Second Hand The Airman
Experiences While Obtaining a Brevet in France
Author : Captain C. Mellor, R.E.
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Condition
Good copy. Blue cloth boards with black title lettering. Some wear and fading to spine and edges, with light spotting and marks to covers. Binding firm. Internally clean, with some occasional age-toning. Contains all 8 plates. A sound example of this scarce pre-WWI aviation title.
Details
General - Pages : 123 | Images : 8 illustrations, including photographs (frontispiece and plates). | Publisher : John Lane, The Bodley Head (also New York: John Lane | Place of Publication : London | Language : English
Hardback - Year of Publication : 1913 | Edition : First edition, 1913. | Size : 220mm x 150mm
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This captivating and rare-surviving memoir offers a vivid, firsthand account of one of the earliest British air-trainees seeking their licence (brevet) in France during the dawn of motor-powered flight. Captain Mellor describes his time in a French flying school, the exhilaration and dangers of early monoplane and biplane training, and the experience of the fledgling aviator navigating rudimentary machines, changing weather, language and mechanical uncertainty.
In his engaging narrative, Mellor explains the process of preparation, aircraft checks, solo circuits, “figures of eight”, glides, landings and eventual certification. He also records the cultural setting of being a British officer in France, the camaraderie among the flight candidates, the rivalry between manufacturers and designers, and the exhilaration of mastering the controls of early aircraft like the Farman and the Renault motor-monoplane.
Key features of the book include:
- Anecdotes of early flights: Mellor describes his “first flight in a monoplane”, landing mishaps, adjusting to throttle and rudder, and the emotional effect of leaving the earth behind. He gives an accessible, human account of early aircraft operations as opposed to dry technical treatises.
- Insight into French flying schools and the early pilot-licence system: the book gives a contemporary look at how brevs (aviation certificates) were awarded, the standards set by the Aéro-Club de France / Royal Aero Club, and the tension of the candidate awaiting a certificate.
- A window into pre-World-War I aviation culture: the narrative dates to 1913 and reveals the optimism, novelty and risk of early flight, as well as the mechanical, navigational and meteorological challenges for inexperienced pilots.
- Collector appeal: As a 1913 first edition memoir of early aviation training, the work is of high interest to aviation-history collectors, early-flight scholars, and enthusiasts of Edwardian aviation.
A rare and historically significant volume, ideal for collections of early aviation, British pilots, pre-WWI flight memoirs, and serious military-aviation collectors.
