Table of Contents

I: Understanding Flight.- An Accident of History.- Aerospace in Adolescence: McCook Field and the Beginnings of Modern Flight Research.- The Changing Nature of Flight and Ground Test Instrumentation and Data: 1940–1969.- The Emergence of the Turbofan Engine.- Engineering Experiment and Engineering Theory: The Aerodynamics of Wings at Supersonic Speeds, 1946–1948.- II: International Comparisons.- Wooden Airplanes in World War II: National Comparisons and Symbolic Culture.- American Aviation Technology: An International Heritage.- The Wind Tunnel and the Emergence of Aeronautical Research in Britain.- The Evolution of Aerodynamics in the Twentieth Century: Engineering or Science?.- III: Flight, Economics and Culture.- Airframe Manufacture and Engineering Exchange.- Blaming Wilbur and Orville: The Wright Patent Suits and the Growth of American Aeronautics.- Who Designs Airports... Engineers, Architects, or City Planners? Aspects of American Airport Design Before World War II.- Pools of Invention: The Role of Patents in the Development of American Aircraft, 1917-1997.- Epilogue.- Discussion Paper.- Contributors.

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Reviews

`Atmospheric Flight is a fascinating collection of essays and case studies on the various aspects of aviation history and advancements in flight technology in the 20th century. The essays are all well written with excellent illustrations and photographs. Because this reviewer's background is in airport planning and design, he particularly enjoyed D.G. Douglas's essay "Who Designs Airports...." The introduction and epilogue provide an excellent framework for the essays. The book will be most interesting for researchers who are searching for some of the historical aspects of aviation. Upper-division undergraduates through professionals.'
W.J. Sproule, Michigan Technological University in Choice, 38:4 (2000)