, but with annoying flaws.......1998-10-29
This is a very good analysis of the ongoing battle between Airbus and Boeing, with a great deal of historical material on the birth and growth of the two antagonists. Especially intreesting for American readers is the story of Airbus and its birth from the ashes of Concorde, a subject generally ignored or glossed over in the US aviation press.
Annoying is the lack of aviation expertise on the author's part ( a fine business writer, if this book is any example) such as swallowing the old canard about Britain building only fighters in World War II and leaving the postwar big airplane market to the Americans with their bomber experience. This ignores an awful lot of Avro and Handley Page bombers over Germany, and a swarm of US fighters over the entire world. British civil aviation failures are covered (incompetence of the Brabazon committee, BOAC not knowing what it wanted, the Concorde debacle, etc.) and I am surprised that the editor let a few howlers get by.
All in all, this is a very good book about the state of civil aviation just before the Boeing/McDonnell Douglas merger.
Left me at 35,000 Feet.......1998-10-26
Since I have read a great deal on Boeing (ie, Widebody by Irving), Lynn brought nothing new to the table from Seattle, except for glossed over stories. I haven't read a great deal on the consortium from Toulouse. Are the facts as shallow here too? Additionally, would spell check have been an ordeal? Needless to say, I enjoyed the book because it gave me an idea of the fight between these two "subsidized" groups. It could have been better, but it was sufficient to pass the daily commute.
Catchy title hides plodding story.......1998-09-17
Research may have been meticulous for this book, although you cannot tell from the poor editing and proofreading. So far as I can tell, the story is accurate and the discussion reasonably complete, but I cannot imagine that you could not find a better-written account of the battle of these two giants. Besides, things have already changed since the birds of prey circled each other for this book.
Product Description
Preparing airline pilots for the Boeing 747-400 simulator checkride is the primary focus of the book; but interested and serious PC Simmers will also find it relevant and interesting. The authors intent was to give access to all the information required to make the check-person think you know what you are doing. An entertaining and sometimes humorous look at the way airline pilots fly the big jet. This is a good read for anyone interested in the details of flying the big jets.
Customer Reviews:
too specific to the author's airline.......2007-03-12
Good general procedural overview - phantastic for Home PC Flight Simulator use.
But: if you want to use this book for the real thing, be warned; the described procedures are very airline specific, better stick to your training manual and save the 50 bucks. If you want to buy my copy (looked through it once and realized it's unusable for my purposes) just drop me an email...
Book Description
Take an inside technical look at the Boeing 747 and all its variants. Norris and Wagner discuss the enormous complexities of the base-line aircraft and explain the differences in variants. Filled with factory floor shots, sub assemblies, pre-production prototypes, and finished aircraft.
Customer Reviews:
I would give it 5 stars, if it just has more photos...........2001-11-18
The book is great except for one thing. There are not nearly enough, or any, photo's of the inside cabin. I would certainly like see what a 747 looks like on the inside with various views of all 3 levels of the giant. Unfortunatly, the book only shows you one 1969 photo near the front of the book. That of the first
class area. Otherwise, a great book.
David Todd
A Concise Tribute to Her Majesty, the Queen of the Skies.......2001-07-26
As with their other collaborative efforts, Norris and Wagner present us with a wealth of quality photographs on the best-known airliner. More than that, the authors take us on a journey of how the 747 came to be and where it is today. Each series and variant is surveyed; the information is concise and accurate. While this book may not be the visual feast laid out before us in the Airliner Color History series, this book is highly engaging and well worthwhile to any airliner aficianado.
Fun and factual.......2000-03-24
Not so informative to bore an aircraft enthusiast, yet provides enough to ponder an aircraft engineer. This contours enough history and facts about the mighty 747 that it's worth reading twice. Ive used this book for foot noting a few aviation college classes. If you like airplanes like I do, you'll enjoy this book.
Interesting facts in combination with pictures on B747.......1998-10-26
The book gives you an introduction into the "Birth of a Giant" and explains the evolution from the drawing board to the manufacturing of the "Queen of the Skies". All model ranges are covered and in combination with the pictures and a statistical section on Orders, deliveries, numbers in service makes this book worthwhile reading.
Books:
- Capitalism at the Crossroads: The Unlimited Business Opportunities in Solving the World's Most Difficult Problems
- Chemical Principles: The Quest for Insight
- Childrens Writers & Illustrators Market 2007 (Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market)
- Credit After Bankruptcy: A Step-By-Step Action Plan to Quick and Lasting Recovery after Personal Bankruptcy
- Credit After Bankruptcy: A Step-By-Step Action Plan to Quick and Lasting Recovery after Personal Bankruptcy
- Credit After Bankruptcy: A Step-By-Step Action Plan to Quick and Lasting Recovery after Personal Bankruptcy
- Diabetes Burnout: What To Do When You Can't Take it Anymore
- Economic Capital Allocation with Basel II: Cost, Benefit and Implementation Procedures
- Empire of the Bay: An Illustrated History of the Hudson's Bay Company
- Encyclopedia of the United States Cabinet: (3 Volumes)
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Return on Customer: Creating Maximum Value From Your Scarcest Resource
- Chronicles: Volume One
- The Registration of Baroque Organ Music
- Understanding Bonds & Gilts in a Day
- Artificial Vision for Mobile Robots
- Dian Hanson': The History of Girly Magazines: 1900-1969
- CINEMA 4D 10 Workshop
- Principles of Accounting: Working Papers for Exercises and Problems, Vol 1, Chapters 1-18 and Append
- Tourism Demand Modelling and Forecasting
- Wildlife of the Okavango: Common Animals and Plants
747: Creating the World's First Jumbo Jet and Other Adventures from a Life in Aviation
Airbus A380: Superjumbo of the 21st Century
Flight of the Titans: Boeing, Airbus and the Battle for the Future of Air Travel
Deep Stall: The Turbulent Story of Boeing Commercial Airplanes
Birds of Prey: Boeing Vs. Airbus: A Battle for the Skies
