Spitfire Girl: My Life in the Sky by Jackie Moggridge

$12.00 NZD

Category: Aviation | Reading Level: very good

'We had returned to a different world. We had taken off in peace at nine-thirty and landed in war at noon.' Jackie Moggridge was just nineteen when World War Two broke out. Determined to do her bit, she joined the Air Transport Auxiliary. Ferrying aircraft from factory to frontline was dangerous work, b ut there was also fun, friendship and even love in the air. At last the world was opening up to women...or at least it seemed to be. From her first flight at fifteen to smuggling Spitfires into Burma, Jackie describes the trials and tribulations, successes and frustrations of her life in the sky. ...Show more

The Mint A day-book of the RAF Depot between August and December 1922 with later notes by 352087 A/c Ross by T. E. Lawrence

$25.00 NZD

Category: Military | Reading Level: good-verygood

Night After Night: New Zealanders in Bomber Command by Max Lambert

$25.00 NZD

Category: Aviation | Reading Level: very good

While the fighter aces in their Hurricanes and Spitfires have had their WW2 exploits well celebrated, most of us know much less about the contribution made by thousands of New Zealanders who fought and died in what proved to be one of England’s most potent weapons - Bomber Command. In this detaile d history, full of facts, figures, names, anecdotes and both humorous and harrowing examples, Night After Night is a deeply moving account provided by survivors, family members, colleagues and fellow serviceman. "Lambert writes well, neatly blending a narrative of Bomber Command's actions with those of its New Zealand contingent. His facts are reliable, based on the meticulous researches of Errol Martyn and other good sources. Though he is rightly proud of our airmen, he does not pretend that they were all heroes or in any way superior to other airmen. Their collective achievement needs only an accurate, detailed record, and this Lambert has provided." - The Dominion Post ...Show more

Mayday! - A History of Flight Through Its Martyrs, Oddballs, and Daredevils by David Darling

$8.00 NZD

Category: Aviation | Reading Level: very good

In a world without aircraft, to believe flight might be possible required a certain kind of character. You had to be starry-eyed, a possessor of practical ingenuity, nerves of steel and a level of sanity that would be best described as deficient. In Mayday!, David Darling tells the stories of the uncon ventional aviators across history who have been willing to risk all to further their craft. Meet Sophie Blanchard, a balloonist of nervous disposition whom Napoleon charged with organizing balloon displays at all major ceremonies in France. Then there's the daredevil stuntman Lincoln Beachey, the dogfighter aces of WWI, the man who performed the dance of death - switching planes in mid-air, the real "X-Men" who flew at the edge of space, and the BASE jumpers who want to fly without wings. The cast are eccentric, reckless and extraordinary, and Mayday! is made up of their riveting tales, bizarre contraptions, magnificent achievements and, sometimes, startling folly. ...Show more

Amelia Earhart's Shoes - Is the Mystery Solved? by Thomas F. King; Randall S. Jacobson; Kenton Spading

$15.00 NZD

Category: Aviation | Reading Level: very good

This text investigates the disappearance of Amelia Earhart and her co-pilot Fred Noonan using the methods of modern science. A team of scientists use modern scientific techniques to examine evidence on Earhart's disappearance. Using archaeological survey; global positioning systems; remote sensing; fore nsics; a variety of laboratory analyses; and extensive archival research and interviewing, previous theories have been challenged and the search has been narrowed to the Pacific Island of Nikumaroro where increasing evidence points to the pilots having landed and perished. ...Show more

The Big Book of Flight by Rowland White

$20.00 NZD

Category: Aviation | Reading Level: very good

Everybody dreams of flying. For as long as we've been able to look up and see the birds we've wanted to join them. But our efforts to do so have not always been as elegant or accomplished. Instead, there's been danger, excitement, courage and brilliance. The Big Book of Flight is a celebration of it all , and a lot more besides, packed with derring-do stories of aviation's pioneers as well as fascinating profiles of remarkable planes, from Spitfires to Space Shuttles (and a number of other wondrous projects that never quite got off the drawing board). Along with a unique collection of fantastic flight trivia, crucial questions are also addressed: What's so scary about the Bermuda Triangle? Why does airline food taste so bad? And how do you make the perfect paper dart? With stunning photographs and illustrations throughout, The Big Book of Flight promises to surprise, entertain and fire the imaginations of anyone with their head in the clouds. ...Show more

