Dreams of Flight

General aviation encompasses all the ways aircraft are used beyond commercial and military flying. Discussing the 100-year history of this diverse field, this book focuses on the most important figures and organizations and the major producers of general aviation aircraft and engines.

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General aviation encompasses all the ways aircraft are used beyond commercial and military flying: private flights, barnstormers, cropdusters and more. Discussing the 100-year history of this diverse field, this volume focuses on the most important figures and organizations in general aviation and the major producers of general aviation aircraft and engines. The book examines the many aeroplanes used in general aviation, from early Wright and Curtiss aircraft to the Piper Cub and the Lear Jet. The authors trace the careers of birdmen, birdwomen, barnstormers and others who shaped the field - from Clyde Cessna and the Stinson family of San Antonio to Olive Ann Beech and Paul Poberezny of Milwaukee. They explain how the development of engines influenced the development of aircraft, from the E-107 that powered the 1929 Aeronca C-2, the first affordable personal aircraft, to the continental A-40 that powered the Piper Cub and the Pratt and Whitney PT-6 turboprop used on many aircraft after World War II.