The Miracle of Flight

This is a must read for anyone who has ever wondered what makes birds and insects fly so far, fast and with such ease. It also explains what we learned from them to make ourselves airborn. Anyone with any curiosity at all about any type of flight should definately read this book. Barbara J. Clevenger P.S. Thanks Mike!! Great Referral.

"The Miracle of Flight" is a curious mix of information. The author, Stephen Dalton, is a world famous nature photographer. His specialty seems to be insects, and he captures them in ways we cannot see with the human eye, by using electronic flash. The book looks at the way that insects, birds and men fly, with separate chapters devoted to aerodynamics, insects, birds and manned flight. It's clear that certain principles apply to all of these types of aerialists, like the use of lift to overcome gravity, and one can find a common thread throughout. However, the modes of flight between self-propelled animals and men are so different that they scarcely seem to belong between the same covers. This is made even more evident by Dalton's work, for despite being a scientist, he must be considered first and foremost a photographer. The pictures of insects and birds in flight are astonishing because he captures the animals doing things with their wings and bodies that we would never guess occurred. Combined with the excellent illustrations in the book, one can really develop a detailed understanding of how animals fly. The chapters on manned flight are a different thing altogether. Most of the text is devoted to a history of the failures of manned flight, particularly by those who tried to imitate insects and birds. The pictures of manned flight are way below the standards of the pictures of animal flight. In fact you can probably see pictures of the same quality by picking up an airline's magazine out of the pocket on the seat in front of you while you're on a flight. Still the chapters on insect and bird flight are quite good. I've read a few basic ornithology texts and never gotten as many details as this on the mechanics of bird flight. And I did learn how it is that an insect that was once said to be scientifically incapable of flight can actually get airborne. I think I would have been happier with this book if Dalton had provided more pictures of insect and bird flight and forgotten about manned flight.

Flight is a miracle; Stephen Dalton forcefully makes that case. The little boy believes him. The seasoned aviator believes him. The scholarly engineer believes him. I believe him, for I am all those people. As Chairman of a major undergraduate Aerospace Engineering department, as prior Chief Test Pilot for a developing fighter, as a boy at heart that still loves the simple joys of flight, I believe him. My students believe him, drawn by the stunning pictures, making this my second-most-handled book. As a Aeronautics educator, I've actually looked for such a book for some time. If students are to understand the complexity and wonder of an airplane, I need to draw their attention to 'simpler' things, things they already know (though they may not know that they know them). They've seen ducks land on ponds. Through Dalton's book my students (ranging from 8 to 23) connect how in an airplane we're merely mimicking what God has already done in the design of the duck. Dalton has done this powerfully in the most amazing nature photography I've ever seen. Spanning the smallest flying insects to the largest of flying machines, Dalton depicts the aeronautics that make flight work. Furthermore, without compromising splendidly accurate technical content, the photography still persuades you that flight is still miraculous.Miraculous is an interesting choice of words. Is there another conclusion we're to draw? The boy in me, the pilot in me, the educator in me are compelled to marvel at the God whose fingerprint is so strikingly upon such images of flight. On one hand we assert that only by intense study and careful design can man arrive at a robust flying machine. Is it then reasonable to insist that to improve upon our best efforts, to design instead a bird, for example, you must instead forsake intent and rely instead upon chance? My most-handled-book explains how it is fitting that the boy, the warrior, and the teacher should take note of nature and then worship the God responsible. "The heavens declare the glory of God, the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech..." Psalm 19Buy the book. Ask then if you should worship God.