Texas Takes Wing

Texas Takes Wing

Author: Barbara Ganson

Publisher: University of Texas Press

Published: 2014-01-06

Total Pages: 313

ISBN-13: 0292754086

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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.


Book Synopsis Texas Takes Wing by : Barbara Ganson

Download or read book Texas Takes Wing written by Barbara Ganson and published by University of Texas Press. This book was released on 2014-01-06 with total page 313 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.


Taking Wing

Taking Wing

Author: Nancy Price Graff

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 232

ISBN-13: 9780618535910

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Gus never imagined himself a parent at thirteen. But in the war-fraught summer of 1942, while living on his grandparents' Vermont farm, he adopts a clutch of orphaned duck eggs. Gus can relate to the foundlings, as he is apart from, and yearns for, his own family. One day Gus finds a young stranger standing over the incubating eggs. Gus doesn't know what to make of her, with her tattered clothing and strange accent, but soon the girl is helping to care for the newly hatched ducklings, and she and Gus become fast friends. Not everyone shares Gus's high opinion of Louise, whose poverty-stricken French-Canadian family is shunned by the townspeople. His attempt to help his friend and her family has some embarrassing consequences and he must make retribution if he is to keep Louise's friendship. Nancy Price Graff's fluid narrative and exceptional eye for detail follow Gus during a time of food rationing, Victory gardens, watching for enemy planes--and keeping his ducks from harm.


Book Synopsis Taking Wing by : Nancy Price Graff

Download or read book Taking Wing written by Nancy Price Graff and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. This book was released on 2005 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Gus never imagined himself a parent at thirteen. But in the war-fraught summer of 1942, while living on his grandparents' Vermont farm, he adopts a clutch of orphaned duck eggs. Gus can relate to the foundlings, as he is apart from, and yearns for, his own family. One day Gus finds a young stranger standing over the incubating eggs. Gus doesn't know what to make of her, with her tattered clothing and strange accent, but soon the girl is helping to care for the newly hatched ducklings, and she and Gus become fast friends. Not everyone shares Gus's high opinion of Louise, whose poverty-stricken French-Canadian family is shunned by the townspeople. His attempt to help his friend and her family has some embarrassing consequences and he must make retribution if he is to keep Louise's friendship. Nancy Price Graff's fluid narrative and exceptional eye for detail follow Gus during a time of food rationing, Victory gardens, watching for enemy planes--and keeping his ducks from harm.


Taking Wing

Taking Wing

Author: Pat Shipman

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 1999-01-15

Total Pages: 344

ISBN-13: 0684849658

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In 1861, just a few years after the publication of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species, a scientist named Hermann von Meyer made an amazing discovery. Hidden in the Bavarian region of Germany was a fossil skeleton so exquisitely preserved that its wings and feathers were as obvious as its reptilian jaws and tail. This transitional creature offered tangible proof of Darwin's theory of evolution. Hailed as the First Bird, Archaeopteryx has remained the subject of heated debates for the last 140 years. Are birds actually living dinosaurs? Where does the fossil record really lead? Did flight originate from the "ground up" or "trees down"? Pat Shipman traces the age-old human desire to soar above the earth and to understand what has come before us. Taking Wing is science as adventure story, told with all the drama by which scientific understanding unfolds.


Book Synopsis Taking Wing by : Pat Shipman

Download or read book Taking Wing written by Pat Shipman and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 1999-01-15 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1861, just a few years after the publication of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species, a scientist named Hermann von Meyer made an amazing discovery. Hidden in the Bavarian region of Germany was a fossil skeleton so exquisitely preserved that its wings and feathers were as obvious as its reptilian jaws and tail. This transitional creature offered tangible proof of Darwin's theory of evolution. Hailed as the First Bird, Archaeopteryx has remained the subject of heated debates for the last 140 years. Are birds actually living dinosaurs? Where does the fossil record really lead? Did flight originate from the "ground up" or "trees down"? Pat Shipman traces the age-old human desire to soar above the earth and to understand what has come before us. Taking Wing is science as adventure story, told with all the drama by which scientific understanding unfolds.


Sky As Frontier

Sky As Frontier

Author: David T. Courtwright

Publisher: Texas A&M University Press

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 300

ISBN-13: 9781585444199

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A look at how aviation's frontier lasted only a scant 3 decades, then vanished as commercial and military imperatives made flying routine.


Book Synopsis Sky As Frontier by : David T. Courtwright

Download or read book Sky As Frontier written by David T. Courtwright and published by Texas A&M University Press. This book was released on 2005 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A look at how aviation's frontier lasted only a scant 3 decades, then vanished as commercial and military imperatives made flying routine.


