Describes the design and testing of British fighter planes during World War II.

Have you ever dreamed of quitting everything to travel around the world? Inexperienced and ill-prepared, thirty-four-year-old Eric Giuliani set out to make his way around the world without flying and with little money after quitting his corporate career. With ideas of becoming a globetrotting travel writer, photographer, and filmmaker, he attempts to reinvent himself on the road and begins to barter his way across Africa, then Europe, Asia, Australia, North and South America and Antarctica. Sky's the Limit is the story of Eric's 1,000-day, 70,000-mile journey, one that is both internal and external-think Eat, Pray, Love meets Bear Grylls. His overland travel is as arduous as it gets and he primarily relies on public transportation-tin-can buses, dilapidated trains, and cargo ships to cross the oceans. His internal journey is equally arduous. Fighting creative insecurities, devastating heartbreak, financial fears, and long stretches of isolation, he repeatedly must dig down deep in order to persevere. Often driven by intuition and defiant determination, Eric's adventure pushes him past rocky stretches: a tense, two-day bus ride across a region recently attacked by the terrorist outfit Al Shabaab; a train journey in Europe alongside Syrian refugees Eric is powerless to help; a mixup in Siberia that leaves him stranded in the middle of winter. There are joyful moments as well: swimming with great white sharks in South Africa, falling in love in Australia, a booze cruise through Ha Long Bay, and finding a community of friends in Antarctica. Along the journey, Eric discovers his creativity and also his purpose. An absorbing, first-hand account of overcoming seemingly impossible obstacles, Sky's the Limit will inspire readers to dream up thrilling journeys of their own.

Flying to the LimitBeamont.Subtitled: Personal Reminiscences of Air Combat, Test Flying and the Aircraft Industry. Fascinating,first-hand accounts of combat and test flying from retired Wing Commander Roland Beamont. Beamont f lew a Hurricane in the Battles of France and Britain, and then became a test pilot of Typhoon and Tempest aircraft, the Canberra bomber, the Lightning fighter and the controversial TSR.2 supersonic bomber. Hdbd., 6 3/4"x 9 1/2", 192 pgs., 108 b&w ill.

In this book, Dr. Andras Sobester reviews the science behind high altitude flight. He takes the reader on a journey that begins with the complex physiological questions involved in taking humans into the "death zone." How does the body react to falling ambient pressure? Why is hypoxia (oxygen deficiency associated with low air pressure) so dangerous and why is it so difficult to 'design out' of aircraft, why does it still cause fatalities in the 21st century? What cabin pressures are air passengers and military pilots exposed to and why is the choice of an appropriate range of values such a difficult problem? How do high altitude life support systems work and what happens if they fail? What happens if cabin pressure is lost suddenly or, even worse, slowly and unnoticed? The second part of the book tackles the aeronautical problems of flying in the upper atmosphere. What loads does stratospheric flight place on pressurized cabins at high altitude and why are these difficult to predict? What determines the maximum altitude an aircraft can climb to? What is the 'coffin corner' and how can it be avoided? The history of aviation has seen a handful of airplanes reach altitudes in excess of 70,000 feet - what are the extreme engineering challenges of climbing into the upper stratosphere? Flying high makes very high speeds possible -- what are the practical limits? The key advantage of stratospheric flight is that the aircraft will be 'above the weather' - but is this always the case? Part three of the book investigates the extreme atmospheric conditions that may be encountered in the upper atmosphere. How high can a storm cell reach and what is it like to fly into one? How frequent is high altitude 'clear air' turbulence, what causes it and what are its effects on aircraft? The stratosphere can be extremely cold - how cold does it have to be before flight becomes unsafe? What happens when an aircraft encounters volcanic ash at high altitude? Very high winds can be encountered at the lower boundary of the stratosphere - what effect do they have on aviation? Finally, part four looks at the extreme limits of stratospheric flight. How high will a winged aircraft will ever be able to fly? What are the ultimate altitude limits of ballooning? What is the greatest altitude that you could still bail out from? And finally, what are the challenges of exploring the stratospheres of other planets and moons? The author discusses these and many other questions, the known knowns, the known unkonwns and the potential unknown unknowns of stratospheric flight through a series of notable moments of the recent history of mankind's forays into the upper atmospheres, each of these incidents, accidents or great triumphs illustrating a key aspect of what makes stratospheric flight aviation at the limit.