Synopses & Reviews
The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum holds the country's premier collection of historic aircrafts, but visitors must view these impressive structures at a distance.
In the Cockpit captures the feeling of helming these historic craft with big, gorgeous four-color photographs that will give flight enthusiasts a true pilot's eye view of many of history's most important domestic and military airplanes, jets, and helicopters. Each entry includes archival images of the craft and authoritative text that places each one in the context of the development of aviation technology and world history.
Using an architectural camera with an extremely wide-angle lens and innovative lighting techniques to provide close-up access to the instrument panels and consoles, veteran National Air and Space Museum photographers Eric F. Long and Mark A. Avino fully recreate the sense of commanding 50 legendary aircraft and spacecraft in the museum's world-renowned collection in this exceptional book. Vibrant, full-color images bring the viewer deep inside the cockpit, revealing it in detail. Aviation writer Dana Bell provides insightful commentary on each machine, discussing it within the context of flight technology and world history. Every entry also contains an exterior image of the artifact especially selected from the museum's vast archives.
From the legendary Wright brothers' 1903 Flyer to the record-breaking SpaceShipOne, In the Cockpit is a must for armchair aviators and history buffs alike.
Synopsis
The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum holds the country's premier collection of historic aircrafts, but visitors must view these impressive structures at a distance.
In the Cockpit captures the feeling of helming these historic craft with big, gorgeous four-color photographs that will give flight enthusiasts a true pilot's eye view of many of history's most important domestic and military airplanes, jets, and helicopters. Each entry includes archival images of the craft and authoritative text that places each one in the context of the development of aviation technology and world history.
About the Author
Dana Bell is a full-time aviation historian and author. Now retired after thirty years with the National Air and Space Museum Archives and U.S. Air Force Still Photo Depository, he has written more than twenty books on aviation subjects.