Although No Highway was first published in 1948, it can very easily be upgraded to modern times with a little imagination from the reader. It is set, not surprisingly, in a post war world which has benefited from rapidly accelerated technological innovations brought about during the frantic race to improve and overcome competition throughout the war years. Now in the age of trans Atlantic flight, aircraft are bigger faster and of course, safe. Or are they?
While the latest airliner of the day, the Rutland Reindeer is busy ferrying passengers across the skies between Britain and America, an unassuming but hugely intelligent and clever man is hunched over his calculations in the Structural Department of the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough. Mr Honey worked quietly, running his figures while watching and waiting for what he knows to be inevitable. The fatigue tests he is running are concentrating on the tail plane section of the Reindeer. When he comes up the figure of 1440 flying hours, nobody wants to really believe him, but can they afford to ignore it?
Honey has calculated that at that precise number of flying hours, the stress factors in the metal around the tail plane will become critical and molecular failure of the metal’s composition will take place. Metal fatigue was still a subject in its infancy at the time when this novel was written, but author Nevil Shute obviously had research what information he could at the time.
The physics side of the story is very good actually, and by the end, anyone will have picked up a few of the basic principles involved in metal mechanics. The human side of the tale is far more engrossing, especially the lovely relationship between Honey and his odd but endearing daughter Elspeth.
The reader will enjoy the story and will be left wondering just when the first of the Reindeer aircraft in the sky will reach the designated number of flying hours and will the tail plane shear off?