Book Reviews FROM ENGINEER TO MANAGER Rolls-Royce Mastering the Transition – Second edition By B M Aucoin

Artech House, 16 Sussex Street, SW1V 4RW, UK. 2018. xxvii; 384pp. Illustrated. £89. [20% discount available to RAeS members via www. artechhouse.com using RAE2020 promotion code]. ISBN 978-1-63081-543-1.

Senior engineers have traditionally coached and mentored young engineers in the wider perspective that will enable them to develop their professionalism. This book, written in an easy, mentoring style of advice and encouragement, should be of great value to engineering professionals to better understand that wider picture in order to make better decisions in their Rolls-Royce own engineering role and help develop their management potential. The book provides a comprehensive overview of the challenges facing engineers as they progress to leadership and management roles. Six fundamental principles are defined as ● Mastering Relationships – Business is about people, so there is a need to manage up, down and sideways ● Seeing the Big Picture – Redirect focus from narrow technical area to the financial health of the business ● Getting Things Done – Effective Project and Risk Management ● Communicating Effectively – Facilitating good communication with a simple and clear message ● Using Assets Wisely – Adding value and generating income ● Taking it to the Next Level the key determinant of success in engineering – Innovation and Excellence while using basic management” and “Meetings are almost universally management principles disliked, so offer a ready opportunity for both The author rightly asserts that the highest leadership and dramatic improvement.” priority of an engineering manager is the successful Some of the material is superficial, although management of relationships. that perhaps is only to be expected in an overview, Each chapter has three ‘takeaways’ that and the references and bibliography should help summarise its key elements to provide a valuable where further detail is wanted. The book does not focus for the topic. Chapters end with a list of The author always reflect up-to-date thinking. For example, risk references and selected bibliography covering rightly asserts is defined simply as a detrimental threat, whereas traditional sources and new ones. A comprehensive that the highest for some time now effective risk management contents list and index make it easy for quick considers risk as both threats and opportunities (eg reference. priority of an International Organization for Standardization ISO The author uses examples from his experience engineering 31000:2018 Risk Management). to illustrate points with assertions not always manager is In summary, a valuable resource for engineers to backed up by references, which might not suit a the successful help develop their professionalism. rigorous academic analysis. However, many of the assertions are worthy of consideration, such as management of Lee Balthazor “Effective and proactive communication is perhaps relationships CEng FRAeS

44 AEROSPACE ALL THE FACTORS OF VICTORY Naval History and Heritage Command Adm Joseph Mason Reeves His undoubted influence on carrier airpower was dominated by his engineering mentality and and the Origins of Carrier experience of the chaos of 19th century battleship Airpower engagement. His subsequent approach was based upon the realism of warfare, including the decisive By T Wildenberg combination of surprise; overwhelming weight of Naval Institute Press, 291 Wood Road, Annapolis, effort; effective equipment; leadership; delegated MD 21402, USA. 2018. xii; 317pp. Illustrated. authority; and professional skills. His internal USN $29.95. ISBN 978-168247-299-6. battles included command and control of embarked aircraft and the balance between shore-based All the Factors of Victory and the Origins of Carrier tactical training and ship-based flying skills. Airpower is a thought-provoking biography on the He led the concept of embarking the maximum influential career of a US Naval Officer and the number of aircraft that ship size physically permitted, parallel formation of carrier airpower. deploying Air Group sizes of 70 aircraft in the 1920s Born in 1872, Reeves outlook was formed that continued to the modern USN. He also nurtured listening to family members that had fought in the naval aviator careers within a battleship-orientated cavalry in the American Civil War. Post Annapolis, Navy, plus encountering the first cultural differences his first notable Naval appointment was in 1898 between flyers and ship drivers that exist to this day. as an engineer on the battleship Oregon, including As an ex- pilot 70+ years after engagement and victory over three Spanish cruisers Adm Reeves, the enduring themes that he breaking out of a blockade in Santiago de Cuba. encountered and overcame to generate a war His subsequent career included: the first officer winning capability are obvious and familiar. An responsible for USN Gunnery standards, two excellent book describing a change of cultural and battleship commands and the first Flag Rank officer military history, through a determined, innovative and wearing a flying badge. His naval career ended in ground-breaking USN Officer. 1936 as Commander of the US Fleet. Tony Rae

AIR TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT NATS Economics, Regulation and book also introduces operational practices, across numerous examples, including the management and Governance organisation of the airspace, which is accessible to By M Arblaster the non-technical reader. Part One discusses the technical characteristics of ATM, its governance, and associated safety Elsevier, The Boulevard, Langford Lane, Kidlington, regulation. Part Two moves to the economics of Oxford OX5 1GB, UK. 2018. xx; 265pp. Illustrated. air traffic management and associated regulatory £98.95. ISBN 978-0-12-811118-5. mechanisms and principles. Part Three looks forward to the possibilities open for increasing This comprehensive book covers a good deal of competition (having earlier tackled trends in the challenging ground well in the fast-moving domain commercialisation, corporatisation and privatisation of air traffic management (ATM) in which relatively of service provision), unbundling, and some of the little has been published at this high level, yet evolving characteristics of the industry (such as the with detailed insights into, and comparisons of, fast-evolving topic of drone integration). the particularities of international practice. Having Key areas of appeal are likely to be the wider written myself on the subject, I am all too aware of international perspective, with frequent references the challenges associated with collating fragmented to , and (for information across multiple sources and the work example), whereas many other comparative texts involved in marshalling diverse concepts and data focus on the US and Europe. The book also makes into a cohesive structure. frequent use of well-designed boxes and tables, The book discusses ATM from an international which are useful for quick reference. Several themes perspective, addressing mainly the economic and Andrew Cook – which are in fact addressed frequently through the regulatory contexts and governance of the industry. Professor of Air Traffic text – are not apparent from the index. Complex issues and trade-offs associated with the Management The references are extensive and this book will ownership and financing of the air navigation service University of Westminster, doubtless appeal to a wide readership – I will be providers is discussed in an informed manner. The London recommending it to our students.

