Overview
This book celebrates the aviators, astronauts, airline executives, and other innovators who have made Texas an influential world leader in the aerospace industry over the past century. Tracing the hundred-year history of aviation in Texas, aviator and historian Barbara Ganson brings to life the colorful personalities that shaped the phenomenally successful development of this industry in the state. Weaving stories and profiles of aviators, designers, manufacturers, and those in related services, Texas Takes Wing covers the major trends that propelled Texas to the forefront of the field. Covering institutions from San Antonio's Randolph Air Force Base (the West Point of this branch of service) to Brownsville's airport with its Pan American Airlines instrument flight school (which served as an international gateway to Latin America as early as the 1920s) to Houston's Johnson Space Center, home of Mission Control for the U.S. space program, the book provides an exhilarating timeline and engaging history of dozens of unsung pioneers as well as their more widely celebrated peers. Drawn from personal interviews as well as major archives and the collections of several commercial airlines, including American, Southwest, Braniff, Pan American Airways, and Continental, this sweeping history captures the story of powered flight in Texas since 1910. With its generally favorable flying weather, flat terrain, and wide open spaces, Texas has more airports than any other state and is often considered one of America's most aviation-friendly places. Texas Takes Wing also explores the men and women who made the region pivotal in military training, aircraft manufacturing during wartime, general aviation, and air servicing of the agricultural industry. The result is a soaring history that will delight aviators and passengers alike.
Full Product Details
Author: Barbara Ganson
Publisher: University of Texas Press
Imprint: University of Texas Press
Dimensions:
Width: 15.20cm
, Height: 1.50cm
, Length: 22.90cm
Weight: 0.680kg
ISBN: 9780292754089
ISBN 10: 0292754086
Pages: 312
Publication Date: 06 January 2014
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: In Print
This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us.
Reviews
Aviator and historian Barbara Ganson look at the 100-year history of flight in the Lone Star State and how Texas became a leader in the aviation industry in Texas Takes Wing. Along the way, she reveals some surprising statistics: that general aviation (by civilian pilots) provides about 60,000 jobs with $2.5 billion in payroll; that Texas excels in aviation in part because of its favourable flying weather, flat terrain and wide-open space; and that Texas has more airports than any of the 47 contiguous states - Statesman Anyone who likes to fly a plane or just ride will be delighted by this well written and very interesting history of aviators in Texas. - The Mexia News
Brilliantly demonstrates the evolution of flight technology as a harbinger of social change. * Technology and Culture *
Author Information
Barbara Ganson is Associate Professor of History at Florida Atlantic University. She is also a trustee of the International Women’s Air and Space Museum in Cleveland, Ohio. Her work formed the basis of the 2010 exhibition Tango Alpha Charlie: Texas Aviation Celebration at the Bob Bullock Texas History Museum.
