479 products
479 products
479 products
Test Pilot: An Extraordinary Career Testing Civil Aircraft By Chris Taylor
Regular price £25.00 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 131): Computation results in '-Infinity'%Having wanted to be a pilot for as long as he could remember, Chris Taylor gained his private pilot’s license at the age of 17. He joined the Royal Navy whilst studying for a degree in Electrical Engineering and, after serving as a Navigation Officer on numerous ships, went on to operate Wasp and Lynx helicopters.
After five years instructing, he became a test pilot and flew all manner of experimental aircraft for research and development purposes before returning to the Empire Test Pilot’s School as a tutor. Having served at Boscombe Down for ten years he joined the UK Civil Aviation Authority as an aeroplane and rotorcraft test pilot. With the closure of the CAA’s Flight Test Department, he formed Dovetail Aviation Ltd and has continued to test fly a wide variety of aircraft ever since.
Chris has flown 400 different kinds of aircraft, is a Fellow of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots and is a licensed Category 1 Test Pilot and Flight Test Instructor for both aeroplanes and helicopters, which arguably makes him one of the best qualified and most widely experienced test pilots working today.
Review:
Well, what an excellent read!
Chris Taylor has that rare gift – the ability to write engagingly and in detail about a subject that is alien to most people and yet he invites them warmly onto a comfortable sofa within this unfamiliar world.
A book written about test flying by a test pilot? Surely only a pilot would understand? I’m not a pilot and that was my (soon to be confounded) expectation. This is an excellent book and it takes the reader through a career that has more variety than Heinz and which required more lives than a lucky cat.
Even the hairiest of experiences is described in a reassuringly down to earth manner that brings the reader fully into the experience. There are technical details that will fascinate the flying community and yet not baffle or bore those whose only flying experience is sitting in a commercial airliner. By the end of the book it wouldn’t be hard to convince yourself that you could fly any of a number of aircraft.
This book isn’t just a series of tales about flying and close escapes. It’s also about a man who clearly has an instinctive grasp of how the physics of flying works that is beyond mere training. It’s about that tight community of airmen, test pilots or not, who quietly share a mutual understanding of the risks and pleasures of aviation. It’s about the relationship between those who fly and those who make things fly – that intimate interplay between aircrew and engineers. Above all it’s about the pioneering spirit that must reside in every test pilot who pushes the envelope whenever they get into an untried aircraft.
Inevitably in a world where gravity leads to the final frontier, there are emotional highs and lows, but they only add to the richness of this book.
Whether you are a pilot or not, this is a terrific read. Leave yourself some time when you open it. You probably won’t put it down until the final page.
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The Air War at Sea in the Second World War By Martin W Bowman
Regular price £35.00 Sale price £30.00 Save 14%Martin Bowman’s considerable experience as a military historian has spanned over forty years, during which time he has spent hundreds of hours interviewing and corresponding with numerous men and women and their relatives, in Britain, America and beyond, resulting in a wealth of material on the war at sea from World War One to the Falklands and the wars on terror.
All these narratives have been woven into a highly readable and emotional outpouring of life and death in action in all his titles, as here, in World War Two, where the men of the Fleet Air Arm and the US Navy fighter (operating bomber and torpedo carrying aircraft) describe the compelling, gripping and thought-provoking narrative of the air war in the freezing Atlantic wastes to the waters of the mighty Pacific.
HardbackUntil such time as the issues arising from the COVID-19 virus cease to have an impact, we will be operating a part time despatch service. Please bear with us. We will process your order as soon as we can.
The Alphabet Cotton Apron
Regular price £16.99 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 131): Computation results in '-Infinity'%Until such time as the issues arising from the COVID-19 virus cease to have an impact, we will be operating a part time despatch service. Please bear with us. We will process your order as soon as we can.
The Bagger Sea King T shirt
Regular price £22.99 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 131): Computation results in '-Infinity'%The Bagger community are rightly proud of their role and service as well as their 'cab', the Sea King that served us so well.
A quality navy blue T shirt you can wear for many years.
