This image is the cover for the book Venture into the Stratosphere

Venture into the Stratosphere

A fascinating, one-of-a-kind memoir that takes readers on a journey to the dawn of the jet age—and reveals how technology will shape the world to come.

Drawing on engineering breakthroughs achieved during World War II, aviation in the 1950s was an exciting and uplifting sequel to the most destructive conflict in history. It gave birth to the jet age and fostered remarkable social changes.

Venture into the Stratosphere is a memoir about the exhilaration and challenges of flying the first jetliners—the de Havilland Comets. Former Irish Air Corpsman and aviation engineer Dominic Colvert explains technical matters in layman’s terms, tells a fascinating love story, examines the post-war ethos, and reveals intimate details of the flight deck in both routine and emergency situations.

By opening a window onto cultural developments after the turn of the century, Colvert offers key insights into how new technologies shape behavior and values. Passenger jets have become a routine part of life for most people, but have you ever wondered—how did we get here? Read Venture into the Stratosphere to find out!

Dominic Colvert

After discharge from the Irish Air Corps, Dominic Colvert continued his career in aviation by becoming a flight engineer on the first jetliners, de Havilland Comets. The work as flight crew for BOAC (British Overseas Airway Corporation) was challenging as the airline developed new frontiers in aviation and new routes to exotic destinations worldwide. Returning to school, Dominic earned an MS in Engineering from University of California, Berkeley, before working in engineering and management at various Silicon Valley companies, and as adjunct faculty at Embry Riddle University. At the heart of these work and study situations was a common focus on technology and the human factors involved. With the changing work emphasis, he published articles in Industrial Engineer, Fidelity, and Wild West magazines. His most recent publication is a controversial topic, The Letters of Peter H. Burnett: Realism and The Roots of California. Dominic lives and writes in Palo Alto, CA, but was born and married in London, England. His military years were lived in Dublin, Ireland, and he remembers with nostalgia the years in San Francisco while attending UCB and his homestead in San Carlos, California.

Morgan James Publishing