Cockpits of the Cold War [Hardcover]

Donald Nijboer (Author), Dan Patterson (Photographer), Air-Vice Marshal Ron Dick RAF (ret.) (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 4, 2003

Unprecedented access to once top-secret aircraft.

Nijboer takes the reader inside the cockpits of the most revered and feared aircraft of the Cold War period, from 1947 to 1965. This book covers planes from the United States, United Kingdom, Sweden, Canada, France and the Soviet Union including:

• The Mikoyan MiG-15 Soviet fighter flown by Kenneth Rowe (formerly Lt. Kim Sok No), the first pilot to defect to the West during the Korean War
• The Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star jet fighter that shot down a MiG-15 in the world's first all-jet battle

Each featured aircraft includes a pilot perspective on what it was like to fly these legendary aircraft on combat or reconnaissance missions written by well-known pilots -- many of them combat veterans from the Korean and Vietnam wars.

(200412)

Editorial Reviews

Review

The book features the familiar stunning photography of Dan Patterson. (Airforce 200312)

Detailed photos of plane's cockpits and an experienced pilot's perspective on flying each of these babies. (Bill Robertson Saskatoon Star Phoenix 20031213)

Remarkable... an-up-close-and-personal glimpse into the cramped and crude cockpits of the main frontline fighters and bombers. (Garth Eichel Aviator Magazine 200401)

The kind of book anyone with a passion for flying would enjoy. (Catherine Ford Calgary Herald 20031130)

An extraordinary and detailed look at cockpits of military aircraft, and the aircraft themselves... color photography is outstanding. (Association of Naval Aviation )

Spectacularly detailed shots put in you in the front seat... a worthy addition to the collections of aviation buffs. (Bill Bovey Canadian Camera )

A wannabe-fighter pilot's dream: the gorgeous color pictures place you right in the driver's seat. (Globe and Mail )

Unique, well-designed and heavily illustrated... detailed yet visually accessible fashion for the general public and the military history buff. (Robert B. Ridinger E-Streams )

An unusual and extremely interesting presentation that should appeal to historians and modelers alike. (CDR Peter Mersky, USNR(Ret) The Hook: Journal of Carrier Aviation )

From the Author

It was a real pleasure working on this book. Dan Patterson and I traveled to England, the U.S., Sweden and Poland in order to get the best examples of the aircraft cockpits that appear in the book. Through Dan Patterson's crystal clear photography we get to see, up close, the cockpits of some of the world's most sophisticated war machines. I also had the pleasure of interviewing the many pilot's who's thoughts appear beside each cockpit photograph. These men, some of whom saw combat in Korea and Vietnam and flew for the Warsaw Pact, told me what they liked and disliked about the cockpits they flew in. In total there are 39 aircraft cockpits illustrated, each with a Pilot's Perspective, archival photos, instrument key and a brief aircraft history. Amazingly, some of the aircraft cockpits that appear in the book were listed as "Top Secret" just a few short years ago and many are still in service!

Cockpits of the Cold War gives the reader a chance to see what many of us never get a chance to experience. The many aircraft on display at the hundreds of museums around the world look great when you walk by, but how many times have you said to yourself.... "I wish I could see the cockpit". Now you can. I hope you enjoy the book as much as I did writing it.

Donald Nijboer
Toronto, Canada September/03

(200312)

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Boston Mills Press (October 4, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1550464051
• ISBN-13: 978-1550464054
• Product Dimensions: 11.5 x 9.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,186,696 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Pablum in a Lobster Shell, November 13, 2006

By 

Plankwing - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cockpits of the Cold War (Hardcover)

I build model aircraft. I'd heard very good reports about this book so ordered it online sight unseen. The good news: it is a beautiful coffee table book. The bad news: it does not live up to its title. Yes, there are photos of cockpits, but generally only of instrument panels with some to no other cockpit details shown. Cockpit sides? Mostly missing. Pilot seats? None. Overhead panels? None for aircraft that have them. Obviously, the photographer (and perhaps the author) traveled extensively to gather the photos. With all the time and travel spent on photography, why is there only one photograph of the "cockpit"? Why are pages take up for photos of the subject aircraft where there should be photos of the cockpit sides, pilot seats, and overhead panels when present? The pilot comments are nice to read, but what use are they for cockpit research? My opinion is, the book title is misleading and buying it was a waste of my money. My suggestion is, if you're researching cockpits for modeling (or for some other reason) stick with books and web sites that are comprehensive on the specific aircraft of your interest.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book for pilots and lovers of detail, August 5, 2005

By 

Mel Beckman (Oxnard not just a pretty name, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Cockpits of the Cold War (Hardcover)

So many "coffee-table" aviation books are written by clueless historians who know nothing of a pilot's actual experience in the air: the smell of oil and gas, the heft and feel of the controls, the view through the canopy. Nijboer and Patterson capture these sensations perfectly in this collection of crisp color portaits of cold war cockpits. Every cockpit is shot in dramatic but clear lighting, and accompanied by a detailed map of every knob, dial, and guage. If that's all the book delivered, it would be enough. But there's much more.

The authors commissioned a pilot's retrospective for each aircraft -- priceless first-hand accounts by the men who were flew these machines day in and day out. To find this kind of attentive description for just one airplane would be a treasure; Nijboer and Patterson have found dozens of them.

The cockpit vignettes are interwoven with the author's own historical notes and background photos. The result is a broad and deep view into cold-war aircraft and the men who flew them.

I like to read a new aircraft every night before sleeping, in the hope that I'll fly that aircraft in my dreams. And I have. And I will. There are lots of airplanes here.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cockpits of the Cold War Review, October 22, 2003

By 

Larryb711 (Alpharetta, Ga United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Cockpits of the Cold War (Hardcover)

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has a fasination of airplanes and especially cockpits. I also have Don Nijboer amd Dan Patterson's other books Cockpit and Gunner, which is one of the main reasons why I purchased this book. And, this book is of the same high quality. The photographs of the cockpits are sharp and clear with excellent details and descriptions. Nijboer and Patterson also include many other excellent photographs, both color and black and white, of aircraft in flight and on the ground. Aircraft depicted include, fighter, bomber, and reconnaissance. One thing I found extremely interesting is the "pilot's perspective" of what it was like to fly that particular aircraft, including the pilots thoughts on roominess and comfort, instrument placement, and aircraft handling. I also found it quite interesting to compare the cockpit/instrument layout of American aircraft verses those of the UK, France, Russia, Canada, and the Swiss. Again an excellent book by Nijboer and Patterson and highly recommended for anyone's library.