Until such time as the issues arising from the COVID-19 virus cease to have an impact, we will be operating a part time despatch service. Please bear with us. We will process your order as soon as we can.
The Band That Went To War By Brian Short
Regular price £25.00 Sale price £21.95 Save 12%Until such time as the issues arising from the COVID-19 virus cease to have an impact, we will be operating a part time despatch service. Please bear with us. We will process your order as soon as we can.
The Bismarck 1941. Author Angus Konstam
Regular price £14.99 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 131): Computation results in '-Infinity'%Like Achilles, the story of the Bismarck is of a light that shone like the brightest star, but was quickly extinguished. Story of the hunt for Bismarck is fascinating as Britain mustered all available resources to counter the threat to her vital shipping lanes. Well researched and illustrated this book is a great read about a great adventure.
Paperback.
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The British Fleet Air Arm in World War II. Author Mark Barber.
Regular price £11.00 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 131): Computation results in '-Infinity'%The story of the transformation from what was a severely neglected element of the British armed forces at the beginning of WWII into a fine fighting force with an outstanding and influential operational history. From obsolete equipment and 4 aircraft carriers to state of the art aircraft and 59 aircraft carriers. A wealth of information, photographs and diagrams. Essential reading for anyone with an interest in the Fleet Air Arm.
Paperback.
Until such time as the issues arising from the COVID-19 virus cease to have an impact, we will be operating a part time despatch service. Please bear with us. We will process your order as soon as we can.
The British Pacific Fleet. The Royal Navy's Most Powerful Strike Force. Author David Hobbs
Regular price £16.99 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 131): Computation results in '-Infinity'%In August 1944 the British Pacific Fleet did not exist. Six months later it was strong enough to launch air attacks on Japanese territory, and by the end of the war it constituted the most powerful force in the history of the Royal Navy, fighting as professional equals alongside the U.S. Navy. How this was achieved by a nation nearing exhaustion after five years of conflict is a story of epic proportions in which ingenuity, diplomacy, and dogged persistence all played a part. This ground-breaking new work by David Hobbs describes the background, creation, and expansion of the British Pacific Fleet from its first tentative strikes, through operations off the coast of Japan, to its impact on the immediate post-war period. It includes the opinions of U.S. Navy liaison officers attached to the British flagships. A fascinating read.
Highly recommended.
Until such time as the issues arising from the COVID-19 virus cease to have an impact, we will be operating a part time despatch service. Please bear with us. We will process your order as soon as we can.
The Buccaneer By Martyn Chorlton
Regular price £15.99 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 131): Computation results in '-Infinity'%The Blackburn, later Hawker Siddeley, Buccaneer enjoyed an incredible service career that lasted over four decades. Designed as a carrier-borne attack aircraft, the Buccaneer was a solid aircraft designed to take the punishment of carrier operations and the constant stresses to the airframe caused by low-level flying. The aircraft entered service with the Royal Navy in 1962 in place of the Supermarine Scimitar and would continue with the senior service until 1978. The RAF received their first aircraft in 1969 - a legacy of the cancelled TSR.2 and F-111K, which resulted in a capability gap that had to be closed. The Buccaneer went on to serve the RAF in the low-level strike and reconnaissance role until 1994, serving with distinction during the Gulf War of early 1991. A robust and reliable aircraft that was popular with both its air and ground crews, the Buccaneer was a breed apart. A truly great British piece of engineering.
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The Churchill Scheme: The Royal Naval Special Entry Cadet Scheme 1913-1955 (Paperback Book) by John H. Beattie
Regular price £19.99 Sale price £9.99 Save 50%An idea inspired by Winston Churchill in 1912 who was aware of the shortage of Lieutenants to man the burgeoning RN Fleets. The scheme was large both in vision and organisation with many establishments both ashore and afloat and it later expanded to provide training for the navies of Britain's dominions.
The book holds an incredible amount of detail and is something of a snap shot of Britain's Navy and what was expected of it at that time.
Paperback
Until such time as the issues arising from the COVID-19 virus cease to have an impact, we will be operating a part time despatch service. Please bear with us. We will process your order as soon as we can.
