Oscar Garden: An Tale of One Man's Love of Flying by Annamaria Garden

$45.00 NZD

Category: Aviation | Reading Level: near fine

One day in 1930, a man walked into a department store in London and bought an aeroplane. Having just learned to fly, Oscar Garden dreamed of flying to Australia. In his newly purchased aeroplane, he did just that. This adventure and myriad others this risk-taker embarked on are recounted in this book. O scar's love of flying saw him joy riding to many places in the world, including New Zealand, South Africa, and up through Africa to Palestine. While based in London, he joined British Airways and Imperial Airways flying flying boats across the Empire. Finally, he came to rest in Auckland, New Zealand, after delivering the Awarua, the second of New Zealand's flying boats, used during World War II for communication and travel, reducing New Zealand's isolation. He became Chief Pilot of TEAL, the New Zealand airline, for half of the war years and beyond, and eventually resigned due to serious disagreement over management and political agendas. This biography describes Oscar Garden's fascinating journey through these episodes. ...Show more

Topgun by Dan Pedersen

$24.00 NZD

Category: Aviation

When American fighter jets were being downed at an unprecedented rate during the Vietnam War, the U.S. Navy turned to a young lieutenant commander, Dan Pedersen, to figure out a way to reverse their dark fortune. On a shoestring budget and with little support, Pedersen picked eight of the finest pilots to help train a new generation to bend jets like the F-4 Phantom to their will and learn how to dogfight all over again. What resulted was nothing short of a revolution -- one that took young American pilots from the crucible of combat training in the California desert to the blistering skies of Vietnam, in the process raising America's Navy combat kill ratio from two enemy planes downed for every American plane lost to more than 22 to 1. Topgun emerged not only as an icon of America's military dominance immortalized by Hollywood but as a vital institution that would shape the nation's military strategy for generations to come. Pedersen takes readers on a colorful and thrilling ride-from Miramar to Area 51 to the decks of aircraft carriers in war and peace-through a historic moment in air warfare. He helped establish a legacy that was built by him and his "Original Eight" - the best of the best - and carried on for six decades by some of America's greatest leaders. Topgunis a heartfelt and personal testimonial to patriotism, sacrifice, and American innovation and daring. ...Show more

Spitfire VC vs A6M2 Zero-Sen: Darwin 1943 by Peter Ingman; Jim Laurier (Illustrator); Gareth Hector (Cover Design by, Illustrator)

$34.99 NZD

Category: Aviation | Series: Duel Ser.

The little-known yet fascinating story of when two of the most iconic aircraft of World War II dueled in the skies above Australia. Fully illustrated with detailed full-color artwork, this is the gripping story of two iconic aircraft facing off against each other above Australia. Just weeks after Pear l Harbor, Darwin was mauled by a massive Japanese attack. Without a single fighter to defend Australian soil, the Australian government made a special appeal to Britain for Spitfires. A year later the Spitfire VC-equipped No 1 Fighter Wing, RAAF, faced the battle-hardened 202nd Kokutai of the IJNAF, equipped with A6M2 Zero-sens, over Darwin. This was a grueling campaign between evenly matched foes, fought in isolation from the main South Pacific battlegrounds. Pilots on either side had significant combat experience, including a number of Battle of Britain veterans. The Spitfire had superior flight characteristics but was hampered by short range and material defects in the tropical conditions, while the Japanese employed better tactics and combat doctrine inflicting serious losses on overconfident the Commonwealth forces. ...Show more

Classic Planes by Ivor Wilkins

$85.00 NZD

$95.00 (10% off)

Category: Aviation

New Zealand has long held a passion for its aviation history - the bravado, ingenuity and trailblazing spirit says a lot about who we are. Classic Planes celebrates that legacy, from the first fledgling beginnings to the present day. With eloquence and colour, bestselling author Ivor Wilkins itraces the story of planes in New Zealand, beginning with the exploits of Richard Pearse and shining a light on other local pioneers, Jean Batten and Tim Wallis among them. He also examines the machines from bygone eras, celebrating those who lovingly restore planes in the modern day, and revels in our ongoing love affair with winged wonders. Tiger moths and taperwings comingle with staggerwings, spitfires, mosquitoes and Mustangs, all figures of our airborne past. In Classic Planes, breathtaking new photography is complemented by archival imagery, revealing a truly special and important celebration of planes and people. As the author notes in his preface- 'love is in the air' . . . ...Show more

Higher: 100 Years of Boeing by Russ Banham

$75.00 NZD

Category: Aviation

Over the course of a century, the Boeing Company has grown from a small outfit operating out of a converted boathouse—producing a single pontoon plane made from canvas and wood—into the world's largest aerospace company. The thrilling story of the celebrated organization is one filled with ambition, ingenuity and a passion to exceed expectations. In this lavishly illustrated book, published to coincide with Boeing's 100th anniversary, Pulitzer Prize–nominated author Russ Banham recounts the tale of a company and an industry like no other—one that has put men on the moon, defended the free world and changed the way we live. ...Show more

My Throne A Cockpit by Owen Williamson

$39.99 NZD

Category: Aviation | Reading Level: Near Fine

When your office is the cockpit of a topdressing aeroplane, it's hard not to think of your seat as a throne. As your daily commute takes in the grandeur of the mountains, the beauty of the sunrise and the sight of the world going about its business below, ...

