In Contrails over the Mojave George Marrett takes off where Tom Wolfe’s The Right Stuff ended in 1963. Marrett started the Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards AFB only two weeks after the school’s commander; Col. Chuck Yeager; ejected from a Lockheed NF-104 trying to set a world altitude record. He describes life as a space cadet experiencing 15 Gs in a human centrifuge; zero-G maneuvers in a KC-135 “Vomit Comet;†and a flight to 80;000 feet in the F-104A Starfighter. After graduating from Yeager’s “Charm School;†he was assigned to the Fighter Branch of Flight Test Operations; where he flew the latest fighter aircraft and chased other test aircraft as they set world speed and altitude records.Marrett takes readers into the cockpit as he “goes vertical†in a T-38 Talon; completes high-G maneuvers in an F-4C Phantom; and conducts wet-runway landing tests in the accident-prone F-111A Aardvark. He writes about Col. “Silver Fox†Stephens setting a world speed record in the YF-12 Blackbird and Bob Gilliland testing speed stalls in the SR-71 spy plane; but he also relives stories of crashes that killed test pilot friends. He recounts dead-sticking a T-38 to a landing on Rogers Dry Lake after a twin-engine failure and conducting dangerous tail hook barrier testing in a fighter jet without a canopy. A mysterious UFO sighting in the night sky above the Mojave Desert; known as “The Edwards Encounter;†also receives Marrett’s attention. Whether the author is assessing a new aircraft’s performance or describing the experiences of test pilots as they routinely faced the possibility of death; this look at the golden age of flight testing both thrills and informs.
2001-12-01Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.56 x 1.34 x 6.58l; .0 #File Name: 1611472350528 pages
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Great history of the fates of dhimmiesBy Edward ClineMet all my expectations. Bat Ye'or is a first class historian.1 of 3 people found the following review helpful. History talks.By Souzan AbdelmassihThis was the first book I read for Pat Ye'Or.Pat provides an excellent view of the collision of the Arabic so called civilization with almost all other civilizations. The historical facts in the book are so well referenced.Pat; I admire you for your excellent work. Keep it up.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. The Reality of Islam ExposedBy CustomerThis is an extremely well researched book which should be required reading for anyone who seriously wishes to understand the world of Islam. An excellent exposition of the struggle to exist that non-Muslims have had living in Islamic countries. It also puts into perspective the struggles Israel has had to exist surrounded by Islamic states. Islam is not just another religion and Bat Yeor's detailed research and analysis makes the case for the reasons it should be regarded as a threat to the western world.
