Customer Reviews

Chance Vought F7U Cutlass (Consign) (Naval Fighters)

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This book is number 6 in the Ginter Naval Fighters series. This very early 1982, 8-1/2" x 11", 104 page card cover was good for its time but has been overtaken by the much higher standards we've come to expect in aircraft monographs. Color is restricted to the front and rear covers.

The book has a brief text describing the design, development, and operation of the Cutlass. This is supplemented by carrier suitability reports and personal anecdotes by Cutlass pilots. The bulk of the book is taken up with F7U photographs. Reproduction is not particularly outstanding and the majority are full aircraft portraits. Detailed closeups are few, primarily the landing gear and cockpit. Also reproduced are numerous contemporary technical manual drawings. There is also a nice looking cutaway but it is reproduced at such a small size it is of little utility.

For a book aimed at modellers the lack of color is a huge drawback. There are numerous profile drawings depicting color schemes but the colors have to represented by hatching, shading, etc. Unit insignia are shown but the colors have to be described. The Cutlass plastic kits do get reviewed but curiously right in the middle of the book.

Fortunately the Naval Fighters series has improved by leaps and bounds since Steve Ginter had to do everything. I hope an updated F7U title is in the cards in the future. This is by no means a bad book, it's just that we've been spoiled by the all that has come since it appeared.

Steve's book is a true marvel. From interviews to rare pix to schematics of the Gutlass Cutlass it's all here. I have admired this plane since my childhood, even though it was a technical failure. What a beuatiful machine. TK

The Steve Ginter series hits a middling mark on the Vought Cutlass.

However, my expectations were rather specific for coverage on the

F7U-1 service in a Blue Angels cameo role. I know that the Cutlass spent only 60 days as a showpiece with the Angels, but photo documen-

tation must have been prodigious for this unique planform. The only Angels reference was a long out-of-production plastic model.

Three views are rudimentary, with better documentation of the F7U-1; the F7U-3, the definitive version, is poorly depicted. The photo-recon modification , the 8P version, is depicted in several photos, all published elsewhere, so this book sheds no additional light on Cutlass evolution.

Thus, Blue Angels coverage aside, this volume is lacking in detail. I'm glad I bought this book, but I am still looking for an in-depth review. This book misses the mark.

A splendid covering of the development of the aircraft that 'could have been' had it not been under-powered. The airframe design was miles ahead of jet engine development. Gitner's book is a really good read with lots of photos and drawings. If you're as Cutlas enthusiast, this book is for you!