The Aeronautical Annual 1896 A Book That Helped The Wrights Take Off

FOREWORD --- The Aeronautical Annuals of 1895-96-97 are among the most important pre-Wright era aviation books ever published. Prized by collectors, original editions are extremely rare; a pristine original set could be worth $3,000. In tribute to the brave early aviation pioneers, I am delighted to re-publish these treasures and make them available to everyone. In a letter to James Means's son, Philip, dated November 12, 1921, Orville Wright wrote: "The Aeronautical Annuals of 1895-96-97 contained the best collection of reprints from the work of the earlier experimenters in aviation..., and I do not know of a better collection today. Your father showed rare good judgment in his selections, separating most of the good work from the mass of worthless matter which had been published. "Your father's work was of great benefit to us, and I think of my personal acquaintance with him with affection." After stumbling upon an original set of these amazing books in 1972 in an old, out-of-the-way bookstore in Boston, with Tom Peghiny, my first student and great friend ever since, I committed to advancing ultralight aviation. Tom went on to become a world champion hangglider pilot, maker of ultralight aircraft, and founder of light sport aircraft leader Flight Design USA. These three books, along with Otto Lilienthal's landmark Birdflight as the Basis of Aviation, inspired me to leave my job as an aerospace engineer to design and manufacture hanggliders. I then wrote The Hang Glider's Bible, and started publishing books. In 1899 the Smithsonian recommended the Annuals to Wilbur Wright when he wrote asking for information on human flight. These three volumes are books of vision, featuring the plans, dreams, and schemes of some of aviation's visionaries-Da Vinci, Cayley, Henson, Langley, Maxim, Herring, Chanute, Lilienthal, and others. The Annuals provided the Wrights with a wealth of knowledge about the thinking and experiments which had been done up until that time, giving them a foundation on which to formulate their own ideas. Each volume is packed with incredible information, drawings, and photographs of the pre-Wright era, making them must-reads for all aviation enthusiasts. Blue skies and tailwinds, - Mike Markowski Back Cover Copy The Aeronautical Annuals of 1895-96-97 contained the best collection of reprints from the work of the earlier experimenters in aviation..., and I do not know of a better collection today. Your father showed rare good judgment in his selections, separating most of the good work from the mass of worthless matter which had been published. His work was of great benefit to us, and I think of my personal acquaintance with him with affection."-Orville Wright, in a letter to James Means's son Philip, dated November 12, 1921. The Aeronautical Annuals of 1895-96-97 are among the most important pre-Wright era aviation books ever published. Prized by collectors, original editions are extremely rare; a pristine set could be worth $3,000. In commemoration of the Wright Brothers' giving us wings, I am delighted to republish these treasures. When Wilbur Wright when he wrote to the Smithsonian Institute on May 30, 1899 asking for information on human flight, they recommended the Annuals. These three volumes feature the plans, dreams, and schemes of some of aviation's greatest visionaries-Da Vinci, Cayley, Henson, Maxim, Herring, Chanute, Lilienthal, and others. The Annuals gave the Wrights a wealth of knowledge about the thinking and experiments which had been done up until that time-providing them with a foundation on which to formulate their own ideas. Each volume is packed with incredible information, drawings, and photographs, making them must-reads for all aviation enthusiasts."

To mark the centenary of the Wright brothers' pioneering flights on 17 December 1903, the Science Museum will republish Gibbs-Smith's classic introduction to their remarkable careers and their unique place in aviation history. The Wrights were arguably the first to make powered, sustained and controlled flights, near Kitty Hawk, NC; the aeroplane, the first Flyer, was of their own design and construction and had been developed over a period of three years. It was loaned to the Science Museum, London, from 1928 to 1948, and is now displayed in the National Air and Space Museum (Smithsonian Institution) in Washington DC, a reproduction remaining in London. This edition of Gibbs-Smith's authoritative text, first published in 1987, is illustrated with a number of historic photographs and detailed diagrams.

Filled with rare photographs and featuring accounts written by the Wright Brothers themselves, this fascinating firsthand history covers the brothers' early experiments, their construction of planes and motors, the first test flights, life after Kitty Hawk, and much more. Introduction and commentary by Fred C. Kelly. 76 black-and-white photographs.

For: Thomas 'Jack' Moody.

The invention of flight represents the culmination of centuries of thought and desire. Kites and rockets sparked our collective imagination. Then the balloon gave humanity its first experience aloft, though at the mercy of the winds. The steerable airship that followed had more practicality, yet a number of insurmountable limitations. But the airplane truly launched the Aerial Age, and its subsequent impact--from the vantage of a century after the Wright Brother's historic flight on December 17, 1903--has been extraordinary. Richard Hallion, a distinguished international authority on aviation, offers a bold new examination of aircraft history, stressing its global roots. The result is an interpretive history of uncommon sweep, complexity, and warmth. Taking care to place each technological advance in the context of its own period as well as that of the evolving era of air travel, this ground-breaking work follows the pre-history of flight, the work of balloon and airship advocates, fruitless early attempts to invent the airplane, the Wright brothers and other pioneers, the impact of air power on the outcome of World War I, and finally the transfer of prophecy into practice as flight came to play an ever-more important role in world affairs, both military and civil. Making extensive use of extracts from the journals, diaries, and memoirs of the pioneers themselves, and interspersing them with a wide range or rare photographs and drawings, Taking Flight leads readers to the laboratories and airfields where aircraft were conceived and tested. Forcefully yet gracefully written in rich detail and with thorough documentation, this book is certain to be the standard reference for years to come on how humanity came to take to the sky, and what the Aerial Age has meant to the world since da Vinci's first fantastical designs.