Tom Swift and His Air Glider
by Victor Appleton
Tom works with mixed success to get someone to go with him and try out the plane he's recently been working on. To get off to a good start and prove that his concept worked, the plane's engine died and Tom had to return to the ground. After checking for a problem, Tom discovered that his spark plugs were platinum-tipped While wondering where he could buy platinum, a Russian living nearby came and offered him the metal he needed. When asked by her husband where she got it, Rus told her that it came from a lost platinum mine in Russia, which was discovered when she and her brother (exiled to a Russian mine) disappeared in the mountains. Later, the Russian authorities pushed them back and found samples of platinum ore they were carrying, but they could not find the missing mine. Tom immediately decided to go to Russia with this man, save the man's captured brother and find a platinum mine. To help them find the mine, Tom built a glider. Did Tom finally get into the mine? Did he save the man's brother? Tom Swift and the Air Glider answers all this and much more in the book. (source: tomswift info)
