8.9 What additional books would forum members recommend?
From FlightSim
Q:
WHAT ADDITIONAL BOOKS WOULD FORUM MEMBERS RECOMMEND FOR INFORMATION ON FLYING AND AIRCRAFT?
A:
I picked up a book this weekend called Civil Airliner Recognition Fifth Edition. From this point on I no longer have to call every jet I see a 747. The book is great, shows a picture and gives all the specs, seating, how many sold, how many on order, engines, sizes, lengths, widths, etc etc. I like that 777. Nels liked the book so much I think he wanted to walk out of here with it on Monday. Along with my "Instrument Flight Techniques" book.
Civil Airliner Recognition is by Peter R. March. Published in England by Ian Allan ABC. Cost 8.99 pounds or $12.95 U.S. [or $10.36 at Amazon.com] With the exchange rate where it is, it still comes out less expensive in the U.S. :) Mine is the Fifth Edition and it contains 128 pages. On the inside cover it says the Third Edition was published in 91 and the Fifth in 97 so there is a bit of a difference between the two as you said. From the index of aircraft covered I counted 199 aircraft and their variants. Could not find much else that told what the new edition had that the old ones did not. Peter does mention that he is covering some of the older aircraft not in service much any more in a brief section. I'm not sure but you may want to hold on to the older copies of the book in case the newer versions are reducing the information on the older aircraft to make room for the new.
Dan Linton
Another book I have which is truly excellent is called Modern Commercial
Aircraft and the publisher is Portland House. This is the type of book which
any aviation enthusiast would buy upon setting their eyes on it so check it
out! It has a detailed story of what a 747 pilot goes through during a routine
flight from pre-takeoff to post-landing. Then there's a section on aircraft
design regarding airframe, engines, cockpit layout, etc... Then my favorite
part is where almost ever aircraft model has it's own dedicated two pages with
all info you want to know and what airlines use it. The best part is the
cutaway/blueprint style (with reference numbers) drawing with everything from
the Forward toilet to the Rudder triplex hydraulic jacks! Not only are the big
jets covered this extensively but smaller props too like the DeHavilland Canada
Twin Otter and the Piper PA-31 series. At the back is a plane picture of every
major airline including Zambia Airways with airline history, fleet and other
cool stuff. The only problem is that this book was published in 1987 and since
then, some airlines have gone through new paint schemes. Some airlines don't
even exist anymore and their fleet data is definitely out of date. Now don't
think this book is old, there is still very useful information and the book is
flooded with nice crisp pictures of all kinds and is put together beautifully, I
can't get enough of the 208 info/picture filled pages! $10 says you cant
resist buying it if you see it :-)
Barna
