Early Development of the Aviation Industry

Malcolm Abbott is an Associate professor of Economics at the Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia. The main fields of work in which he has been engaged have been the development of utilities including airports, energy markets and the manner in which pricing and access to network infrastructure is regulated by government agencies. In addition, he has also worked in other areas of government policy including aviation, rail, dairy industry deregulation, stevedoring and education. Jill Bamforth is Academic Director for Work Integrated Learning at the Faculty of Business and Law at Swinburne University, Melbourne, Australia. She lectures and publishes in management and entrepreneurship.

• PART 1: THEMES AND METHODS 1 Introduction 2 Entrepreneurship, its origins and recent experience 3 Overview of the global aviation industry 1903 to 1945 PART 2: ENTREPRENEURIAL AVIATORS 4 The earliest days in the United States: the Wright brothers, Glenn H. Curtiss, Allan Lockheed and Glenn L. Martin. 5 The French connection: Louis Blériot Raymond Saulnier, the Farman Brothers and Marcel Dassault 6 The British pioneers: A.V. Roe, the Short brothers, Robert Blackburn and Frederick Handley 7 The captains of industry: George Holt Thomas and Thomas Sopwith 8 From domestic aviation to military: Geoffrey de Havilland and Nevil Shute 9 The engine makers: Henry Royce and Frederick B. Rentschler 10 A new era of transport: James Smith McDonnell, Donald Willis Douglas and William Boeing PART 3: SUMMARY 11 A global industry 12 Starters and runners: innovation and security industry 13 Conclusion

"This book presents a comprehensive overview of early British pioneers in the aviation industry and how they achieved many successes against challenging odds. This book is a recommended read for those interested in early British aviation. Perhaps there are lessons to be learned that can be applied to modern day aviation entrepreneurship." — John Wensveen, Ph.D., Vice Provost, Miami Dade College, USA.