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"Stick and Rudder" by Wolfgang Langewiesche

book review by Riley Burnham 5/5/2023

well this was good

lots to know/learn about flying, & this book [originally published in 1944] covers most of the pitfalls once airborne; offering a practical & functional conceptual base for correct procedures, which of course can save lives

i thought it was particular that he emphasizes that the key elements of flight are buoyancy & angle of attack, which makes sense when considering air similar to water in how it is a real medium w/ real properties

he explains how many new aviators will commonly pull back on the stick, increasing their angle of attack too much; causing a stall -- thinking it's the height-adjustment

​​​​​​​he describes how the Wright Brothers hardly invented the airplane itself, although iterated big time w/ the aileron, which allows steering & turning by, at first, adjusting the wings -- then later just flaps on the wings [huge breakthrough]

he elaborates that the rudder causes more accidents than need be, & modern planes do away w/ it for the most part, which is good -- similar w/ stick angle limiters [he details how to correct from stalls & nosedives using better techniques]

really, this makes me want to learn & fly a plane

OH, i thought it mentionable that he describes the horizon as always rising to eye level [flat-Earth!!!] &, along w/ buoyancy as the primary lift agent [saying wings are pressing down on air; thus flight], this confirms yet another element of FE cosmology [which says gravity is a farce more or less -- it's all about buoyancy & density within a medium]

people who are/were trained on globe-Earth models & led to believe in gravity & other wrong notions are more prone to conceptual accidents -- makes sense(!!)

good stuff