Impact Erebus by Gordon Vette and John Macdonald

$35.00 NZD

Category: Aviation | Reading Level: very good

Head in the Clouds by Godfrey Nugent Wells

$20.00 NZD

Category: Aviation | Reading Level: good to very good

Rescue Below Zero by Ian Mackersey

$25.00 NZD

Category: Arctic | Reading Level: good

Straight on Till Morning: The Life of Beryl Markham by Mary S. Lovell

$14.00 NZD

Category: Aviation

Born in England and raised in Kenya, Beryl Markham was a notorious beauty. She trained race horses and had scandalous affairs, but she is most remembered for being a pioneering aviatrix. She became the first woman to cross the Atlantic Ocean and the first person to make it from London to New York nonsto p. In Mary S. Lovell's definitive biography, Beryl takes on new life--vividly portrayed by a master biographer whose knowledge of her subject is unparalleled. ...Show more

Paul Owen Test Pilot by Paul Owen

$14.00 NZD

Category: Aviation | Reading Level: very good

Test Pilot is the autobiography of Paul Owen, an award-winning motoring journalist and motorsport author who is truly living the petrol-head's dream. In his role as chief editor for New Zealand Autocar Magazine, Paul regularly jets to some distant and exotic location to report on the launch of - or to r oad test - yet another new motorcar or motorcycle, be it driving a Lamborghini Gallardo in the Italian countryside or road testing the latest Suzuki GSXR 1000 around Philip Island in Australia. Closer to home, Paul expresses some strong opinions on New Zealand drivers, speed cameras and speed limits, the roads, the authorities that control them and the rules they make. He tells of the place the motor vehicle has in his heart and what he has learned in the school of hard knocks of an impetuous motoring youth. This is an insider's report on the glitz and glam of the international motorshows; a look at the global automotive industry and the sophisticated PR machine that surrounds it. Paul Owen is an award-winning motoring journalist, Chief Editor for New Zealand Autocar Magazine and the co-author of three books about motorsport icons: You Don't Know the Half of It - the life of Superbike ace Aaron Slight; Bourne to Rally - the story of the late great rally king Possum Bourne, and Murph's Law - the story of V8 Supercar hero Greg Murphy. Test Pilot is an action-packed saga of a professional car and bike reviewer's life on four or two wheels. It's a tough job, but someone has to do it... Catalogue: Sport/Autobiography 230 x 150 • 212 pages - includes 20 colour pages • Softcover with flaps, high quality matt art paper • 240 colour photographs • $39.95 RRP ...Show more

Charles Kingsford Smith and Those Magnificent Men by Peter FitzSimons

$16.00 NZD

Category: Aviation | Reading Level: good

Known to millions simply as 'Smithy', Sir Charles Kingsford Smith was one of Australia's true twentieth-century legends. In an era in which aviators were superstars, Smithy was among the greatest and, throughout his amazing career, his fame in Australia was matched only by that of Don Bradman. Among oth er achievements, Kingsford Smith was the first person to fly across the Pacific, he broke the record for the fastest flight from England to Australia, and at one point he held more long-distance flying records than anyone else on the planet. If that wasn't enough, Smithy was also a war hero, receiving the Military Cross for gallantry in action after being shot - and losing three toes during one of many flying missions during World War I. Smithy was not the lone adventurer of the skies. Early aviation drew to it a company of daredevils who all challenged gravity and fear. This comprehensive biography, written with typical flair by Peter FitzSimons, covers the triumphs and tragedies of not only Kingsford Smith's daring and controversial life but also those of his companion aviators. ...Show more