Empire of the Clouds

[Nigel Roche]

I am rather surprised that nobody to date has mentioned anything about James Hamilton-Patersons new book "Empire of the Clouds". This is a very well written book and is good to read. For anyone who grew up in England in the post war years and was also addicted to flying/aircraft this book is highly recommendable. My cops arrived this morning and after reading the first two chapters i had the feeling I had written myself. The first chapter describes John Derry's crash in Farnborough. I witnessed this accident , 15 years old at the time, right up front, hanging over the fence next to the runway, the book accurately describes this event. Reading this morning I lived through this over again.

 

[alertken]

Its continuity is test pilots. On the issue of "where did this industry go wrong/who is to blame?" the reader: will be confirmed in his wallowing in declinist notions...or will remember his Economics 101 and life cycles. This industry was so risk-alert, technically, so risk-averse, commercially. How much privilege (=your taxes) would you have cared to pour into it after the cascades of Korea-inspired $ dried in 1954? That nice Tony Wedgie-Benn poured much in, 1964-70: mostly, nugatory.

 

[DamienB]

I am rather surprised that nobody to date has mentioned anything about James Hamilton-Patersons new book "Empire of the Clouds".

http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,11186.0/highlight,empire.html

 

[circle-5]

For anyone who grew up in England in the post war years and was also addicted to flying/aircraft this book is highly recommendable.

Very enjoyable book, even for some of us who did not grow up in England. It's also a timely topic, as the book arrived on the same day the U.K. government retired one of its country's crowning achievements -- the Harrier -- in spite of recent upgrades. It's hard not to side with the author on these issues.

 

[Nigel Roche]

Thanks Damien!!, I'm sorry, I missed the thread on the second page.
Nigel