The Crowd Pleasers
A History of Airshow Misfortunes from 1910 to the Present
Nonfiction, Reference & Language, Transportation, Aviation, History, Science & Nature, Technology, Aeronautics & Astronautics, Military
| Author: | Pete Fusco | ISBN: | 9781510728202 |
| Publisher: | Skyhorse Publishing | Publication: | January 2, 2018 |
| Imprint: | Skyhorse Publishing | Language: | English |
| Author: | Pete Fusco |
| ISBN: | 9781510728202 |
| Publisher: | Skyhorse Publishing |
| Publication: | January 2, 2018 |
| Imprint: | Skyhorse Publishing |
| Language: | English |
The true stories of the most daring of pilots—and the deadly risks they take to thrill the audiences below.
In the early days of aviation, spectators gathered whenever a new flying machine attempted to leave the ground. The trick was to get them to pay. Takeoffs and landings did not sell tickets—but people lined up, money in hand, to watch a “dip of death,” in which an aviator would dive from as high as he or she dared and pull up at the last second. Risk always sells, and flying was man’s riskiest endeavor yet.
From the start, the “exhibition” pilots stood out. Everything about an aerobatic routine requires a degree of skill and a commitment to practice the inconceivable, presenting innumerable risks to life and limb. And with risk, often, comes tragedy. The Crowd Pleasers is a sweeping history of air show accidents beginning in 1910 with the death of Charles Stewart Rolls, cofounder of Rolls-Royce, and ending in the present day. It brings to light some of the most notable air show accidents of all time and explores the aviators behind them, their stories, and their motivations. In so doing, it illuminates the role played by choice, social circumstance, and fate in these often devastating accidents—and the lives attached to them.
The true stories of the most daring of pilots—and the deadly risks they take to thrill the audiences below.
In the early days of aviation, spectators gathered whenever a new flying machine attempted to leave the ground. The trick was to get them to pay. Takeoffs and landings did not sell tickets—but people lined up, money in hand, to watch a “dip of death,” in which an aviator would dive from as high as he or she dared and pull up at the last second. Risk always sells, and flying was man’s riskiest endeavor yet.
From the start, the “exhibition” pilots stood out. Everything about an aerobatic routine requires a degree of skill and a commitment to practice the inconceivable, presenting innumerable risks to life and limb. And with risk, often, comes tragedy. The Crowd Pleasers is a sweeping history of air show accidents beginning in 1910 with the death of Charles Stewart Rolls, cofounder of Rolls-Royce, and ending in the present day. It brings to light some of the most notable air show accidents of all time and explores the aviators behind them, their stories, and their motivations. In so doing, it illuminates the role played by choice, social circumstance, and fate in these often devastating accidents—and the lives attached to them.
