Flying Boats: Air Travel in the Golden Age sets out to do justice to a time of glamorous, unhurried air travel, unrecognisable to most of today's air travellers, but sorely missed by some. During the 1930s, long-distance air travel was the preserve of the flying boat, which transported well-heeled passengers in ocean-liner style and comfort across the oceans. But then the Second World War came, and things changed. Suddenly, landplanes were more efficient, and in abundance: long concrete runways had been constructed during the war that could be used by a new generation of large transport aircraft; and endless developments in aircraft meant they could fly faster and for further distances. Commercial flying boat services resumed, but their days would be numbered.

CHARLES WOODLEY is a lifelong aviation enthusiast. He is the author of several books on historical aviation, including the successful Heathrow: The First 50 Years and BOAC: A History (both The History Press). A long-time member of Air-Britain, he founded the Grampian Airtouring Society and ran it for over ten years. He lives in Aberdeenshire.