The Next Fifty Years of Flight
New York: Harper & Brothers, 1954. Octavo, two-tone cloth with black spine and pale-teal boards, spine embossed with gilt lettering, xviii, 214 pp., eight double-sided black,and-white plates, illustrated throughout with black-and-white drawings and watercolour paintings, some diagrams and maps included. Spine ends and corners very slightly bumped, foxing on endpapers, some browning on edges of text block, top right corner of front free endpaper clipped, light wear and tear on edges of dust-jacket without loss of text; otherwise a near-fine copy with a very good dust-jacket. First edition. This fascinating volume details the futuristic (at the time) vision of aviation by Norwegian flier and arctic explorer Bernt Balchen, as told to aviation journalist and flyer Erik Bergaust. Among other things, Balchen imagines that in the fifty years following 1954 aircraft will be noiseless, flying from New York to Tokyo will take three hours, Air Force fighters will be able to take off and land vertically, and space travel will be possible. While some of these predictions have come true, others remain elusive. Included is a foreword by famous aviation pioneer Lieutenant General James H. Doolittle. Item #4892
Price (AUD): $75.00