Wings Over San Antonio

Wings Over San Antonio

Author: Mel Brown

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2001-02-15

Total Pages: 128

ISBN-13: 1439628041

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In March 1910, Lt. Benjamin Foulois was ordered to Fort Sam Houston near San Antonio, Texas, with a used Wright Brothers aeroplane and a small contingent of enlisted men. His mission was to teach himself how to operate this primitive flying machine and begin demonstrating the practical uses it might have for the United States Army. This history is chronicled through in-depth captions and over 200 images as author Mel Brown tells the story of how San Antonio eventually became the cradle of military aviation. Mastery of the air would take time, equipment, and lives as the demanding flight path led from the early trials at Ft. Sam to the eventual establishment of four flying centers around the city. Working through trial and error, the aeronautic pioneers and first combat aviators convinced the military that the building of an American air arm was needed; thus the legend of the U.S. Air Force at San Antonio was born. Using many photographs never before published, the author tells the rich history of the air force bases in San Antonio, including Kelly, Brooks, and Randolph Fields. Also included are images of some of aviation's first heroes, such as Eddie Rickenbacker, Jimmy Doolittle, Charles Lindbergh, and Clair Chennault.


Book Synopsis Wings Over San Antonio by : Mel Brown

Download or read book Wings Over San Antonio written by Mel Brown and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2001-02-15 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In March 1910, Lt. Benjamin Foulois was ordered to Fort Sam Houston near San Antonio, Texas, with a used Wright Brothers aeroplane and a small contingent of enlisted men. His mission was to teach himself how to operate this primitive flying machine and begin demonstrating the practical uses it might have for the United States Army. This history is chronicled through in-depth captions and over 200 images as author Mel Brown tells the story of how San Antonio eventually became the cradle of military aviation. Mastery of the air would take time, equipment, and lives as the demanding flight path led from the early trials at Ft. Sam to the eventual establishment of four flying centers around the city. Working through trial and error, the aeronautic pioneers and first combat aviators convinced the military that the building of an American air arm was needed; thus the legend of the U.S. Air Force at San Antonio was born. Using many photographs never before published, the author tells the rich history of the air force bases in San Antonio, including Kelly, Brooks, and Randolph Fields. Also included are images of some of aviation's first heroes, such as Eddie Rickenbacker, Jimmy Doolittle, Charles Lindbergh, and Clair Chennault.


Texas and Texans in World War II

Texas and Texans in World War II

Author: Christopher B. Bean

Publisher: Texas A&M University Press

Published: 2022-08-24

Total Pages: 412

ISBN-13: 1623499704

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Texans in World War II offers an informative look at the challenges and changes faced by Texans on the home front during the Second World War. This collection of essays by leading scholars of Texas history covers topics from the African American and Tejano experience to organized labor, from the expanding opportunities for women to the importance of oil and agriculture. Texans in World War II makes local the frequently studied social history of wartime, bringing it home to Texas. An eye-opening read for Texans eager to learn more about this defining era in their state’s history, this book will also prove deeply informative for scholars, students, and general readers seeking detailed, definitive information about World War II and its implications for daily life, economic growth, and social and political change in the Lone Star State.


Book Synopsis Texas and Texans in World War II by : Christopher B. Bean

Download or read book Texas and Texans in World War II written by Christopher B. Bean and published by Texas A&M University Press. This book was released on 2022-08-24 with total page 412 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Texans in World War II offers an informative look at the challenges and changes faced by Texans on the home front during the Second World War. This collection of essays by leading scholars of Texas history covers topics from the African American and Tejano experience to organized labor, from the expanding opportunities for women to the importance of oil and agriculture. Texans in World War II makes local the frequently studied social history of wartime, bringing it home to Texas. An eye-opening read for Texans eager to learn more about this defining era in their state’s history, this book will also prove deeply informative for scholars, students, and general readers seeking detailed, definitive information about World War II and its implications for daily life, economic growth, and social and political change in the Lone Star State.


Houston Aviation

Houston Aviation

Author: The 1940 Air Terminal Museum

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2015

Total Pages: 128

ISBN-13: 1467133787

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As Houston steadily grew in the early 20th century, the commercial and civic elite focused on the community's industrial expansion and economic prosperity. Aviation played a significant role in that aspiration. With the earliest birdmen of the skies offering a suggestion of the economic potential of flight, Houston-area policymakers solicited and welcomed military aviation, first at Ellington Field and later on Galveston Island. As early as the 1920s, the burgeoning Houston energy industry realized the value and utility of aircraft as business tools. Aircraft were uniquely capable of quickly traversing the great distances that separated the oil fields from the centers of commerce and industry, and their use made Houston an epicenter for modern business aviation. Between World War I and World War II, the federal post office subsidized the development of commercial passenger service while the city fathers provided the necessary infrastructure through the funding and establishment of the Houston Municipal Airport. The triptych of business, commercial, and military aviation would come to define Houston's aviation lineage.


