OTTER & TWIN OTTER — THE UNIVERSAL AIRPLANES
Prix régulier 35,00 € TTC 6%
Characteristics
| ISBN-10 | 1857800869 |
| Book cover finish(es) | Hardcover ( square back binding ) |
| Special Features | • Dust jacket |
| Condition | Used - Very Good |
| Author(s) | Sean Rossiter |
| Publisher | Midland Publishing Limited |
| Number of pages | 23 x 22 cm |
| Published date | 1998 |
| Language(s) | English |
| Size | 23 x 22 cm |
| Categorie(s) | • AVIATION CIVILE • AVIATION MILITAIRE • APPAREILS - CONSTRUCTEURS • BEAUX-LIVRES |
Description
There was a certain audacity to the colourful characters who designed, built, and test-flew the remarkable series of aircraft that began with the de Havilland Canada Beaver. With the Beaver on its way to becoming a best-seller, the engineers and test pilots who developed it decided to create an airplane that could do everything the Beaver could — but with twice the capacity and payload. As it turned out, the airplane capable of that feat could achieve other remarkable feats as well.
Max Ward purchased his first Otter, the fifth one built, during the summer of 1953. His competitors expected him to fail, flying a $100,000 aircraft in the far north. By the late 1960s, however, Ward was operating six quarter-million-dollar de Havilland Twin Otters — faster, more efficient twin turboprops capable of carrying up to 20 passengers. Thirty-six years after acquiring that expensive Otter, Wardair was flying $25-million Boeing 747s.
The concept behind the Twin Otter was simple. The Otter was an excellent airplane, but why not make it even better with twin-engine reliability and nosewheel landing gear? Complications arose, but the result was another aviation success.
The Otter/Twin Otter series are among the most versatile aircraft ever built. They have served as fire-fighting water bombers and interurban air buses. Capable of outperforming the helicopters of the time, U.S. military Otters have explored Alaska and Antarctica. Otters have been used in both war and peace, acting as front-line supply haulers in Vietnam and supporting United Nations peacekeeping missions in the Middle East. One Otter was even fitted with a jet engine to achieve sensational Short Takeoff and Landing performance.
Heavily illustrated, Otter and Twin Otter showcases two of the world’s great aircraft alongside an equally compelling cast of characters — the engineers, test pilots, and bush pilots who have made these airplanes legends in aviation history.