Customer Reviews

Cessna Warbirds: A Detailed and Personal History of Cessna's Involvement in the Armed Forces

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have waited a lifetime for someone to come forward with the dedication to Cessna Aircraft's military history. I am looking forward to reading in depth about Cessna's different models. Walt Shiel was a pilot, I was a mechanic, we were both involved, at different times, with the airplane that took fuel and converted it to noise. Long loved by the people who worked on and flew them, I am referring to the Cessna T-37. Walt has done an excellent job in preparing this book. Long past due, Cessna deserves the credit due its involvement with all phases of pilot and navigation training. Without Cessna, there would be no military pilots to fly the warbirds that often take all of the credit. And Walt derserves the credit for bringing this to light. I will cherish and use his book. Thank You Walt

Cessna Warbirds : A Detailed and Personal History of Cessna's Involvement in the Armed Forces by Walt Shiel is a great book detailing the military application of Cessna aircraft, including one Cessna helicopter. Cessna Warbirds is a pleasant blend of hard fact and personal anecdotes from the author and numerous military pilots interviewed while writing this book. It was fun to read about how the same planes I have flown in civilian aviation were used in military applications. It was also interesting to see how the planes were altered to fit their intended service.

Shiel's writing is clear and his anecdotes are relevant and, when appropriate, thoroughly amusing making what could have been a dry list of figures a very human story that's easy to relate to. Because Cessna Warbirds contains specifications and histories for each Cessna aircraft used in a military fashion this book is a great reference source as well. It is obvious to anyone who has read either this book or any of Sheil's many articles on military aviation that he is a thorough researcher who is immersed in his subject. Reading the author's bio, I can think of few people who are better qualified to write this book. I can't recommend this book highly enough to anybody who is interested in aviation.

Shamefully, I passed on picking up Cessna Warbirds when it first appeared, and only purchased it recently when the price hit bargain basement levels! This is the best single source reference on military Cessnas. While some aircraft have been given more detailed coverage elsewhere (such as the T/A-37 and O-1), it's great to see information in print on types such as the O-2, U-3 and T-41.

The first hand accounts make for an interesting read, and a different perspective than most titles in this genre. The book has plenty of detail - I love the note from the O-2B manual advising pilots to carry spare D-cell batteries for the onboard tape recorder, used to broadcast propaganda. Those looking for extensive photos may be disappointed - while the book is well illustrated, the photo reproduction is not great. The photo captions suffer from a number of errors, for example a RoKAF O-1 is labelled as belonging to Nationalist China; however this does not detract from the overall quality of the book.

Highly recommended.

Walt did a very good job of making "Cessna Warbirds" a very readable,fact filled and enjoyable book to own.I'm doing two Web Pages about the T-50 Bobcat and Sky King and found this book very helpfull.The detail and many mostly unknown facts about the earlier T-50 were a great help to my research.The book will recieve an honored place on my shelf for future referance. Thanks Walt,looking forward to your next work.

I've been flying T41Cs for the last year and I was very happy to find Walt's book detailing the history of these and other Cessna Planes. I never knew that Cessna had had such a long and involved relationship with the military. If you have any interest in Cessna's history or if you flew any of these planes during your military career, then I highly recommned Walt's book.

I bought this for my son, a propeller designer and warbird buff. This way I don't have to share my books with him. I loved this book because it was very detailed and showed little known planes used in recent wars.Now I will have to read it again when I visit him!

This book was not only the only source of this kind of information I have seen, but the author has personal experience in the field, having given instruction in the tweety bird himself. If you are interested in the history of Cessna and its relationship with the military from the start, here is your source. You will also find out what these planes fly like, what characteristics make them ideally suitable for the tasks they have been assigned, and what characteristics they have that can bite you.

The book is made particularly entertaining by the inclusion of a number of 'war stories', many of which are quite amusing.

All in all the book was most informative, while being an enjoyable read.

Thanks to Walt Shiel for giving us the benefit of his experience and knowledge, combined with his own writing style to make an emminently readable book. History class was never like this!

Good book covering lesser known aspect of military aviation, covers esoteric aircraft like the blue canoe, etc. Highly recommended for anyone tired of the usual drivel thats passed off as aviation history

What a GREAT book! The details in each chapter make for captivating reading. I've used my copy so much that the two corners are curling up! Thanks for including some "War Story" accounts from those of us who flew them in Harm's Way. The 0-2 will always have a soft spot in my heart. Walt, you done good. Check 6 and fly safe. "Nail 66" - Doc Lambert