Milestones of Flight: From Hot-Air Balloon to SpaceShipOne

Gr 5–7—With particular reference to the collections of the National Air and Space museum, for which he works as an educator, Grove identifies and describes 27 significant vehicles or technological advances in the history of flight. Arranged roughly in chronological order, these range from the real or proposed gas balloons of 19th-century American inventor Thaddeus Lowe and the Wright Flyer to the likewise privately built SpaceShipOne, which flew in 2004. Though the author limits his field of view by only rarely looking beyond the United States, he does include in his tally pilotless craft (drones) going back to the pre-World War II era, NASA's humongous Full Scale Wind Tunnel, and—just for fun—the Starship Enterprise. The entries offer quick but lucid overviews of each craft or advance's development and capabilities, with notes on record-breaking feats and nods to renowned aviators (men and women both), astronauts, and engineers. Aside from a poorly chosen advertisement showing a stereotypical Native American chief saluting a passenger plane flying overhead, the generous array of period photographs, documents, and newspaper stories support both the author's descriptions of all the high-tech gadgetry and his observations on the profound changes that powered flight has wrought on society in general. The end matter is adequate but skimpy, with a time line that cuts off in 2011 and a seven-item reading list.