A Field Guide to Airplanes, Third Edition [Paperback]

M. R. Montgomery (Author), Gerald L. Foster (Illustrator)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0618411275 | ISBN-13: 978-0618411276 | Publication Date: March 20, 2006 | Edition: Revised, Update

Extending the principles of the famed Peterson Identification System to the man-made world, A Field Guide to Airplanes will enable you to identify virtually any plane in North America, in the air or on the ground. This fully revised and updated third edition features more than 400 aircraft, including 75 new planes that incorporate the latest advances in general aviation, military aircraft, commercial airliners, business jets, and helicopters. Beautiful and accurate illustrations include arrows and detailed drawings to help pinpoint the differences between similar models. Clear, succinct descriptions of each plane include statistical information, history, and a list of important field marks that distinguish one plane from another. For serious enthusiasts and amateurs alike, this is the only true field guide to airplanes.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Formerly vice president and partner of the Architects Collaborative, the famous firm founded by Walter Gropius, Gerald Foster has taught at the Harvard Graduate School of Design and the Boston Architectural Center as well as the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. His paintings and drawings have been exhibited at the DeCordova Museum and at various galleries. His books include A Field Guide to Airplanes, A Field Guide to Trains, and American Houses: A Field Guide.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; Revised, Update edition (March 20, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618411275
• ISBN-13: 978-0618411276
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #185,258 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great spotter guide for the aviation fan., June 14, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: A Field Guide to Airplanes: of North America (Paperback)

This well organized book contains more than 350 aircraft of North America. Each aircraft is well described and a history and statistical information is nicely presented. One of the more unique parts of this guide is that each aircraft is given a small list of items that separate it from similar looking aircraft. The illustrations are precise and very accurate, too. This guide is wonderful and comes in very handy. There are more planes that could be added and possibly a few rarities that could be removed, but the book's wealth of information weighs over. This guide aids beautifully in identification of aircraft and a second book, such as Jane's World Aircraft Recognition Handbook, would make a great companion to fill in all the information. All in all, this book is very worthwhile to any aviation enthusiast.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A guide book about the iron birds of the sky., April 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A Field Guide to Airplanes: of North America (Paperback)

This is a great book for anyone who is interested in aviation or an novice "plane-spotter". The book is set up much like (as the title says) a field guide complete with field marks for quick identification. Also a great book for getting child that is interested in airplanes. There is also a helicopter section added.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Content, Poor Rendition, October 22, 2010

By 

L. W. Bower (Albuquerque, NM USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Field Guide to Airplanes, Third Edition (Paperback)

This book is a disappointment. The first edition, published in 1984 was a wonderful find, a book I carried with me when I traveled. The third edition suffers from poor quality paper, re-used printing plates, and a format (5 1/2" x 8 1/2") that hardly qualifies it as a "field guide."

Montgomery and Foster did an excellent job of updating aircraft models, organizing aircraft by type, providing brief descriptions, and highlighting the subtle cues that allow one to differentiate between different series of an aircraft model. Unfortunately, the details of the line drawings are lost in the third edition, with many of the subtleties unreadable due to the inferior paper and printing process used. The first edition was printed on high-opacity white stock; this edition is printed on the same type of paper often found in mass-market paperbacks, barely above the quality of newsprint. In addition, the publisher, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, chose to reformat the book to a size that makes it difficult to slip into a jacket pocket. The binding and cover are poor. I'm sure if I chose to keep this book (I returned it) it would fall apart within a year.

Find a new publisher, guys.