Spitfire - The Biography by Jonathan Glancey

$24.99 NZD

Category: Aviation

The bestselling biography of the Spitfire updated with a new chapter for the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Britain.

Flying Kiwis: A History of the OE by Jude Wilson

$45.00 NZD

Category: Aviation | Reading Level: Very Good

This first book-length history of the OE (Overseas Experience) phenomenon is based on the oral accounts of several hundred New Zealand travellers, representing every decade of the OE and supported by the ephemera of popular culture that surround it, including advertising and overseas media material. Fly ing Kiwis also presents a comprehensive history of the unique support network and industry that has emerged and evolved as a consequence of the OE. It is illustrated throughout and provides a record of a dynamic travel phenomenon that has, over the past six decades, involved hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders. ...Show more

How Airliners Fly : A Passenger's Guide by EVANS JULIEN

$39.99 NZD

Category: Aviation

In this revised third edition Julien Evans explains, in straightforward everyday language, about the airframe and the engines, the flight deck and the controls, how the aeroplane is flown and the routines followed. If you are one of the millions of airline passengers who take to the air daily and have n o idea how an airplane flies or how it is flown - but would like to find out - then How Airliners Fly is for you. It is written by an airline pilot who knows from first-hand experience those questions that are asked most frequently. He knows that for many it is an interest born of curiosity, and in some cases, caused by fear. In this revised third edition Julien Evans explains, in straightforward everyday language, about the airframe and the engines, the flight deck and the controls, how the airplane is flown and the routines followed. In fact, it explains everything the average passenger may wish to know. "... balanced, informative, comprehensive, totally accurate and , most importantly, interesting." - Pilot magazine AUTHOR: Julien Evans flew Boeing 737s, 757s and 767s during a 36-year career. He was also an instructor and examiner on these types. Now retired from airline flying, he maintains his interest in aviation generally and flies light aircraft. 56 colour photographs, 10 diagrams ...Show more

Teach Yourself to Fly: The Classic Guide to Flying a Plane by Nigel Tangye

$24.99 NZD

Category: Aviation

'An airman's vanity is a most curious thing.'Nigel Tangye was a British hero; journalist, author, airman, teacher, and possibly even spy. What better man to help you learn to fly?First published in 1938, Teach Yourself To Fly was not only one of the very first Teach Yourself books to be published but th e first to actually change the world. It was used on the eve of the second world war to prepare pilot recruits and conscripts before they were called for service, and as such it was read religiously by thousands of young men, some as young as 17, and directly impacted on the British war effort.This beautiful new printing of the book captures all of the feelings of that extraordinary time - it's nostalgic, understated, inspiring and very British indeed, warning young pilots, amongst other things, not to feel 'too discouraged' in the event of a crash landing.Technology has changed hugely, but the principles of aviation as they were in the middle of the twentieth century are perfectly summarised in this lovely book. Get hold of the right vehicle, and it really can teach you to fly. What happens when you're up there, however, is your responsibility.'Never move an inch without making quite certain that there is not a lawn-mower or something else in your way.'Since 1938, millions of people have learned to do the things they love with Teach Yourself. Welcome to the how-to guides that changed the modern world. ...Show more

The Story of an Aviator (The Explorer's Library) by Clint Twist

$45.00 NZD

Category: Aviation

Last of the Lancasters by Martin Bowman

$79.99 NZD

Category: Aviation

'The Lancasters looked like enormous deadly black birds going off into the night; somehow they looked different when they came back. The planes carried from this field 117,000 pounds of high explosives and the crews flew all night to drop the load as ordered. Now the trains would not run between France and Italy for a while, not on those bombed tracks anyhow. Here are the men who did it, with mussed hair and weary faces, dirty sweaters under their flying suits, sleep-bright eyes, making humble comradely little jokes and eating their saved-up chocolate bars' - Martha Gellhorn This riveting and highly intriguing collection of pilot and civilian reminiscences works to commemorate the spirit of the almighty Lancaster bomber. Each chapter is dedicated to a unique individual or group of individuals who took part in its history in some capacity. Be they pilot, civilian, or journalist, each played their own part and their accounts offer a host of fascinating insights. Episodes featured include the battle for Munich and the Nuremburg and Berlin Raids. Stories of PoWs downed in their Lancasters and captured in enemy territory also feature, communicating a real sense of peril experienced behind enemy lines. Two sections of fascinating black and white photographs supplement and complete this trawl through the history of the Lancaster bomber and the men and women who witnessed its glory days. ...Show more