The Commando Pocket Manual: 1940-1945 By Christopher Westhorp
Regular price £9.99 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 131): Computation results in '-Infinity'%The Commandos were created by Winston Churchill in 1940 as a 'butcher and bolt' raiding unit to destroy vital targets in German occupied Europe. Recruits for this 'special service' were all volunteers, drawn from the British Army, and later from the Royal Marines and other Allied armies. Commando training was extremely demanding - men had to be physically fit and show initiative, mental toughness and adaptability. The training courses were designed to cultivate these qualities and to simulate real battle experiences, which included the use of live ammunition. Commandos learned a diverse range of skills at dedicated training centres in the remote Scottish Highlands.
This pocket-book draws on authentic training manuals, lecture notes, course literature and other material from the commando schools to give a real insight into this highly specialised fighting unit - demonstrating how commandos were taught to live, fight and move on offensive operations, initially as raiding parties, and later as skilled assault infantry. Sections of the book cover survival and fieldcraft skills; night operations; assaulting obstacles; use of equipment - such as the COPPS canoe for beach reconnaissance and sabotage; and weapons training, including the Thompson submachine gun, the Bren gun, and the famous emblem of the commandos - the Fairbairn-Sykes fighting knife.
Hardback: 128 pages
Until such time as the issues arising from the COVID-19 virus cease to have an impact, we will be operating a part time despatch service. Please bear with us. We will process your order as soon as we can.
The Dawn of Carrier Strike (and the world of Lt WP Lucy DSO RN)- Author David Hobbs
Regular price £35.00 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 131): Computation results in '-Infinity'%In 1918 Britain was pre-eminent in the technology and tactics of deploying aircraft at sea. That lead was lost to Japan and the USA during the inter-war years as, subject to the will of the RAF, meagre resources were committed elsewhere. Where we hadn't languished during those wilderness years was in carrier strike doctrine. After regaining control of its flying assets in 1937, the Royal Navy had so much to prepare and so little time.
A fascinating insight into a service doing the best with the least for almost two decades and yet a service that acquitted itself with distinction from the first day of WWII. Much is seen through the eyes of distinguished pilot Lt WP Lucy DSO RN.
Until such time as the issues arising from the COVID-19 virus cease to have an impact, we will be operating a part time despatch service. Please bear with us. We will process your order as soon as we can.
The Disastrous Fall & Triumphant Rise of the Fleet Air Arm 1912-1945. Author Henry 'Hank' Adlam
Regular price £25.00 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 131): Computation results in '-Infinity'%This is the good, the bad and the ugly of the history of RNAS/RAF/FAA. Set during a period across two world wars, the book highlights a series of triumphs and tragedies which shape the history of British Naval Aviation. Adlam presents a highly entertaining and controversial study which is sure to appeal to a wide variety of aviation enthusiasts.
Until such time as the issues arising from the COVID-19 virus cease to have an impact, we will be operating a part time despatch service. Please bear with us. We will process your order as soon as we can.
The Duke Hawkins Aircraft Book Collection. Choose your icon
Regular price Sale price £31.00 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 131): Computation results in '-Infinity'%Duke Hawkins books are renowned for their level of detail and fantastic photography. Each book is a comprehensive study of an iconic aircraft packed with detailed information, superb images and knowledgeable commentary about its history and use by air forces around the globe.
Essential reads for any aircraft enthusiast.
Until such time as the issues arising from the COVID-19 virus cease to have an impact, we will be operating a part time despatch service. Please bear with us. We will process your order as soon as we can.
The Escort Carrier in WWII. Author David Wragg
Regular price £19.99 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 131): Computation results in '-Infinity'%'The Royal Navy called them auxiliary carriers. To the crews of endangered merchantmen in the Atlantic and Arctic they were heaven sent protection. To the men who manned them they were Combustible, Vulnerable and Expendable.'
David Wragg reveals the full story of these ships' crucial role and contribution.
Hardback.
