Customer Reviews

Dream Aircraft: The Most Fascinating Airplanes I've Ever Flown

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

 

 

Barry Schiff is a retired TWA Captain, and has flown over 300 different types of airplanes. This book covers the most interesting 33 of those. I am a light plane private pilot, and thought some of the most interesting airplanes he covered were: Spirit of St. Louis (a replica), Goodyear Blimp (fascinating details of how it flies), McCulloch Gyrocopter, Space Shuttle (NASA simulator), and the Lockheed U-2 (two seat version). I also thought that his explanation of the Helio Courier's wing was very in-depth and intriguing (sorry -- you'll have to read about it yourself). Barry covers amphibians too -- the Grumman Widgeon, the Lake LA-4 and Sikorsky S-38. For you DC-3 and P-51 Mustang fans out there, well, he covers that too. Amazon had a great price on this book, and I'm glad that I'm adding it to my collection. If you like this book, you might also want to look at "Flying the Old Planes" by Frank Tallman -- which tends to cover the WWI era more.

Barry Schiff is a fine writer who has been a professional aviator for more than 50 years. Schiff is a legend among pilots whose prose will also appeal to non-aviators. He has flown everything from airplanes made in WWI, to Boeing 747s. He conveys his experiences flying a diverse and fascinating selection of airplanes from the 1930's to the present in a manner that is compact and at the same time highly informative and enteraining. I highly recommend this book for anyone with even a small interest in, or curiosity about, airplanes; pilots will love it.

I purchased this for my husbands birthday. He is so enthralled with the book and keeps telling me how much he likes it. He has recently started taking flying lessons and loves learning about different aircraft.

For anyone who has wondered what it is like to fly unusual aircraft, ranging from a replica of Charles Lindbergh's Sprit of St. Louis (a Ryan Brougham NYP) to the Space Shuttle, Barry's book is a real treat. You will read about venerable classics such as the P-51 Mustang and Douglas DC-3, as well as lesser-known aerial oddities, such as the Transavia Airtruck and Beriev Be-103 amphibian. Barry Schiff has had a long, distinguished career as a pilot for Trans World Airlines, becoming one of the first (and youngest) captains to fly the Boeing 707 at the dawn of the jet age, which he talks about at the end of the book. During his stay with TWA, he went on to fly the Boeing 707, Lockheed L-1011 TriStar, and Boeing 757. Flying is Barry Schiff's passion, and in the introduction he lists all the aircraft for which he is type-rated - well over 300 at last count. Pilots and aviation enthusiasts will enjoy the ride with Captain Schiff.

This is a very readable review of performance and handling charateristic of an incredable range of aircraft ranging from antiques to the space shuttle. The author puts the reader in the left seat of some very unique aircraft. I think most aviation enthusiasts will enjoy this book and envy the author's aeronautical adventures.