All of aviation's dangerous, exciting, and most courageous moments are featured within this compendium on flight. Packed with stories of heroic and innovative pioneers, profiles of remarkable planes from Spitfires to space shuttles, and how-to instructions for making everything from origami helicopters to bottle rockets -- all accompanied by sensational photographs, illustrations, and diagrams.

"This compendium of the history of flight for young readers includes fascinating facts and trivia, helpful diagrams, stories of aviation's pioneers, and fascinating profiles of remarkable planes, accompanied by stunning photographs and illustrations. First published in the United States of America in 2016 by Chronicle Books LLC."

Dreams of the birdmen: Icarus and his successors -- What goes up: How an airplane flies -- Airplane: The anatomy of an aircraft -- It's all hot air (part one): The story of ballooning -- If at first you don't succeed: Strange shapes in the sky (part one) -- Heavier than air: The Wright brothers' first powered flight -- The red Baron: An introduction to Manfred von Richthofen -- Aviation origami: How to make a paper helicopter -- On the wing: Barnstormers and flying circuses -- The spin doctors: Twelve aerobatic maneuvers -- Across the pond: Who was first to fly across the Atlantic? -- Who were you?: Insignia of yesterday's Air Forces -- Romeo and Juliett: An introduction to the phonetic alphabet -- War minus the shooting: A history of air racing -- Chicken or beef?: The story of airline food -- Dead heat: The Zeppelin race -- How big?: How the sizes of different aircraft compare -- The wind beneath my wings: The story of gliding -- Great planes: Douglas DC-3 -- Eye in the sky: The story of aerial reconnaissance -- Project canceled: Republic XF-12 Rainbow -- Animal, vegetable or mineral?: A few things aircraft have been named after -- Corsairville: The rise and fall of the flying boat -- From CDG to LAX via THR: Some of the better airport three-letter identifiers -- Great planes: Supermarine Spitfire -- "Never, in the field of human conflict ... ": The Second World War in the air -- Ducks and drakes and bouncing bombs: How skipping stones inspired the dam busters -- Never coming home: RAF losses since 1945 -- Project canceled: Vickers Valiant B2 Pathfinder -- And then there were four: The disappearance of Britain"s aircraft manufacturers -- Paper plane: The perfect paper dart -- A dirty distant war: Eleven significant air battles -- Great planes: North American P-51 Mustang -- Eject! eject! eject!: The unsung hero of the ejection seat -- Project canceled: Martin-Baker MB5 -- The Bermuda triangle: Fact or fiction? -- Aliens among us?: The peculiar story of the Roswell flying saucer -- The right stuff: Breaking the sound barrier -- F.A.B. Scott: A few island airbases -- Freight dogs: The story of air cargo -- Pigs in space: Flying animals -- Putting out fire: The world of aerial firefighting -- Project canceled: BAC TSR2 -- Great planes: English Electric Canberra -- How many?: A few notable production runs -- Great planes: Lockheed C-130 Hercules -- Flying in a milk bottle: The story of polar aviation -- Meatbox, buff and shagbat: 101 aircraft nicknames -- A lot less bovver with a hover: The hovercraft story -- Rocket man: The story of John Stapp -- Don't touch that button!: The aircraft cockpit -- In search of Dan Dare: British rocketplanes -- "Talk to me, goose": Some fictional pilots -- Who are you?: Insignia of today's Air Forces -- "The first time I ever saw a jet I shot it down": Fighter combat during the jet age -- It seemed like a good idea at the time: A different sort of nuclear bomber -- Project canceled: Martin P6M seamaster -- Great planes: Bell UH-1 Uroquois -- Whirlybirds: The brief history of helicopters -- Chopper: The anatomy of a helicopter -- Beating the air into submission: How a helicopter flies -- Those magnificent men in their flying machines: Fifteen flying films -- Great planes: McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II -- "Indian ocean. present day.": How aircraft carriers work -- Batsmen and paddles: The art of the landing deck officer -- Project canceled: Fairey Rotodyne -- All around the world: Which countries make their own aircraft? -- Project canceled: Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow -- Great planes: Boeing 707 -- I'm leaving on a jet plane: Air travel for everyone -- A hell of a pick-me-up: The story of the Fulton Skyhook -- The art of compromise: Four different wing shapes -- Project canceled: North American XB-70 Valkyrie -- It's all hot air (part two): Felix Baumgartner raises the bar -- Pukin dogs and Jolly Rogers: US navy fighter squadrons -- Flying without wings: The lifting body story -- Great planes: North American X-15 -- Fast, faster, fastest: Rise, fall and rise of the rocketplane -- You're a record breaker!: The world air-speed record -- Don't stop me now: Some songs about flying -- Great planes: Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird -- High as a kite: How high do things fly? -- Of our bombers is missing: The birth of the stealth fighter -- Who wanted Concorde?: How the world nearly turned supersonic -- Aurora: The secret spyplane. or not -- Project canceled: Northrop YF-23 -- Great planes: Hawker Siddeley Harrier -- The Caspian Sea monster: The rise and fall of the ekranoplan -- Tactically sound: The unrealized dream of the airborne aircraft carrier -- Turbo dog and critter: A few notable airline callsigns -- The runway code: How to park an airliner -- Great planes: Boeing 747 jumbo jet -- Come and have a go if you think you're hard enough: The world's biggest air forces -- The world's favorite airline: Who's the biggest? -- Anything, anywhere, anytime: A few airlines you may not have heard of -- "Get off my plane!": The story of Air Force One -- Great planes: Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde -- Wheels with wings: The dream of the flying car -- There once was an ugly duckling: Strange shapes in the sky (part two) -- The Reds: Formations of the red arrows -- Is it a bird, is it a plane?: A guide to superhero flight -- The Gimli glider: When an airliner runs out of gas -- The final frontier: How high do spacemen fly? -- Great planes: Rockwell international space shuttle orbiter -- Project canceled: Buran -- The brilliant bottle rocket: How to make a water rocket -- You'll believe a man can fly: How to levitate. Or look like you can. sort of -- Bird is the word: Some avian superlatives -- Word on a wing: A few books about flying -- The rise of the machines: A brief introduction to drones.