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The Fairey Barracuda - A Detailed Guide to the Fleet Air Arm’s First Torpedo-Bomber Monoplane by Richard A. Franks
Regular price £21.95 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 131): Computation results in '-Infinity'%Airframe Album No.19
The Fairey Barracuda contains:
Until such time as the issues arising from the COVID-19 virus cease to have an impact, we will be operating a part time despatch service. Please bear with us. We will process your order as soon as we can.
The Fairey Firefly - A Detailed Guide to the Fleet Air Arm's Versatile Monoplane by Richard A. Franks
Regular price £19.95 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 131): Computation results in '-Infinity'%Until such time as the issues arising from the COVID-19 virus cease to have an impact, we will be operating a part time despatch service. Please bear with us. We will process your order as soon as we can.
The Falklands 1982: Ground Operations in the South Atlantic (Paperback Book) by Gregory Fremont-Barnes
Regular price £15.99 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 131): Computation results in '-Infinity'%On 3 April 1982 British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher announced that Argentine armed forces had landed on British sovereign territory; had captured the men of Royal Marine detachment NP8901; had run up the Argentine flag; and had declared the islands and their population to be Argentine. An immediate response was required and a task force was rapidly assembled to retake the islands. From this point until the Argentine surrender on 14 June, the British forces fought what was in many ways a 19th-century style colonial campaign at the end of extended supply lines some 8,000 miles from home. This volume will detail the major stages of the land campaign to retake the islands, focusing on the San Carlos landings, the battle for Darwin and Goose Green, and the final battles for Mt Longdon, Tumbledown and Wireless Ridge, the mountains that surrounded the island's capital, Stanley.
Biographical note:
Gregory Fremont-Barnes holds a doctorate in Modern History from the University of Oxford and serves as a Senior Lecturer in the Department of War Studies at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. A prolific author, his books include Waterloo 1815: The British Army's Day of Destiny and many others on military and naval subjects covering the 18th to the 21st centuries. Holding a particular interest in insurgency and counterinsurgency, his wider work for the UK Ministry of Defence on these subjects regularly takes him to Africa, the Middle East and South America. As an academic advisor, Dr Fremont-Barnes has accompanied many groups of British Army officers and senior NCOs in their visits to numerous battlefields of the Peninsular War, the Waterloo campaign, Normandy and the Falklands.
Format: paperback
Number of pages: 96
ISBN: 9781849086073
Published: 20 May 2012
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The Fleet Air Arm and Royal Naval Air Service in 100 Objects By David Morris
Regular price £14.99 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 131): Computation results in '-Infinity'%The Royal Navy saw the potential of taking aircraft to sea just 6 years after man's first controlled powered flight. Ultimately, the aircraft carrier became a game changer in how wars were fought and won and often not just at sea. Dave Morris' fascinating book picks out so many things to illustrate how flying from ships at sea involves, and conquers, a completely different set of challenges to those faced by land based aircraft.. Excellent read.
Until such time as the issues arising from the COVID-19 virus cease to have an impact, we will be operating a part time despatch service. Please bear with us. We will process your order as soon as we can.
The Fleet Air Arm and the War in Europe, 1939-1945 By David Hobbs
Regular price £35.00 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 131): Computation results in '-Infinity'%For the first time, this book tells the story of how naval air operations evolved into a vital element of the Royal Navy’s ability to fight a three-dimensional war against both the Kriegsmarine and Luftwaffe. An integral part of RN, the Fleet Air Arm was not a large organisation, with only 406 pilots and 232 front-line aircraft available for operations in September 1939. Nevertheless, its impact far outweighed its numbers – it was an RN fighter that shot down the first enemy aircraft of the war, and an RN pilot was the first British fighter 'ace' with 5 or more kills. The Fleet Air Arm’s rollcall of achievements in northern waters went on to include the Norwegian Campaign, the crippling of Bismarck, the gallant sortie against Scharnhorst and Gneisenau as they passed through the Channel, air attacks on enemy E-boats in the narrow seas, air cover for the Russian convoys, air attacks that disabled Tirpitz, and strikes and minelaying operations against German shipping in the Norwegian littoral that continued until May 1945. By the end of the war in Europe the FAA had grown to 3243 pilots and 1336 aircraft. This book sets all these varied actions within their proper naval context and both technical and tactical aspects are explained with 'thumb-nail' descriptions of aircraft, their weapons and avionics. Cross reference with the Fleet Air Arm Roll of Honour has been made for the first time to put names to those aircrew killed in action wherever possible as a mark of respect for their determination against enemy forces on, above and below the sea surface which more often than not outnumbered them. The Fleet Air Arm and the War in Europe completes David Hobbs’ much-praised six-volume series chronicling the operational history of British naval aviation from the earliest days to the present.
