The 25 Most Influential Aircraft of All Time

From fragile wood-and-fabric biplanes to powerful supersonic aircraft, The 25 Most Influential Aircraft of All Time explores the remarkable evolution of aviation technology through 25 aircraft that changed the course of flight.

Each chapter focuses on one of aviation's most historically significant and influential aircraft, including legendary machines such as the elliptical-winged Spitfire, the record-breaking X-15, and the revolutionary Learjet. The book looks beyond specifications and speed, examining the factors that made each aircraft influential—including performance, cost, operational efficiency, technological innovation, and its impact on popular culture.

But great aircraft are only part of the story. The people who designed, built, and flew them were equally important. Meet the larger-than-life figures behind aviation's greatest achievements, from the intensely private Howard Hughes and demanding designer Clarence "Kelly" Johnson to pioneering pilots Charles Lindbergh and Chuck Yeager. Drawing on their own experience flying or flying in many of the featured aircraft, authors Walter Boyne and Philip Handleman offer personal insights and unique perspectives on the machines and personalities that shaped aviation history.

The book features a preface by William Lloyd Stearman, former National Security Council staff member and son of renowned aircraft designer Lloyd Stearman; an introduction by Norman R. Augustine, former Chairman and CEO of Lockheed Martin; and a foreword by legendary aircraft designer Burt Rutan, founder of Scaled Composites.

Lavishly illustrated in color, primarily with paintings by leading aviation artists, this hardcover volume is both a celebration of aviation's greatest technological achievements and an engaging look at the people who made them possible.

Hardcover | 408 pages
Authors: Walter Boyne and Philip Handleman