Book Synopsis Houston Aviation by : The 1940 Air Terminal Museum

Download or read book Houston Aviation written by The 1940 Air Terminal Museum and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2015 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As Houston steadily grew in the early 20th century, the commercial and civic elite focused on the community's industrial expansion and economic prosperity. Aviation played a significant role in that aspiration. With the earliest birdmen of the skies offering a suggestion of the economic potential of flight, Houston-area policymakers solicited and welcomed military aviation, first at Ellington Field and later on Galveston Island. As early as the 1920s, the burgeoning Houston energy industry realized the value and utility of aircraft as business tools. Aircraft were uniquely capable of quickly traversing the great distances that separated the oil fields from the centers of commerce and industry, and their use made Houston an epicenter for modern business aviation. Between World War I and World War II, the federal post office subsidized the development of commercial passenger service while the city fathers provided the necessary infrastructure through the funding and establishment of the Houston Municipal Airport. The triptych of business, commercial, and military aviation would come to define Houston's aviation lineage.


Wings over the Mexican Border

Wings over the Mexican Border

Author: Kenneth B. Ragsdale

Publisher: Univ of TX + ORM

Published: 2010-07-05

Total Pages: 433

ISBN-13: 029275759X

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A Texas historian reveals how a borderland ranch became the proving ground for American combat aviation and a flashpoint for US-Mexico relations. Against a backdrop of revolution, border banditry, freewheeling aerial dramatics, and World War II, Kenneth B. Ragsdale tells the story of Elmo Johnson’s Big Bend ranch in southwestern Texas. This remote airfield is where hundreds of young Army Air Corps pilots demonstrated the US military’s reconnaissance and emergency response capabilities and, in so doing, dramatized the changing role of the airplane as an instrument of war and peace. Ragsdale vividly portrays the development of the US aerial strike force; the men who would go on to become combat leaders; and especially Elmo Johnson himself, the Big Bend rancher, trader, and rural sage who emerges as the dominant figure at one of the most unusual facilities in the annals of the Air Corps. Ragsdale also examines how these aerial escapades effected border tensions. He provides a reflective look at US–Mexican relations from the 1920s through the 1940s, paying special attention to the tense days during and after the Escobar Rebellion of 1929. Wings over the Mexican Border tells a stirring story of the American frontier juxtaposed with the new age of aerial technology.


Book Synopsis Wings over the Mexican Border by : Kenneth B. Ragsdale

Download or read book Wings over the Mexican Border written by Kenneth B. Ragsdale and published by Univ of TX + ORM. This book was released on 2010-07-05 with total page 433 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Texas historian reveals how a borderland ranch became the proving ground for American combat aviation and a flashpoint for US-Mexico relations. Against a backdrop of revolution, border banditry, freewheeling aerial dramatics, and World War II, Kenneth B. Ragsdale tells the story of Elmo Johnson’s Big Bend ranch in southwestern Texas. This remote airfield is where hundreds of young Army Air Corps pilots demonstrated the US military’s reconnaissance and emergency response capabilities and, in so doing, dramatized the changing role of the airplane as an instrument of war and peace. Ragsdale vividly portrays the development of the US aerial strike force; the men who would go on to become combat leaders; and especially Elmo Johnson himself, the Big Bend rancher, trader, and rural sage who emerges as the dominant figure at one of the most unusual facilities in the annals of the Air Corps. Ragsdale also examines how these aerial escapades effected border tensions. He provides a reflective look at US–Mexican relations from the 1920s through the 1940s, paying special attention to the tense days during and after the Escobar Rebellion of 1929. Wings over the Mexican Border tells a stirring story of the American frontier juxtaposed with the new age of aerial technology.


The Wings of Change

The Wings of Change

Author: Thomas E. Alexander

Publisher: Military History of Texas

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 240

ISBN-13:

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World War 1939-1945. Army Air Force Experience in Texas.


Book Synopsis The Wings of Change by : Thomas E. Alexander

Download or read book The Wings of Change written by Thomas E. Alexander and published by Military History of Texas. This book was released on 2003 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: World War 1939-1945. Army Air Force Experience in Texas.


Lone Star

Lone Star

Author: Theodore R. Fehrenbach

Publisher:

Published: 1974

Total Pages: 761

ISBN-13:

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Book Synopsis Lone Star by : Theodore R. Fehrenbach

Download or read book Lone Star written by Theodore R. Fehrenbach and published by . This book was released on 1974 with total page 761 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: