Kenneth Munson

Though lacking in much discussion or discourse, I love this book, probably due to nostalgia. Still, the illustrations are fantastic, and given the niche heart of early 20th century seaplanes (I highly recommend the film Porco Rosso, which is set within the subject), the book gives a clear and beautiful look into the past.

This is the first time I have owned one of Macdonald's 'Visual Books'.
They exist on various topics from Cars and Ships, to Trains etc.

First impressions are generally quite good.
The illustrations are excellent quality; with well in excess of a hundred or more, half of them in full colour.
Especially impressive are several cut-aways showing the inner workings of the S.E.5a first World War fighting Scout, Spitfire and the Phantom jet. Although I knocked off half a star in protest because only show more one of them made it to print in colour.
The editorial content covers subjects such as basic principles of how an aeroplane works, navigation, first pioneers of flight, aircraft of the first and second World Wars, development of the jet and supersonic transport and vertical take-off. There is also a supplement for building your own model gliders in various forms from the history of aviation; even a rubber band helicopter. show less

The war of 1914-18 was a remarkable and important epoch for many widely different reasons. Not least of these was that it represented the first widespread use of the aeroplane -- which many people thought would be of little military value -- as a major weapon of war. Such thinking was quickly disproved, and the aeroplanes described in this volume illustrate how the military aeroplane developed from the unarmed observation machines of 1914 to the highly effective specialized types that were show more in service by November 1918. show less

This work records every aspect of the most exciting technical achievement of our century in over 500 pages of factual narrative and full-color illustration. The story begins with winged gods and birdmen, surveys the centuries when the only means of flight were balloons and airships that drifted with the breeze. Then aircraft was developed, and space travel followed that....There seems to be a conscious DE-emphasis on both aerial warfare and engineering, in favor of airlines, flying clubs, show more and the like. Occasional British focus revealed by such chapters as "Hendon's Heyday." ("Scene of the never-to-be-forgotten RAF Pageants and Displays.") show less