Soaring With the
Schweizers - The Fifty-Year History of Their Aviation Adventures
Author: William Schweizer
Hard cover book, 244 pages (not including appendices), dozens of excellent
black and white photos
Dimensions:
6.125 x 9.25 inches (156 x 235 mm), Released in 1991
Inside Front Cover
Inside Back Cover - About
the Author
Three boys named Schweizer launched a
glider in New York State in 1930 – and with it a revolution in American
aviation. William “Bill” Schweizer tells the story of this remarkable
brotherhood and the company it built: The Schweizer Aircraft Corporation
(SAC), the only family owned aviation company to survive the past half
century intact. From the greatest American sailplanes - the
silent high riders of the wind - to crop dusters, helicopters, and
secret surveillance aircraft, the history of SAC is unique in scope,
ingenuity, and independence. In this sky-splitting book that spans
the age of Lindbergh to the era of the stealth Bill Schweizer takes
readers on a flight from the past to the blue beyond.
About the Author (as of 1991)
William "Bill" Schweizer was only 12 years old in 1930 when he and
his teenage brothers, Earnest and Paul A., built their first glider -
launched by elastic cords to carry Ernie airborne for a grand total of
40 feet. Trained as an industrial engineer, Bill took the lead in
developing the Schweizer Aircraft Corporation's manufacturing
organization and helped steer it through changes in products,
technologies, and markets far beyond gliders. A dedicated father
to a sports-minded family of four children, Bill Schweizer and his wife,
Peggy, have enjoyed soaring, skiing, traveling, tennis, golf, and
community service. Still an enthusiastic pilot, Bill Schweizer was
in 1985 elected to the United States Soaring Hall of Fame.
Update
You can see details on the current company here:
http://www.sacusa.com/
The company was acquired by Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation in 2004.
Reviews
- Jack Real - Former President of
Hughes Helicopters, Inc.
"In the Schweizer story we see the real essence of Yankee
ingenuity: the consistent application of high moral and ethical
values perfected in the crucible of the marketplace."
- W.T. Piper, Jr. - Former Chairman
and President of Piper Aircraft Corp.
"Most enjoyable reading about aviation history."
- Paul Remde - Cumulus Soaring,
Inc.
"As a mechanical with an MBA and former owner of a Schweizer 1-35c
sailplane I found this book to be very interesting. It is
amazing how well the Schweizer brothers did at finding work to keep
their company going so they could afford to make gliders. OK,
that is in understatement - they made thousands of gliders over many
decades that were used to train glider pilots around the world.
I found the book to be more interesting as a study of the business
than as a glider pilot's favorite book. I wish there were more
details on the subtleties of the gliders they built and the feats
achieved in them, but I really liked the book."
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$23.95 |
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