|
|
|
|
On the evening of 27 September 1946, the second DH.108 research aircraft took off from the De Havilland aircraft factory airfield at Hatfield, near London to make a practice speed record run over the Thames Estuary. It did not return. Its wreckage was found the next day in the mud of Egypt Bay, near Gravesend, but it was a full ten days later before the body of the pilot, 36-year old, Geoffrey Raoul de Havilland, was recovered. (Extracted from the introduction, by the author).
GENERAL TABLE OF CONTENTS
OUR REVIEW Henry Matthews continues to work so that we have the history of experimental aircraft and those who flew them available to us. In this occasion, in a very brief book indeed, he narrates the life of Geoffrey de Havilland, the son of the famous aeroplane builder. De Havilland died in 1946 during one of the test flights, yet his career will always be remembered because of his dedication to the progress of the aeronautical sciences. This pilot as well as others like him are the ones who made the development of jet planes truly possible, since it was with their courage and their professional zeal that they made valid what on the paper appeared to be quite promising yet very dangerous. Matthews intends to continue in this path, showing us the achievements attained by such pilots, whose character has to be remembered so that we realise what their task meant for world aeronautics. In this case, the first volume in the series, the author establishes the foundations of what may amount to a prolific collection. As usual, what appears to be most noteworthy in this book is the deep knowledge that Matthews possesses of what he tells us about, as well as the presentation of numerous photos of that age. We cannot fail to reccommend this book for all those fans of the history of aeronautics as well as those who are interested in the remote predecessors of our current space planes. |
|||
Main Page | What's New | Reviews | Indexes | Links
