author
Major Oliver Stewart
1895–1976
A fighter ace turned aviation writer, he brought first-hand experience and sharp curiosity to everything he wrote about flying. His career stretched from the early days of the Royal Flying Corps to decades of journalism and books on air power, aerobatics, and the future of flight.
1 Audiobook
Aeolus; or, the future of the flying machine
by Major Oliver Stewart
About the author
Born in London on November 26, 1896, Oliver Stewart was educated at Copthorne School, Bradfield College, and the Royal College of Music. He served in the Middlesex Regiment before transferring to the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War, where he became a flying ace with five confirmed victories. In 1918 he was promoted to major, later receiving both the Military Cross and the Air Force Cross.
After leaving military service in 1921, he built a long second career as an aviation journalist and author. He edited Aeronautics from 1939 to 1962, and later spoke and wrote widely about the changing world of aviation journalism. His books included Aerobatics: A Simple Explanation of Aerial Evolutions, Of Flight and Flyers, Aeolus; or, the Future of the Flying Machine, and the autobiography Words and Music of a Mechanical Man.
What makes Stewart especially interesting as an author is the mix of practical experience and reflective writing he brought to the page. He had seen air combat, testing, and the rapid growth of modern aviation at close range, and his work helped explain that world to general readers as well as aviation enthusiasts.