WALDO, Pioneer Aviator : A Personal History of American Aviation, 1910 - 1944

PREFACE

This is the true story of Waldo Waterman, pioneer aviator, aircraft manufacturer, engineer, barnstormer, inventor and test pilot. ( ... ) When Waldo first flew his hang glider in 1909, the euphoria of man's conquest of the air was but a year old. The Wrights did fly in 1903, but the world didn't comprehend it until 1908. It was Glenn Curtiss who first captivated America when he flew before awed spectators on the Fourth of July, 1908 ;...

( ... ) Waldo went on to become an aviation legend. In his eighty - two years he participated in virtually everything in that fabulous era that brought us, from aeroplanes of bamboo, wire and muslin, to the Space Age. He was no casual spectator, but was constantly working at " improving the breed ". He was a pilot's pilot, and a strong voice for air safety.

( ... ) Waldo's life is a story for all who have flown - from the aviation buff to the passenger sitting in quietude and comfort, possibly in awe of it all, racing through the skies at nearly the speed of sound - the same skies that Leonardo da Vinci once dreamed about. We'll watch as Waldo and the other pioneers push back the horizon and broaden the scope of the daring - opening the heavens to a world unknown when he first flew only seventy - eight years ago*.

GJC

* Today 111 years ago.