Books by "Michael H. Gorn"
3 books found
Includes maps of the U.S. Congressional districts.
This is the first publication to describe the evolution of fluid dynamics as a major field in modern science and engineering. It contains a description of the interaction between applied research and application, taking as its example the history of fluid mechanics in the 20th century. The focus lies on the work of Ludwig Prandtl, founder of the aerodynamic research center (AVA) in Göttingen, whose ideas and publications have influenced modern aerodynamics and fluid mechanics in many fields. While suitable for others, this book is intended for natural scientists and engineers as well as historians of science and technology.
Winner of the Gardner-Lasser Aerospace History Literature Award Flying Camelot brings us back to the post-Vietnam era, when the US Air Force launched two new, state-of-the art fighter aircraft: the F-15 Eagle and the F-16 Fighting Falcon. It was an era when debates about aircraft superiority went public—and these were not uncontested discussions. Michael W. Hankins delves deep into the fighter pilot culture that gave rise to both designs, showing how a small but vocal group of pilots, engineers, and analysts in the Department of Defense weaponized their own culture to affect technological development and larger political change. The design and advancement of the F-15 and F-16 reflected this group's nostalgic desire to recapture the best of World War I air combat. Known as the "Fighter Mafia," and later growing into the media savvy political powerhouse "Reform Movement," it believed that American weapons systems were too complicated and expensive, and thus vulnerable. The group's leader was Colonel John Boyd, a contentious former fighter pilot heralded as a messianic figure by many in its ranks. He and his group advocated for a shift in focus from the multi-role interceptors the Air Force had designed in the early Cold War towards specialized air-to-air combat dogfighters. Their influence stretched beyond design and into larger politicized debates about US national security, debates that still resonate today. A biography of fighter pilot culture and the nostalgia that drove decision-making, Flying Camelot deftly engages both popular culture and archives to animate the movement that shook the foundations of the Pentagon and Congress.