Customer Reviews

Jane's Aircraft Recognition Guide, 2nd edition

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have most previous editions of the aircraft recognition guides. I am somewhat disappointed that this one does not give any technical data other than armament and dimensions. It would be nice to have powerplants and speeds listed, preferably in miles per hour, not mach speed. Some books list one plane in mach, ie. 0.83 mach, and the next plane in miles per hour. Also in all previous guides, as in this one, there are several still very popular and numerous planes missing. For example, the Piper Comanche has never been listed ( Only the Twin Commanche ) I still see a lot of Comanches around. I would like to see these changes ,ie. more technical data and a more uniform listing of the technical data, in future guides. Besides, the previous guides had most of the technical data listed. It looks like someone took a shortcut in this book.

Respectfully yours

...but not much more. Its principal virtue, in my opinion is its apparent toroughness; not many aircraft still in operation seem to be missing. The quality of the book is very good for a paperback: good weight of paper, well glued spine; but still a book that will suffer if carried around in the field. My version of the book does have an index, contrarily to what someone posted earlier.

IN MY OPINION, THIS IS NOT A RECOGNITION GUIDE, HOWEVER; you get one black and white photo, a few of poor quality (strongly croped, grainy or taken from an unpractical angle), silhouettes from below, front and side and a very brief technical comment. This will not allow positive discrimination between many closely resembling aircrafts.

If you really want a good companion to go in the field and practice aircraft recognition I strongly recommand the very intelligently written albeit much less complete "A Field Guide to Airplanes" by M.R. Montgomery and Gerald Foster.

From the mysterious Boeing RC-135 Cobra Ball to the gargantuan An-225 Cossack, this book covers most of the aircraft you will see flying in the world today. Major sections include Combat Fighters, Recce/Patrol platforms, Transports, Airliners, Commuter, Executive, and Light Aircraft. Technical specs are great for flight-line operations on short notice.

Great photographs, and three three views. Provides information on dimensions, performance, armanment, weights, variants, and accommodations.

For the enthusiast or the flight-line ops coordinator, this handy guide will be the one you reach for first.

Since this book includes data, profiles and photographs of possibly all aircraft currently in service, it is a very useful tool for those who want to identify aircraft. As an aviation professional I have often used it and recommend it strongly to anyone seeking to invest in this book.

This book was great.It has photos, technical data andidentification features.It has fighter jets , combat support, trainers, civil jets and turboprop airliners,civil utility, privet executive and light airplanes and helicopters. This is a great price so get it here(I paid 37$).

Covering the gamut of aircraft from civilian to military, rotary to fixed wing, the "baby" Jane's is a great book for the aviation enthusiast as a quick reference guide or as a way to learn more without spending the hundreds for a full size Jane's. It's size allows it to be easily carried in a bag and it's perfect for airplane spotting or airshows.

The book is designed to include the most material possible in the smallest size, and does that well. That detracts from the amount of information that can be provided for each aircraft in terms of data and pictures, but they are any number of full size books that can provide that information. The sheer quantity of aircraft included though make up for the brevity of the entries.

All in all though, a good book that could use regular updates. A fourth edition covering the latest military and civilian programs would be a bonus, but for now, you can't get better for the price and size.

NOTE: Updated 4th Edition is now available, includes F/A 22, F/35 JSF, JF-17 China Pak Fighter, and A380 airliners. Still no Chinese F-10, or Boeing 787 though. Not worth the added expense for so few changes in my opinion

This book is a no frills just the facts reference guide. It provides aircraft dimensions, weights, performance, and armament information. Photos and graphic representations assist in aircraft identification. Aircraft are logically grouped making searches for a particular airframe easy. Anyone working the flightline, and/or coordinating airshows will find this information invaluable when trying to establish parking plans.

(Review updated for fourth edition.)

The plan drawings are detailed, and there is a nearly comprehensive featuring of aircraft. The color photos are a welcome addition. There are some errors though, most of which are remarkable for a 2005 publishing:

- The F-22 entry contains drawings of a YF-22.
- The Su-30 and -33 are portrayed as externally identical, when the -33 actually has fixed canards. The Flanker series is a real welter of designations though.
- The CAC J-10 is missing.
- The Eclipse 500 and Cessna 510 Mustang are missing. Those will likely be added after entering service.

These shortcomings lead me to believe that Jane's influenced the content minimally, and that it is mostly a Collins Reference work. All the World's Aircraft contains none of these mistakes. The F-22 entry particularly baffles me. The general arrangement revisions to the YF-22 are over a decade old, and the F-22 is a highly conspicuous aircraft today. A program of its importance demands accurate illustration.

Regardless, I'd suppose this book accurately portrays at least 95% of all current aircraft, in the limited manner of a "recognition guide." The new acronym glossary covers most popular acronyms and is decent for the beginner. There's also a section on military aircraft markings (US star and bars, numerous roundels, etc.), so that you can correct CNN when they mislabel Greek F-16s as Italian. This is a useful book with minor errors which achieves its goal: providing information for visual recognition of the vast majority of aircraft.

I agree with the other review about the flaws. There were no speeds or rate of climb data, something I would like to see as an air traffic controller. More dates and, as I've seen in other books, aircraft that get confused alot would have been nice. But its Janes, were can you find better?

Jane's has always been a trustworthy name that I have looked to for information on aircraft, especially military aircraft. This book covers it all, from light aircraft to Bombers. Each page has a full color photo of the aircraft, along with a small description, 3 view diagram, variants, features, and the aircraft's specifications. I used this book for the "NIFA" Competition of Aircraft Identification, and it greatly helped me. Definitely good for anyone who wants to know quickly what kind of aircraft they are looking at without much hasstle.