A major new book which will be the 'Definitive Study of British Civilian Light Aviation between the Wars'. The opening 8 chapters look at the evolution of the light aeroplane and consider the factors which made one machine more (or less) successful than the next. The 4 following chapters provide a detailed analysis of no fewer than 237 different aircraft, the history of some 111 names of light aircraft manufacturers (many of whom are forgotten today), a history of 49 engine makers with detailed specifications of their light aircraft engines, and lastly a list of 15 makers of propellers between the wars. An appendix provides details of the number of aircraft which were built to each design and reveals those machines which were a success in terms of manufacture and sales.
Written by a professional historian and aviation authority who has been involved in light aviation in Britain since the 1930s, this book traces not just the development of the aircraft industry and its many civil aircraft, but looks at the market for light aeroplanes from their uncertain beginnings after the end of the 1914-18 War through to the outbreak of the 1939-1945 War. The book is a celebration of the endeavours and the dreams of those who made light aviation possible. Not all were successful and this book charts the failures as well as the successes.

Contents include:
1: The Light Aeroplane: Purpose and Expectations.
2: The Birth of Civilian Flying and its Debt to The Great War.
3: A Design Challenge: Questing for the Practical Light Aeroplane.
4: Light Plane Safety & Simplicity - the Perpetual Chimera.
5: Publicity and the Asymmetry of Market Forces.
6: The Development of the Aeroplane Industry.
7: The Wayward Engine - Aviation's Weakest Link.
8: The Light Aeroplane fulfils its promise as an Era Comes to an End.
9: Chronology of British Light Aircraft Designs and Specifications -
1920-1940.
10: Between-Wars British Light Civil Aircraft in Detail.
11: British Light Aircraft Manufacturers.
12: British Light Aircraft Engines.
Appendix: British Light Aircraft Production Totals.
This very large and important book is fully illustrated with over 1000
photographs and more than 100 three-view drawings.