Until such time as the issues arising from the COVID-19 virus cease to have an impact, we will be operating a part time despatch service. Please bear with us. We will process your order as soon as we can.
The Gazelle By David Oliver
Regular price £14.99 Sale price £12.50 Save 17%The Aerospatiale / Westland Gazelle is one of the longest serving and most successful reconnaissance and light attack helicopters. The Gazelle soon made an impression with its high speed, smooth looks and design innovations such as the Fenestron ducted tail rotor and composite main rotor blades. In this readable book, aviation expert David Oliver tells the full story of the development of the Gazelle as well as its various air force, military and naval roles and deployments.
Until such time as the issues arising from the COVID-19 virus cease to have an impact, we will be operating a part time despatch service. Please bear with us. We will process your order as soon as we can.
The Great British Take Off Mugs. Add a smile to your cup of coffee.
Regular price £6.50 Sale price £4.95 Save 24%A fun gift and a great way to celebrate our long tradition of Naval Aviation.
Handwash recommended
330ml capacity
Until such time as the issues arising from the COVID-19 virus cease to have an impact, we will be operating a part time despatch service. Please bear with us. We will process your order as soon as we can.
The Grumman F4F Wildcat (Inc. GM, FM-1 & FM-2) 'Cat' - Airframe & Miniature No.22
Regular price £26.95 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 131): Computation results in '-Infinity'%The Wildcat has been a popular aircraft type with modellers and has recently been the subject of several new tooling's in all scales, especially in 1/72nd and 1/48th. This latest book will go some way towards unpicking the different variants and detail differences that apply to the type.
This twenty-second book in this much-acclaimed series has 208 pages packed with vital information that no active modeller and Wildcat enthusiast should be without.
The F4F Wildcat contains:
Until such time as the issues arising from the COVID-19 virus cease to have an impact, we will be operating a part time despatch service. Please bear with us. We will process your order as soon as we can.
The Harrier. The world's first V/STOL fighter. Author David Oliver
Regular price £14.99 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 131): Computation results in '-Infinity'%Until such time as the issues arising from the COVID-19 virus cease to have an impact, we will be operating a part time despatch service. Please bear with us. We will process your order as soon as we can.
The Hawker Sea Fury. A detailed guide to the Fleet Air Arm's last piston-engine fighter
Regular price £16.95 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 131): Computation results in '-Infinity'%This book is just crammed with detail and is an ideal reference book for anyone interested in the superb powerhouse that is the Hawker Sea Fury - the pinnacle of piston engine technology. Packed with illustrations (including those shots you don't normally get of the systems behind the service panels) and informed commentary. Highly recommended both for enthusiasts and model makers.
Paperback.
Until such time as the issues arising from the COVID-19 virus cease to have an impact, we will be operating a part time despatch service. Please bear with us. We will process your order as soon as we can.
The Lonely Sky and Sea - poems by Jack Thomas
Regular price £7.99 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 131): Computation results in '-Infinity'%Jack Thomas flew from MAC ships and his log book includes W5856 - one of the Swordfish that is cared for in the Navy Wings hangar. Jack's poetry captures both the excitement and fear of battle and the peace and tranquility of the ordinary, made not so ordinary, by his observation and combat heightened perception.
Also available signed by the author who sadly passed away this year (2017).
Paperback.
Until such time as the issues arising from the COVID-19 virus cease to have an impact, we will be operating a part time despatch service. Please bear with us. We will process your order as soon as we can.