Winds of Destruction: The Autobiography of a Rhodesian Combat Pilot Review

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(More customer reviews)This is an excellent history written by an officer who played a central role in realizing the air-ground joint coordination essential to Rhodesia's lethal "Fire Force" operations against communist insurgents. It is also de facto a history of the Rhodesian Air Force before and after UDI. Lavishly illustrated and detailed, it is a must-have for any serious student of the war. Since titles on Rhodesia sell out and become costly to find when out of print, one would do well to purchase this sooner rather than later.

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A unique account of one man's service in the Rhodesian Air Force, spanning a period of twenty-three years from 1957 to 1980 - through the politically turbulent years of Federation; the Unilateral Declaration of Independence (U.D.I.) by Ian Smith's government in 1965 and thirteen years of relentless, uncompromising bush warfare against the never-ending tide of Robert Mugabe's and Joshua Nkomo's ZANLA and ZIPRA guerrillas. In a grueling conflict that permitted no quarter, the Rhodesian Air Force (Rh.A.F.) fast became one of the Rhodesian Defence Force's most lethal and effective counter-insurgency organs. In pre-emptive bombing strikes against enemy camps in Mozambique, Zambia and as far afield as Tanzania; in its integral role as a troop-carrier and airborne strike force in 'Fireforce' operations; in working closely with such specialist units as the Selous Scouts, the S.A.S., the R.L.I. and the R.A.R., the Rhodesian Air Force was never far from the action and in no small way responsible for the astonishing military successes against a vastly numerically superior army.This all in spite of the international sanctions against Rhodesia, which ordinarily would have brought a nation's armed forces to its knees. However, forced by circumstances, the Rh.A.F. was obliged to maximize usage of its aging fleet of fighter-bombers, transports and helicopters and to resort to innovative techniques in terms of tactics and weapons systems, many of which were later adopted by the South African Air Force in its own counter-insurgency operations in Angola and Namibia in the '80s.

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Mechanics of Flight Review

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(More customer reviews)"Mechanics of Flight" will become a classic in the aerodynamicist's library alongside Abbott and Von Doenhoff's "Theory of Wing Sections". Here's why:
* Coverage of topics in aircraft design is exhaustive. From balancing lift and weight for steady flight, on through off axis forces and moments from running propellers, to 6-dof formulas for aircraft dynamic modes, to how propeller location affects aircraft stability, and on and on. Great for both the beginner and the authority in aircraft.
* Often a completely thorough analysis including the minutest effects is presented along with a linearized or simplified method. The simplified analysis is so useful for rapid conceptual design and study of fundamentals, while the detailed analysis gives a complete grasp of the physics and phenomena involved. Plus, in simplifying a complex derivation, the reader is shown which parameters may be safely neglected and which require careful scrutiny, and what is engineering if not intelligently ignoring smaller effects to come up with a reasonable solution to a problem?
* The figures! Well thought out and consistent, the figures clearly illustrate the material.
* Actual aircraft data is used in the example and homework problems. I have a feel for the performance of several classes of aircraft simply from using this book.
* Phillips derives everything, and I mean everything using the fundamental laws of physics as the starting point. A student would be very well served to go through these derivations themselves. Phillips basically shows the student how to learn and how to think mathematically. No shortcuts here. I wish I had learned these things very early on in my own schooling.
* Phillips has included experimental data along with rigorous analytical derivation and computer numerical analysis. I believe that all three are necessary for a true understanding of fluid dynamics.
The bottom line: Buy and use this book! While it is true that the material is focused on subsonic flight, I work for a large airframer of supersonic aircraft and I find the principles and fundamentals to be extremely useful in my work. Whether you are a student or a professional, if you have an interest in aerodynamics this is THE book to use.

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Mechanics of Flight is a unique combination of theory and applications organized in a logical presentation. It affords readers extensive coverage of individual topics within flight mechanics, including overviews of aerodynamics and propulsion. It also offers a full range of modern and classical techniques for applying fundamental principles to the solution of engineering problems in fight mechanics. Mechanics of Flight explores the basic principles of flight mechanics with the help of many worked examples, starting with simple problems involving steady-level flight and building to more complex ones such as the analysis of turning flight and spins. Special coverage found here–and not in most books on the subject–includes a detailed presentation of the quaternion formulation for six-degree-of-freedom flight simulation, including treatment of efficient numerical integration methods.

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