In 1945 confidence in British aviation was high, but it wasn't long before problems arose.

The Brabazon Committee's ideas for civil aviation proved flawed while enforced cancellations restricted the advancement of military aircraft. De Havilland's audacious attempts to gain commercial advantage over its American competitors resulted in the flawed Comet, while Defence Minister Duncan Sandys turned his back prematurely against aircraft in favour of missiles. British aviation's small domestic market restricted the development of British civilian airliners and so failed to secure vital international sales.

The country's indigenous helicopters and iconic Harrier jump jet were not fully exploited, while unrealistic performance requirements brought about the cancellation of TSR2.

By the 1960s the gulf between the ideal and the possible was becoming only too apparent. Peter Reese thoughtfully explores how repeated financial crises combined with a lack of rigour and fatal self-satisfaction led British aviation to miss vital opportunities across this turbulent period in Britain's skies.