Customer Reviews

X-Planes Photo Scrapbook

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What avaiation buff does not know of the Bell X-1 that Chuck Yeager flew, or of the series of tests run with the X-15 that set so many performance records. But what about the Douglas X-3 Stiletto that looked like it was going about a thousand miles an hour while it was still sitting on the ground. What about the X-32 or the X-45 or the D-558 (a Navy experimental plane - the Air Force and NASA use the X designation).

The planes and many more are here. Note the title says this is a Photo Scrapbook. It is. There are 450 black and white photographs and 50 color prints. Along with the pictures is a bit of commentary explaining what they were trying to do, what happened, perhaps what happened to the plane after the testing was completed. Down through the years a lot of rather funny looking planes have been built for one purpose or another, And it's great to see so many unusual planes pictured in one place.

X-Planes Photo Scrapbook
By Dennis R. Jenkins
Specialty Press, © 2004
Reviewed by Ned Barnett

There's not a lot to say. If you are fascinated by experimental US aircraft, buy this book. If you like to model X-planes, really - really - buy this book. If your interest, however, is focused on operational aircraft, you can probably skip this one and go on to one of the other Specialty Press "scrapbook" series publications - the B-36 Photo Scrapbook, for instance.

Going back to the X-1, and moving forward to the contemporary X-32/X-35 and RPV X-45, this book covers the X-planes program, primarily at Edwards AFB, with sharp and usually fascinating photos, along with insightful and informative text. This book is literally a photo scrapbook - there's not a lot of text, and no compelling narrative thread. Instead, you get photos, photos and more photos.

I like to model oddball aircraft - I modeled my first "Stealth" aircraft nearly a decade before the USAF pulled the wraps off the F-117 - and I found this book inspirational both on subject matter and on providing ideas for vignettes and dioramas.

I find that experimental aircraft are an acquired taste - if you're not sure, this book is a great place to start. At 144 pages, there's a lot here, but it's a quick read - just as important, you can jump around and cherry-pick the topics that offer the most to you without getting lost. There's no story to get lost in.

Strongly recommended for X-Plane fans, and at least worth checking out for those who have a casual interest (or who enjoyed "The Right Stuff").