The A7 corsair II is one of the most successful light attack military aircraft ever made. It was manufactured by LTV Vought. The A-7 is 46' long 16' high and has a wingspan of 38' 9" It has an empty weight of 19,500 lbs. and a max weight of 42,000 lbs. the A7 has one Allison TF-41 turbojet engine, with no afterburner, producing 15,000 lbs. of thrust. The corsair has a top speed of 602 kts. and a max range of 2280 nm.

This is one book that lives up to the seemingly hyperbolic claims of its subtitle. Blatner, the author of books on mathematics, digital imaging, and virtual reality, is also a pilot who has logged hundreds of hours in the air. Concentrating on commercial aviation, he offers a compendium of fascinating facts. Chapters zero in on specific aspects of flight: what keeps planes in the air, for example, or how a jet engine functions, or the workings of air-traffic control, or airplane maintenance, or the often-bewildering universe of ticket prices. In addition to technological facts, he also covers the human side of air travel: fear of flying and how to control it, what the pilots are up to in the cockpit, even the horrors of airline food. There are little boxed nuggets on nearly every page: we learn that our bodies briefly become heavier at takeoff and that the blast from a jet engine can flip a car into the air and send it flying over three other vehicles. A wonderful treat for aviation aficionados.