Ian M BurnsIan Michael Burns was born in 1950 in Cheadle Hulme, Cheshire, UK. Growing up under the flight path of the Avro factory at Woodford, his early exposure to aircraft - particularly the thunderous take-offs of newly built Vulcans - sparked a lifelong pasion for aviation that would shape both his professional career and scholarly pursuits.Following his education at public and grammar schools, Burns completed an engineering apprenticeship at A V Roe in Woodford. His subsequent career in aerospace spanned over four decades, beginning with Avro (later Hawker Siddeley Aviation/British Aerospace) where he specialised in structural test engineering until 1981. He then relocated to Toronto to join DeHavilland Canada in a similar capacity, later transitioning to the design of structural repairs for in-service aircraft. Burns retired in 2012, allowing him to devote himself fully to research and writing.Burns' historical interests have coalesced around early British naval aviation, with particular emphasis on the First World War period. This specialisation has resulted in two significant books: a 2008 history of the WW1 seaplane carrier HMS 'Ben-my-Chree' and a 2014 examination of Royal Naval Air Service operations over the North Sea. His expertise is further evidenced by numerous contributions to respected aviation publications, including Aeroplane Monthly, and the journals of Cross and Cockade International, the Australian Society of WW1 Aero Historians, League of WW1 Aviation Historians, Society of Friends of the Fleet Air Arm Museum and Salonika Campaign Society. Burns maintains that he finds the beginning of any enterprise to be more interesting than the continuing of it, which explains his fascination with aviation's pioneering era.2025 will see the publication of his latest work, 'Floatplanes Over The Desert'', chronicling how the French Aéronautique maritime and British Royal Naval Air Service operated floatplanes far behind enemy lines. The narrative covers operations along the Palestinian coast, the Red Sea, and the Gulf of Akaba, ranging from the Maldives to Gallipoli and Salonika. Drawing on extensive research and rare photographs, this work promises to shed new light on these seaborne squadrons' vital yet little-known role in the First World War. Read More Read Less