Jan Roskam

Valuable for anyone involved in aviation, manufacturing or even the military

The stories and personal oral history presented in this volume along with the "lessons learned" are valuable for anyone involved in aviation, manufacturing or even the military. The fact that they are entertaining to read is a great bonus. "War Story 15- Some professors are smarter than the student thinks" will be shared with my son who is currently a college freshman.
The career of Dr. Roskam covered multiple show more transitional technologies and ranged from the wood and fabric to the Avanti on the cover. His background of working within both the European and American aerospace industries makes this volume important in the sense that he provides a great history of the post WWII in general while relating his stories about the companies, personalities and airframes he was involved with over the years. Although some of the "lessons" may seem obvious (And part of day to day procedures.) to anyone involved in aviation for any period of time, reading a first hand account from someone who was there only reinforces them.
In summary: A nice primer for a engineering or STEM student, a entertaining refresher for any aerospace veteran. show less

Excellent, but for a limited audience
This book was purchased to use in an environment not quite for it's intended audience. Although the book was intended for engineering students, we have had success adapting it to our aircraft maintenance apprenticeship program.
We've used the book now for two months with aircraft mechanic apprentices and it has served it's intended purpose well.

Highly recommended as an academic adjunct for any program that requires papers to be written on various aspects show more of aircraft design or maintenance and how it impacts safety, the passenger experience, piloting, or the mechanic. show less