Customer Reviews

Airliners in Flight: A Gallery of Air-To-Air Photography

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is very well written!. It keeps the eyes of the commercial avation enthusiast, riveted to it pages from cover to cover. It has excellent air to air photography. Every immaginable angle of the airplane, from cockpits, to production lines and take off and landing cycles, is included in this book. The production line segments are based mainly on the McDonell douglas aircraft, makes for a minor disappointment for what is on the production lines of other manufacturers. I would like to have seen production of some Boeing airplanes, but none the less, I think Nicholas Veronico and George Hall have done an excellent job in producing this publication. It's a must have for every commercial aviation enthusiast.

Airliners In Flight, reviewed in Airliners Magazine, Issue No. 50 (Mar./Apr. 1998): In the final chapter of Airliners In Flight, co-author George Hall is asked if he has a favorite shot. He does, and it is incredible. The reader, however, may find it extremely difficult to choose a favorite from the many extraordinary color photographs in this new book. Former Airliners Magazine editor Nicholas A. Veronico and George Hall, photographer to the airline industry, have pooled their talents to produce a lavishly illustrated chronicle of the modern airliner that begins in the factory and ends in the boneyard. The chapter on the making of an airliner poignantly begins in the Long Beach facility of the Douglas Aircraft Company. It features the MD-90, the last new aircraft type produced by the famous plane-maker before its recent acquisition by Boeing. The story line of the conception, building and testing of the MD-90 is accompanied by photographs that range from those taken on the shop floor to air-to-air shots of the graceful airliner in flight. The second chapter, entitled, A Day in the Life of a Jetliner, moves interestingly from flight planning to takeoff, through the flight and landing of a typical, modern passenger airliner. The penultimate chapter fast-forwards to the end of the life of an airliner, consigned to the boneyards of the arid Arizona desert. The story of the function of the boneyards is well-told, and dramatically illustrated with tail-less Boeing 707s, jumbo jets in the colors of fallen airlines, even an aged DC-3. The photography throughout this book is extremely well done, particularly the many air-to-air shots of a variety of aircraft types. The final chapter lets the reader into the secrets of How the Pro¹s Do It, describing how the authors contrived and planned to be in the right place, with the right equipment, at the right time. Two thumbs up for an airliner book with a new twist. -- Reviewed by Ed Davies. Note: Quotes and italics from original review do not appear in this copy.

The idea is great, but the title is wrong. This book takes readers from the construction of a jetliner, through day-to-day operations, to the end of its life in the boneyard, and then shows how Hall gets such great photos. Knowing this concept makes the book worth 5 Stars!

The photography contained in the book is outstanding. However, the book spends one-fourth of its time talking about a specific MD model. Another long section speaks of the 'art' of aviation photography as practiced by the author. In short, buy it for the pictures, which ARE great, but don't expect much in the way of content.

Wonderful book and the photos are fabulous. I wish it had more of Pan Am in its hey day, though.

It is an interesting book, with beautiful pictures - well ... I don't know when George Hall took less than excellent pictures. On the other side, the narrative is fragmented, deals most of the time with the life of an airliner thus not matching the title of the book. The airliners most mentioned are those of Mc Donnell Douglas - with completely wrong opinions on the the future of the MD line. A whole chapter is dedicated to the "boneyards" which seems to me far from the purpose of the book (but is sort-of tuned to the narrative). As for the photos... Great! Excellent quality even if I would mention a lack of photos from the Airbus family (only two - in the ground).

This book has great pictures, text, and information. I would recommend it to any aviation enthusiast.