cover image Wings and Warriors: My Life as a Naval Aviator

Wings and Warriors: My Life as a Naval Aviator

Donald D. Engen. Smithsonian Books, $29.95 (340pp) ISBN 978-1-56098-795-6

Aviation aficionados will recognize the author as the director of the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum. Less known is that Engen has also served as administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration and as deputy commander-in-chief of two key Navy posts--all of which goes to underscore his unique qualifications to recount his part in the golden age of jet aviation development. His anecdotes highlight the Navy's part in its evolution. As a carrier-based pilot on the USS Valley Forge in 1950, Engen and his fellow jet pilots struggled to fly their mission while under the control of officials who harbored dangerous misunderstandings about the new technology. Expensive jet engines were gummed up with toxic lead by-products when crews filled the tanks with standard aviation gasoline instead of jet fuel. Maintenance crews cleaned out the jet engines by tossing walnut shells into the air intakes, so that the crushed shells would scrub clean the turbine blades. Tales such as these--told within the context of both the Cold War and the meanderings of the Engen family--make for a thrilling account that any aviation fan should enjoy. Photos. (Oct.)