Ed Heinemann, Combat Aircraft Designer

Dust jacket notes: "Ed Heinemann has been the guiding force behind a remarkably successful series of combat aircraft, from the Dauntless dive bomber to the A-4 Skyhawk jet. In this comprehensive autobiographical record of his achievements, Ed Heinemann and coauthor, Rosario 'Zip' Rausa, have tried to tell it like it was, including the lows as well as the highs. Despite tragedies in his personal life and a formal education limited to high school, Ed Heinemann became one of the legendary stalwarts in the golden age of aviation. Here is the story behind some of the world's most successful aircraft, including the Dauntless, the Skyraider (affectionately known as the 'Ford'), the Skystreak and Skyrocket research planes, and the Skywarrior and Skyhawk, as well as many others. The text is amply augmented with detailed line drawings, photos, and performance data. At one time or another Ed Heinemann worked with many of the men whose contributions have made aviation what it is today. His story includes personal glimpses of such pioneers as General Hap Arnold, Donald Douglas, Jack Northrop, Howard Hughes, Admiral Apollo Soucek, Admiral Thomas Moorer, and the great rocket scientist, Werner Von Braun, to name only a few. Zip Rausa skillfully recounts Heinemann's professional life through the artful use of tape recordings in which Heinemann reviews his long list of accomplishments in great detail. Thus, the style of this readable first-person narrative is that of Ed Heinemann himself. The result is a well-researched, lavishly illustrated book that makes an important contribution to the history of aviation...."