Very occasionally I come across a book that is so enjoyable I feel compelled to share it. Such is the case with
Amazon has this to say:
This book is a truly remarkable account that captures the atmosphere, thrills and danger of the pioneering days of aviation.
Howard Pixton was flying for A V Roe at Brooklands in 1910 when S F Cody at Laffan's Plain tried to persuade him to join him. But in 1911 he test flew A V Roe's 'tractor biplane, the forerunner of the 504. By now acknowledged as the first professional test pilot, he left A V to join Bristols and for two years demonstrated new models to dignitaries across Europe.In 1913 he joined Tommy Sopwith and in 1914 he became the first Briton in a British plane to win an international race, the coveted Schneider Trophy. This gave Britain air supremacy and Howard was feted as the finest pilot in the World. Sopwith's Tabloid aircraft developed into the 'Pup', and then into the 'Camel'. Throughout The Great War Pixton test flew many of the rapid evolving designs. For a biography of an early aviation pioneer of the top rank, this book cannot be bettered.
I think even life-long students of early aviation will learn a lot from this book. One of the most fascinating things for me was the remarkable correlation between the book and that great (?) old movie "Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines." There really was Brooklands of course with it's banked race track but there also really was a sewage farm and Pixton ended up in it on several occasions. There was a young lady who turned up on a motorcycle waering a large white hat tied with a bow under her chin. Paxton flew the Bristol Boxkite and the Avro Triplane both of which feature in the movie. There were many newspaper sponsored races and there was even an aircraft with circular wings they nicknamed "The Doughnut". I could go on, but it is clear that Paxton or this book must have been the inspiration for the film.
Definitely my favorite read of 2025.