Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent look at the Airbus A320 series of aircraft, July 22, 2003
The Airlife's Airliner series of books cover individual commercial aircraft types in an interesting, in-depth manner. Each volume of this British series covers a unique commercial aircraft type from its design, production, entry into service, its usage by airlines, and in some cases eventual demise. Each volume features plenty of color and black and white photographs of the subject aircraft along with a complete construction list (accurate to date of publication for aircraft types still being built). This volume discusses the design and development of the Airbus A320 series of airliners ... from their advanced design to their almost futuristic flight-control systems ... as well as the ususal around-the-world look at the aircraft type's operators.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent A-320 Overview, July 8, 2004
I have been lucky enough to fly many different aircraft in my airline career (A-320, L-1011, DC-9, MD-80, B-727, B-737, B-747-400, B-757, and B-767) and of all of them my favorite is the A-320. OK, I admit it, my VERY favorite is the L-1011, but unfortunately the old girl has largely been put out to pasture now. But after the TriStar, there is no question that the A-320 is the one I would rather spend my time in, hands down, bar none. It is a pilot friendly machine, and the only people I know that badmouth it are the people who haven't ever flown it. It is an honest, forgiving, and easy plane to fly, and is smart enough to do the things you want it to do for you (like shutting down the air conditioning packs prior to engine start, and turning them back on when the engine is stabilized on speed), but is still a joy to hand fly. This is one airplane that has the competition beat, hands down. (I can say that since I have flown the 737, too.)Now that you know how I feel about the airplane, let me tell how I feel about the book: it is a great introduction to the Airbus A-320 series. It has scads of beautifully shot color photos, useful production and operator lists, and an excellent general history of Airbus and the A-320 family specifically. There is a nice section on technical specifications for the series, and although it doesn't get into pilot level systems descriptions, what the book does say is pretty much on the money, and easy to understand. They even have a nice diagram of PFD/ND/ECAM data and symbology found on the six CRTs. There is a very general discussion on the benefits of Fly-By-Wire (FBW), but I suspect most readers would have liked a bit more on this remarkable technology. (Yes, I prefer the side stick to the yoke...) This book is great for pilots, enthusiasts, or for that matter, aerospace historians. My only (tiny) nitpicks were a couple of explanations that are less than completely correct in the accident section, particularly in the Lufthansa Warsaw accident. The errors mostly concern omitting a few crucial details, and unless you are an A-320 pilot or an accident investigator you won't really care anyway. I realize that being concise is something the editors require, but sometimes another line or two can really clarify matters. All told this is another in the excellent "Airliner Color History" series, which are generally great. For someone who wants an introduction to the greatest airliner family in the world (and here I include all the FBW Airbus family members from the A-318 to the A-380) with lots of outstanding photographs and excellent background text, this book can't be beat.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Overlooked Classic That Put Airbus on the Map, December 5, 2003
Some three decades ago, when a group of European companies proposed building a twin-engine widebody aircraft, most people in the aviation world thought the idea would be a commercial failure. The A300 is now admired on every continent. Some two decades, Airbus proposed another twin-engine design, this time a single-aisle aircraft, which would compete against Boeing 727 and 737, the best selling jet airliners of all time; again, people were sceptical of the plane's ability to sell. The A320 family of airliners (which includes the short-body A319 and stretched A321, along with the scaled-down A318) has now sold over 1,000 airframes, bestowing on Airbus as the world's number one seller of airliners.Tim Lamming and Robert Hewson's book contains a wealth of detail about the development of the A320, touching on its stablemates, the A319, A321, and A318. Technical specifications also abound. Photo captions are detailed and informative. My only complaint with this book, and others in Airlife Airliners series, is the lack of interior photographs: two flight deck pictures, economy class cabin view, and picture of the rear galley. I really would have likes some views taken from inside the aircraft, especially of the wing flaps upon landing. Between the time the book was published and the writing of this review, a great deal has happened, and even more airlines have purchased or leased this increasingly popular aircraft, most notably jetBlue. Nevertheless, the book is up to date and thorough, offering the aviation enthusiast a good look at the overlooked classic that put Airbus on the map.
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