April 2009

The Pilot's Manual: Access To Flight by the Aviation Theory Centre (ASA, 2009, ISBN: 9781560277347). The most comprehensive pilot textbook available covers all of the aeronautical knowledge and skill needed to earn a private pilot certificate with an instrument rating, using today's glass-cockpit technologies. Detailed prose and illustrations prepare readers for all the tasks required by the FAA in the oral test and checkride.

F-15 Eagle at War by Tyson Rininger (Zenith Press, 2009, ISBN: 9780760333501). The world's greatest air-superiority fighter took to the skies in July 1972, redefining aerial combat with its superb aerodynamics, advanced avionics and aerial weaponry. This book details the F-15's history, from the Cold War to the Middle East, with spectacular photography, and covers the aircraft's design, manufacture and variants.

The Stand: The Final Flight of Lt. Frank Luke, Jr. by Stephen Skinner (Schiffer Military History, 2008, ISBN: 9780764330957). Arizona balloon-buster Frank Luke died under controversial circumstances behind enemy lines in September 1918. Drawing from more than 2,000 pages of material, archeological digs in France and dozens of interviews, this book gives an authoritative, dynamic account of the life and death of America's most spectacular fighter pilot.

Tanker War: America's First Conflict with Iran, 1987-88 by Lee Allen Zatarain (Casemate, 2008, ISBN: 9781932033847). In May 1987, a U.S. frigate was blown apart by a missile fired from an Iraqi jet fighter. This event jump-started one of the most mysterious conflicts in U.S. history, the "Tanker War," waged against Iran for control of the Persian Gulf. Through recently released Pentagon documents and firsthand interviews, this book reveals a conflict that few recognized at the time, but which may have presaged further battles to come.

Design and Development of the Blackbird: From Archangel to Senior Crown by Peter W. Merlin (AIAA, 2008, ISBN: 9781563479335). Though now retired, Lockheed Blackbirds remain the only production aircraft able to sustain Mach 3 cruise and altitudes above 80,000 feet. This is the first book to address the technical aspects of these incredible aircraft.