About this ebook
Achieving Flight, by John G. Burdick and Bernard J. Burdick, provides an historic and scientific assessment of the role of John J. Montgomery (1858-1911), one of Californias own, in the early years of flight in America. It tells the story of Montgomery, an eminent scientist whose achievements in aeronautics and electricity have largely been forgotten. This biography narrates how, during his days as a student at St. Ignatius College, he was fortunate to be instructed by some of the most renowned Jesuit scientists ousted from Europe, earning a masters of science degree in 1880. The Burdicks also provide a critical analysis of Montgomerys prescient understanding of aeronautics relative to other practitioners and researchers prior to, during, and after his time.
Noting Montgomerys importance in aeronautical history, Achieving Flight reviews his significant accomplishments in having his pilots fly successfully in high air (up to 4,000 feet, being lofted there by a hot-air balloon), but also evaluates the scientific correctness of his ideas, which were decades ahead of the times.
About the author
John G. Burdick earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Santa Clara University. He’s a retired US Army counterintelligence officer who served in Vietnam and a high school teacher at Watsonville, California. He lives in Pacific Grove, California.
Bernard J. Burdick earned a PhD in high energy physics from Case Western Reserve University and worked as a research scientist for MIT Lincoln Laboratory, Nichols Research Corp., and Torch Concepts. Retired, he lives in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
Visit them online at
www.AchievingFlight.com.
John G. Burdick earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Santa Clara University. He’s a retired US Army counterintelligence officer who served in Vietnam and a high school teacher at Watsonville, California. He lives in Pacific Grove, California.
Bernard J. Burdick earned a PhD in high energy physics from Case Western Reserve University and worked as a research scientist for MIT Lincoln Laboratory, Nichols Research Corp., and Torch Concepts. Retired, he lives in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
Visit them online at
www.AchievingFlight.com.
