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The Wind Beneath my Wings

John Hutchinson – Concorde Pilot

BOOKS NOW IN STOCK

The second edition of Susan Ottaway's proclaimed biography of John Hutchinson is now in stock and is available from this website at a special online price of £24.95 plus p&p.

Also available from all reputable book shops.

There were fewer Concorde pilots than US astronauts and only a handful ever had public prominence. This is the story of one of those better known pilots, John Hutchinson. From his birth in India, in the final decade of British rule, to the present day, it is the tale of an exciting and, on occasion, precarious life, with dangerous and near death experiences.

A highly respected and much loved man, John Hutchinson never considered being anything but a pilot and, during his long career has flown over 70 aircraft types, the ultimate being the world’s only supersonic airliner. He has been described by more than one of his colleagues as being ‘a great airman’.

Hardcover: 320 pages, ISBN: 978-0-9562176-3-9, Size: 234x156 cm, Integrated illustrations 50 colour 48 b&w, price £29.95

Recommended by Heritage Concorde

P&P is added automatically to the drop down prices below so please be sure to choose your postal location carefully. We reserve the right to charge a £5 admin fee for later corrections to cover our costs. Thank you

About Speedman Press

Speedman Press is a new book publisher, focusing on aviation, modern history and related topics.

It was formed in 2008 to take over the distribution rights to Fly With The Stars which had originally been published by Sutton Publishing.

Speedman Press now has the sole distribution rights to Fly With the Stars, and this is available through normal sales outlets such as Waterstones, Blackwells, W.H. Smith and Amazon as well as from specialist aviation bookshops and direct sales via this web site.

As a result of the success of Fly With the Stars, Susan Ottaway has now revised her renowned biography of Guy Gibson (originally published by Pen & Sword as Dambuster – A life of Guy Gibson VC and this is now available from Speedman Press entitled Guy Gibson VC – The Glorious Dambuster. We hope that you will find this to be an enjoyable and informative read.

With the whole publishing process now under control, Speedman Press plans a modest release of new books each year and details of these will be made available via this website, so please keep visiting for an update.

We hope that you will enjoy our style and ethos as new publishers, offering a small number of well-written, well-edited, well-designed books, that are interesting, thoroughly researched and of educational value. We welcome authors who have stories to tell and who can work with us to bring these to the public domain as Speedman Press titles.

Fly With the Stars

Fly With the Stars is the first complete history of Britain's third state owned airline, British South American Airways (BSAA), which was formed, along with BOAC and BEA, after the Second World War. It was a BSAA aircraft which made the very first flight out of the newly built Heathrow airport on 1 January 1946 when its Lancastrian, Star Light, took off for Buenos Aires under the command of the company's Chief Executive, former Pathfinder AVM Donald Bennett.

The book reveals the struggles that the airline's directors had, to establish their company as the British airline to South America, in the face of strong opposition and dirty tricks from BOAC.

Packed with facts and figures, archive photos, maps, charts, details of accidents, political intrigue and mystery, as well as firsthand accounts from the many ex-BSAA staff the authors interviewed, Fly With the Stars is a must for all those interested in both aviation and the political and social climate of post-war Britain.

Fly With the Stars was Aeroplane magazine's Book of the Month, May 2008 –

'With such an interesting content – and so much of it – the book is hard to put down. …a book which you really should read.'

It was also the featured title in Aircraft Illustrated, February 2008 where it was described as being –

'As good an airline history as has been offered in print for many a year.'

Fly with the Stars provides a unique insight into the difficulties of aircraft operations following World War Two; the arduous transition from wartime 'ops' to civil flight schedules. The book benefits from extensive in depth research and brings its tale to the reader in a surprisingly entertaining format. There are some superb and very rare illustrations, significant anecdotal recollections from those who were there and have, to use the modern vernacular, 'worn the t-shirt' with justified pride. The incendiary relationship between the authorities and the charismatic if abrasive chief executive, former war time hero, Air Vice Marshal D.C.T. Bennett is covered with great finesse and tact. The appendices are a valuable addition to the overall impressive content of the book. Well worth the space on your shelf. The publisher and authors should be congratulated for bringing this fine book to our attention. David S. Truman

Hardcover: 256 pages, ISBN: 978-0750944489, Size: 234x156 cm, Illustrations: 42 b&w

We apologise for any disappointment but the 1st edition of Fly With the Stars is now OUT OF STOCK. We would like to thank everyone who has bought a copy of this well acclaimed history of BSAA and hope that you found it enjoyable and informative. We do intend producing a 2nd edition of this book which will have additional information and photographs and we would expect this to be available in late spring 2012. If you can't wait that long for you copy, try your local or favourite online bookshop as there are still some 1st editions out there. If you would like to be kept informed of the availability of the new edition please send us an email by clicking here.

RAF Benson - a diary of wartime losses

In 2009, some of the work of the Photographic Reconnaissance Unit during the Second World War was shown to the nation for the first time when 4,000 photos were released by the National Collection of Aerial Photography. Many thousands more images are to come in the future. The release generated huge interest but very little has been written about the men who flew over enemy territory taking these photographs although they were undoubtedly fine pilots and navigators. In common with all Royal Air Force crews they risked their lives over enemy territory but, unlike the others, they had no means of defending themselves against the enemy: all armament had been stripped from their aircraft to make room for their cameras. The superior speed of their Spitfires and Mosquitos was the only defence they had against enemy attack. Many lost their lives carrying out this vital but dangerous work.

This book covers the flights from RAF Benson, home of the Photographic Reconnaissance Unit, and its satellite stations, that ended in capture or death for the crews and gives a brief picture of life in the squadrons undertaking this work.

Fully illustrated and containing several interesting appendices that complement the diary itself, the book is the result of meticulous research by author Reg Ottaway and is a tribute to those who died in pursuit of the excellence for which the Photographic Reconnaissance Unit was renowned.

Hardcover: 215 pages, ISBN: 978-0956217615, Size: 234 x 156 cm, Illustrations: 80 b&w, cover by: Ian Ottaway