Aviation Biography

As tantilizing new evidence mounts, Hartigan and her fellow investigators descend deeper into a world of conspiracy and obsession. Through its irresistible characters and prodigious research, Lost reveals not just why we remember Amelia Earhart as a trailblazer and adventurer, but why unsolved mysteries keep us forever searching for answers.

In 1961, Wally Funk was among the Mercury 13, the first group of American pilots to pass the ‘Women in Space’ programme. Wally sailed through a series of rigorous physical and mental tests, her scores beating many of the male candidates, including those of John Glenn, the first American in orbit. But just one week before she was due to enter the final phase of training, the programme was abruptly cancelled. A combination of politics and prejudice meant that none of the women ever flew into space.

The inspiring stories of five people who changed history, including Joseph-Michel Montgolfier, who helped humans to fly; Louis Blériot, the first person to cross the sea in an aeroplane; Charles Lindbergh, the first person to cross the Atlantic alone; Amelia Earhart, the first woman to fly alone across the Atlantic; and Amy Johnson, the British woman who broke flying records This book is level 2 in the Collins ELT Readers series.

At least as far back as the ancient myth of Icarus, humans longed to fly - but it wasn't until December 17, 1903, on the windy dunes of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, that the dream finally came true. And it was all thanks to Orville and Wilbur Wright, two former bicycle mechanics who built their first toy plane - a rubber-band powered rotary - when they were just children.

By the time you get this letter, I’ll be observing you all from the sky. I have no regrets, in fact even if I become a human again, I’ll join the army and fight for my nation.’This was the last letter Captain Vijyant Thapar wrote to his family. He was twenty-two when he was martyred in the...

At the turn of the last century, the Guggenheim family ran the most powerful mining conglomerate on earth. Decades later came the Guggenheim museum, which became the hub of the world’s most powerful art brand. In between, the Guggenheim name was uttered in every field from aviation to politics, from journalism to rocketry.

Ready or Not was written by J. Francis Angier and is a memoir of his life and flying career — highlighted by his shoot-down and imprisonment in Nazi Germany. His narrative encompasses his early interest in aviation, (he soloed at age 15) and his upbringing on a Vermont farm during the Depression which prepared him for the rigors of flying in combat and the hardship of his captivity.

A pilot of calculated courage, "Trap" entered the Navy when test pilots were more like stuntmen than engineers. Airplanes had not yet come into their own as weapons of war, and they had an undeveloped role in the fleet. His vision and leadership shaped the evolution of naval aviation through its formative years and beyond. When the threat of war in 1940 raised an alarm over the Navy's deficiency in aircraft - especially fighters - Trap was appointed to lead the Flight Test Section to direct the development of all-new Navy airplanes.

The untold story of five women who fought to compete against men in the high-stakes national air races of the 1920s and 1930s - and won.

Emma Lilian Todd's mind was always soaring—she loved to solve problems. Lilian tinkered and fiddled with all sorts of objects, turning dreams into useful inventions. As a child, she took apart and reassembled clocks to figure out how they worked. As an adult, typing up patents at the U.S. Patent Office, Lilian built the inventions in her mind, including many designs for flying machines. However, they all seemed too impractical. Lilian knew she could design one that worked.

Before Amelia Earhart (1897-1939) became a world-famous pilot, she was a little tomboy from Kansas with a taste for adventure. When she visited an airfield and took a short plane ride, she knew she had to be a pilot. She signed up for flying lessons and cropped her hair short so that the other pilots would take her seriously. She became the first woman to make a solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean.

Discover the inspiring story of Amelia Earhart - the first woman to fly solo over the Atlantic Ocean... Amelia Earhart is one of the world's most famous aviators in the history of flight and a role model for women everywhere. Follow the story of this trailblazing pilot - from her childhood...

Carefully leveled text engages young readers in learning about how pilots help their community. Age-appropriate critical thinking questions help build nonfiction learning skills.

Learn all about the lives and extended space adventure of astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore in this exciting biography. In March 2025, Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore splashed into the Gulf of Mexico. A pod of dolphins greeted them, and their friends and family celebrated their return...

Getting a pilot's license was the furthest thing from her mind - until an ex-RAF instructor suggested that she wasn't competent to do so. The thing is, he could be right. Sylvia has just a few weeks to prove that she can fly as well as any man. You Fly Like a Woman tells the story of one woman's search for confidence as she stumbles into a man's world.

Although Orville and Wilbur Wright are celebrated today as heroes for their revolutionary contributions to science and engineering - they are acknowledged as the first men to successfully achieve powered, piloted flight - their success was hard-earned. In fact, it took the self-taught engineers years of work and dozens of crashes before they managed a single 12-second flight! In this first installment of the brand new Epic Fails series, Ben Thompson and Erik Slader take listeners through the Wright brothers' many mishaps and misadventures as they paved the way for modern aviation.

A cocky, green pilot flies an old Cessna 150 across the United States in 1994. The "Kid" and his gonzo passenger Doc take to the skies in an unforgettable misadventure. From Scottsdale Airport, the "Canary" takes off and attempts to cross the "hump" on its passage eastward.

Eddie Rickenbacker was a World War I Flying Ace, a Medal of Honor winner, and even a racecar driver. But did you know that his first attempt at flying was to ride his bicycle off the roof of his house while holding an umbrella?

In the 1930s, most girls were happy playing with dolls. But one girl, Betty Skelton, liked playing with airplanes, watching them fly around outside, and even flying airplanes herself! She lived for an adventure - in the air, the water, and on land - and nothing could stop her, especially not being a girl. When Betty Skelton was young there weren't many women flying airplanes or racing cars, but she wouldn't let that stop her. She was always ready to take on a challenge, and she loved to have fun.

On this life-altering Audio program, Joan Borysenko shares an ancient meditation called "Invocation of the Angels" with you, in which she invokes the help of four archangels and asks for their assistance in leading a kind, loving life. Remember: You are never alone!...