Wild Blue Wonders: Exploring the Magic of Flight

When FLYING Magazine West Coast Editor Lane Wallace was approached by NASA to write a book about aviation for middle school kids, she thought it made terrific sense. After all, part of NASA's charter is to reach out to young people and this seemed a good way to reach out to an underserved demographic group.

"There are all sorts of textbooks for older people and picture books for little kids, but nothing out there that quite speaks to the 10-15 year old," Wallace said. "Those of us whose lives are made richer by aviation want to pass it on. We need to have some people take our place, and hopefully this book will help influence some young people to do that."

The book, "Wild Blue Wonders: Exploring the Magic of Flight," is the product of a unique collaboration between NASA, Wallace and EAA. It explores the dynamics of flight and aircraft design, prepares the reader to begin creating original designs, and provides information about pilots and different types of planes. The Forward is written by Chuck Yeager.