Solo2darwin

Inspired by past aviation pioneers, Amanda Harrison flew her vintage Tiger Moth from Biggin Hill to Darwin, Australia in 20 days, overcoming weather challenges, engine failures, and dangerous terrains all while recovering from cancer. Whilst learning to fly, Amanda Harrison discovered a beautiful vintage Tiger Moth. After researching the amazing pioneers who flew this fragile aircraft, a spark was ignited, and Amanda dreamed of emulating their adventures. On 11th May 2019, she made that dream a reality, taking off from Biggin Hill with the aim of flying to Darwin, Australia in 20 days – just as her idol Amy Johnson had done in 1930. Solo2Darwin documents one woman’s exhilarating journey across the world. Indeed, the launch of her biplane, ‘Solo2Darwin’, received extensive press coverage including print features in The Times and The Telegraph and TV footage broadcasted on ITV and Channel 5 News respectively. Faced with adversity, navigating through torturous mountain ranges covered in cloud, across seas, dodging thunderstorms and surviving engine failures, Amanda’s route had plenty of highs, lows and drama. Alongside this she also experienced the difficulties of solo-flying a biplane and having to navigate dangerous regions across the world. What makes Amanda’s expedition even more remarkable is that this was all undertaken whilst recovering from cancer. So strap in and prepare to go on a journey of a lifetime. Twelve countries, 2,600 miles, 46 flying hours, two engine failures, one airplane, one female pilot, all equals one amazing adventure!

This is the first scholarly study of the Royal Navy during the reigns of Charles II and James II. Historians have long viewed the Restoration Navy through the eyes of Samuel Pepys, the greatest diarist and naval administrator of the age. Perceptive and intelligent as Pepys was, he presentedonly a one-sided view of the Navy, that of a bureaucrat attempting to reorganize it. J. D. Davies assesses this traditional picture of the Restoration Navy in the light of recent scholarship, using the evidence not only of Pepys but of his contemporaries. He examines the reactions of naval personnel to the demands imposed by Pepys, and analyses the structure of the service. Healso explores the lives and attitudes of the men (the `tarpaulins') and their officers - the quests for promotion, enrichment, and glory; the very different problems posed by peace and war; the nature of life at sea; and the role of the Navy in national life. Gentlemen and Tarpaulins provides afascinating glimpse into the history of the Royal Navy.

Beautifully illustrated with many rare and unpublished photographs, Soviet Cold War Fighters looks at the main development periods of Soviet fighter designs and covers all the important features and developments for each - a total of four generations of fighter were developed from the late 1940s to the early 1980s - that witnessed the most iconic and powerful fighters such as the legendary MiG-15, MiG-21, Tu-128, Su-9, MiG-23, MiG-25 reach for the skies, followed by the modern day MiG-29, MiG-31 and Su-27, which strike fear in the West for their phenomenal weaponry and blistering performance. All aircraft are described in detail with facts and figures, including their weapons and instances of combat employment, as well as explaining how the Cold War drastically changed Soviet fighter design to counter the West. Researched and written by Alexander Mladenov, a leading aviation journalist, this is a highly detailed testament to leading Soviet fighter design and development.

The fascinating history of one man's rise from naval flight officer toHollywood hero.

With extensive eyewitness accounts, the author of Killing the Bismarck vividly reconstructs the day British soldiers sank the infamous Nazi battleship. May 26, 1941. After a desperate chase lasting three days and more than seventeen hundred miles, Britain’s Home Fleet would finally close in on the world’s most powerful battleship, the very ship that sank the Royal Navy’s battlecruiser HMS Hood. The German battleship Bismarck was literally in a class by itself, being one of two newly-designed Bismarck-class ships in the German fleet. But it would soon face, and ultimately lose, a brutal fight to the finish involving more than five thousand men of the Royal Navy and twenty-six thousand men of Hitler’s Kriegsmarine. Historian Iain Ballantyne spent years conducting interviews with surviving veterans who had been present on that fateful day. Published here for the first time, alongside a compelling narrative of the final twenty-four hours of the mission to sink the Bismarck, are transcripts of those interviews, offering the unique eyewitness accounts of Royal Navy sailors who participated in one of the most significant sea battles of World War II.

Two boyhood friends, an Arab and a Jew from Iraq grow up to become deadly enemies living, loving and fighting across the globe.

The Who were at their peak in the 1970s. Few other bands in the world could touch them. But time was running out for the classic line-up and by 1979 drummer Keith Moon was dead of a prescription drug overdose. The documentary film The Kids Are Alright captured the band in their glory and producer Tony Klinger followed them in their last days of that amazing first line-up and recorded every moment in his dairy. Now he tells the dramatic story of The Twilight of the Gods. Directed by fan Jeff Stein, the movie showed the band as they had never been seen before, uncovering archive footage and live performances that many had thought lost. The band also played exclusively for the movie, but Keith Moon didn’t even live to see the completion of the project. Tony Klinger recounts the gripping story of filming the last ever concert the band played with Moon, plus the realities of making a firm with the most unpredictable and incendiary live act on the planet. The Who redefined rock music and have continued to inspire their fans right up to the present day. Yet these last, dramatic days with Keith Moon remain a fascinating focus to understand exactly what made the band so powerful and Tony Klinger was there for each incredible shot.

The Lockheed Martin Skunk Works was founded in the summer of 1943 to develop a jet-powered high-altitude interceptor for the USAAF, and ever since it has been at the forefront of technological development in the world of aviation. From the XP-80 to the U-2, SR-71, F-117, F-22 and now the F-35, the Skunk Works team has designed aircraft that are the pinnacle of innovation and performance. 75 years of the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works takes us through the history of this legendary facility from its foundation at the height of World War II under the talented engineer, Clarence “Kelly” Johnson, through to the present day. Illustrated with over a thousand photographs and drawings, it details the 46 unclassified programmes developed by the Skunk Works, following them through prototype build-up, first flight and, if they reached the frontline, operational service.