MARCH 2020 45 Book Reviews BRITISH SECRET PROJECTS 3

Fighters 1935-1950 Clockwise from top left: battlefield both on land and sea. The book shows An early the steady improvements made over these years, X, TF898, during sea trials By T Buttler aboard HMS Victorious. obviously spurred on by the pressures of war, until RAeS (NAL). the sudden jump in performance made possible with Crécy Publishing, 1a Ringway Trading Estate, Hornet F1, the jet engine. Shawdowmoss Road, Manchester M22 5LH, PX217. RAeS (NAL). The volume highlights the essential role the UK. 2018. 224pp. Illustrated. £27.50. ISBN I, WF144, Government played in the story of British military was an early production aviation during these years. The unfolding of 978-1-91080-917-4. aircraft used in trials. RAeS (NAL). every project is accompanied by its This is the second edition of the book first published S4, specification number and details. A feature that in 2004. Whereas the original version included VW884. Museum. also comes out of the book is that from all the both fighters and , this publication covers varied projects, most of which, from the presented fighters only. Much new material, the author claims, data certainly appear worthy of further promotion, has been uncovered and included in this latest the majority came to nothing. The old stalwarts the volume. As one progresses through the pages Hurricane and Spitfire dominated the early war this assertion becomes apparent by the profusion years and with their development, albeit with the of graphics, construction and performance data. Hurricane taking on new roles, roles for which it was This includes photos, line drawings, models and not originally planned, continued in front line service sketches. Throughout the 11 chapters and three up to 1945. In the case of the Spitfire, it is a tribute appendices, I counted only two pages devoid of to the soundness of its basic design that this fighter, some form of graphic or technical table. after a series of updates remained unchallenged in The years 1935 to 1950 covered by this volume the interceptor role throughout the war. must represent a period that saw the most profound While on the subject of this iconic machine, it changes in aircraft design and performance – from was interesting to see from the book the number biplane to the jet. These 15 years also saw the of projects that incorporated the elliptical . The aeroplane in its various roles come to dominate the profile would appear a popular choice with many

46 AEROSPACE designers at that time. Gloster, Miles, Blackburn, Westland, Fairey and Vickers companies all proposed designs based on this wing planform. It is also interesting to note that very few fighters that adopted the , apart from the Spitfire, went on to see successful frontline service – the , the American Thunderbolt and Italian Reggiane Falcon being notable exceptions. Reading through the pages one is reminded of what must have been a continual tussle for the Air Ministry and Air Marshals on the choice between pursuing a new aircraft type and sticking with the well-proven fighters already in squadron service. With Britain’s limited resources in design and development capacity, the latter option was invariably the winner. Very few new British fighter types entered squadron service after the Spitfire and Hurricane. The Typhoon and its variants and the Mosquito were the exception. The RAF still relied heavily on the development of the Above: Three Blackburn B-25 Rocs in November 1939. duo, due mainly to engine and armament upgrades, The Roc was designed to to continue the fight against the enemy. specification O.30/35 for a Chapters 3 and 4 discuss, in some detail, prewar carrier-based turret-armed and wartime twin-engine fighters respectively – the fighter but saw very limited service. RAeS (NAL). most successful of these being the de Havilland Right: Mosquito and its variant the Hornet. Chapter 5 is F1. Although the Vampire flew concerned with turret gun and night fighters. A for the first time in 1943, it did number of companies presented their designs for not see war service but over a movable gun fighter but, apart from the Boulton 3,000 aircraft were built in 15 Paul Defiant, none were produced. The sorry versions. Royal Air Force Museum. episode of the turret gun fighter and its deficiencies are brought to light in this chapter. The concept of the rotatable gun was thought, in pre-war years, to be the answer to an attack by massed formations. Alas, when these bombers arrived with fighter protection the situation was reversed and the turret fighter became the ‘sitting duck’. When faced with a fixed gun adversary the type proved unfit for high-speed combat. The book continues in Chapters 6 and 7 on the subjects of naval and Chapter 8 titled ‘Advances in Technology’ discusses the improvements in materials, armament, Miles and Westland all put forth proposals for jet efficiency and engine power. powered fighters. None were pursued. Chapter 9 titled ‘Stand Alone Projects’ deals The book is nicely presented and I particularly with the more unusual types that are difficult to liked the layout of the text with the accompanying pigeon-hole and fall outside the other groupings. graphics and data. The idea of making models of An example of this is the Blackburn B.44 flying some of the proposals that never came to fruition boat fighter with elliptical and a retractable is a nice touch – putting a little life into the designs float. The proposal never got to the build stage The de that might have been. The book follows on from the but a model of the machine is included. The final Havilland, authors’ previous publications – the investigation and two chapters end with a discussion of the early Hawker and bringing to light some of the more obscure projects jet fighters. As the author states, although Gloster Supermarine that emerged from the British wartime aircraft industry, were responsible for building the prototype E28/39 an area in which he obviously takes a keen interest. and the follow-up twin engine Meteor plus a companies The author is to be congratulated on this latest number of other jet variants, it was not the only soon built their work. The book will appeal to the military aviation British company to investigate these revolutionary versions of the enthusiast but particularly those whose interests lie aircraft. The de Havilland, Hawker and Supermarine jet fighter but all in British WW2 fighter developments. companies soon built their versions of the jet fighter but all came too late for war service. These are came too late H J Murray relatively well-known machines but Saunders-Roe, for war service Affiliate

MARCH 2020 47