Flying the Old Planes

With 24 pages of full color and 181 black-and-white photographs

Frank Tallman has flown them all – large and small, fragile and resilient, reliable and eccentric. And in this book, the "King of the Stunt Pilots" takes you along, into the cockpit, on flights in twenty-five historic aircraft, from a 1909 Bleriot to the ubiquitous Flying Fortress of World War II, with a hot- air balloon and a Goodyear blimp thrown in for good measure.

Using a skillful blend of prose and pictures, he demonstrates, for example, the unforgiving rudder of the Fokker Eindecker, the hazards of landing the narrow-gear Spad, the fantastic burst of power as the throttle is rammed home. in the gull-winged Corsair, the special charm of the Maurice Farman – "a gracious, tractable old crook."

Here, too, is the story of how Tall- man rescued these grand old pioneers of flight for his collection of historic planes, the world's largest. Each detail was scrupulously studied, and all parts were checked for authenticity. His goal, in this book as well as in his collection, is to make the early days of manned flight not a group of hazy memories or dusty models in a museum, but a vivid experience of unique grace and beauty..