Book Club!

Ok so I don't see a thread on books. I really enjoy reading technical aircraft books, aircraft history and pilot books.

I thought this could be the place to recommend less well known books to fellow simmmers!

I'll start off with these four

Elite Flyers, The men, The machines, The missions - Andy Evans

Dogfight, The greatest air duels of WW2 - editor Tony Homes, Osprey Publishing

For the more hardcore / Engineer,

Design for Air Combat - Ray Whitford

Modern Combat Aircraft Design - Klaus Huenecke

• Fighter Combat Tactics and Maneuvering - Robert L. Shaw - Overview - WWII/CONTEMPORARY
  

• Clear the Bridge! - Dick O'Kane - SUBS WWII
  
• Check Six!
  

The list of aircraft related books I have.

Apache by Ed Macy

Hellfire by Ed Macy

A Nightmare's prayer by Michael Franzak

Strike Eagle:Flying the F-15E in the golf (:P) war. William Smallwood

Warthog: William smallwood

Immediate response by Mark Hammond

Joint Force Harrier by James Barrington

Sweating the metal by Alex Duncan. (Not recommended, his ego's ridiculous even for a pilot. :D

101 Great Fighters

50 aircraft that changed the world.

Main Battle Tank by Niall Edworthy

When Thunder rolled: An F-105 pilot over vietnam by Ed Rasimus

Vipers in the storm (fantastic book) by Kieth Rosenkranz

Pathfinder First in Last out by Richie Burns. Although not a pilot his job was controlling helicopters and is well worth a read

A lonely kind of war: Forward air control Vietnam by Marshall Harrison. Nice book.

Low level hell: A scout pilot in Vietnam by Hugh Mills

Chickenhawk. Great book.

I think the best are Apache, Hellfire, A nightmare's prayer, Strike Eagle and Warthog.

EDIT: Forgot Dressed to kill, thanks Bushmanni. Interesting to see a person who is more concerned about the enemy and isn't a soldier for as long as possible.

Thanks to Aries I've grabbed A-10 over Kosovo and although I found it hard to get into I now think it's great. Love the stories.

Anything by Ed Macy is a good bet.

A-10s Over Kosovo:the Victory of Airpower Over a Fielded Army As Told By the Airmen Who Faught in Operation Allied Force

http://aupress.au.af.mil/digital/pdf/book/b_0090_haave_haun_a10s_over_kosovo.pdf

The Modern Hog Guide, The A-10 Warthog Exposed - Reid Air Publications

Apache Dawn by Damien Lewis. Another book about British Apaches in Afghanistan. The writing style is a bit annoying, like a literature version of Modern Weapons, but the stories itself about flying and different ops are interesting. Towards the end of the book the style gets fortunately more factual.

Dressed to Kill by Charlotte Madison. If you don't know, Charlotte was the female pilot in the Ed Macy's squadron. The book is best described as a female perspective to the Army, flying Apaches and War. It has a strong feel of womans diary to it. If stories about hot CO, self reflection and emotions are annoying it's better not waste your time with this. On the other hand the stories about ops and flying are great and it covers more recent years as she did two more tours after the one with Ed. General situation on the ground was quite different in her last tour and it's reflected by some new tactics.

I'm a chopper nut so take that into consideration with my opinions. I wouldn't consider these books unless already read Ed Macy's Apache and Hellfire and still wanting more.

The Modern Hog Guide, The A-10 Warthog Exposed - Reid Air Publications

Completely impossible to get (for a reasonable price) last I checked.

Completely impossible to get (for a reasonable price) last I checked.

That's true it's out of print unfortunately! I have contacted them about a reprint of the sold out books as I don't have the Eagle guide. Which I really would love to add to my books.

in the mean time http://www.reidairpublishing.com/products/RAP010.html

I'm a chopper nut so take that into consideration with my opinions. I wouldn't consider these books unless already read Ed Macy's Apache and Hellfire and still wanting more.

Try R. Masons`s "Chickenhawk".

Red Eagles America's Secrect Migs

Could someone who is working with jet engines recommend a book about jet engines? I'm working with commercial turbofans and know the basics. I'm looking for something between basic and engineering level.

Something that explains as many aspects as possible as well as possible without going into complex formulas.

I have 1986 Rolls Royce The Jet Engine PDF book and it looks like close to something I want, maybe even more in-depth would be better. Would you suggest the latest version of this or something else? I'm afraid it might be too Rolls Royce heavy.

A few candidates:

http://www.amazon.com/Fundamentals-Propulsion-Applications-Cambridge-Aerospace/dp/0521154170/ref=sr_1_25?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1347138506&sr=1-25&keywords=jet+engine

http://www.amazon.com/Systems-Commercial-Turbofan-Engines-Introduction/dp/3642092772/ref=sr_1_13?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1347138351&sr=1-13&keywords=jet+engine

http://www.amazon.com/Jet-Propulsion-Aerodynamic-Thermodynamic-Performance/dp/0521541441/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1347138297&sr=1-2&keywords=jet+engine

Red Eagles America's Secrect Migs

Go for the updated and revised (2nd) edition, 2012. Very good book and history.

armored corps series, pete callahan.

Red Eagles America's Secrect Migs

Go for the updated and revised (2nd) edition, 2012. Very good book and history.

If anyone is looking at the kindle version, take note that it is the 1st edition still.

To the Limit: An Air Cav Huey Pilot in Vietnam by Tom Johnson. Really great read, couldn't put it down.

There are several book thread but they get buried.

Good books I read in the past that where not mention.

- Boyd

- Viper in the storms

- Flying through Midnight ( surprise me how entertaining this book was to me)

- American Patriot: The Life and Wars of Colonel Bud Day

- Fighter Pilot: The Memoirs of Legendary Ace Robin Olds ( Great Stories, fell like you are in a bar listening to a friend)

- When Thunder Rolled: An F-105 Pilot over North Vietnam

- Semper Fi in the Sky: The Marine Air Battles of World War II ( some great stories, we have it so easy now in comparison to how they had to operate)

- Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years of Lockheed ( a lot of trivia and interesting info)

- The Wild Blue: The Men and Boys Who Flew the B-24s Over Germany 1944-45

Right now I'm reading

- Pearl Harbor: A Novel of December 8th ( ok, not great )

- Bury Us Upside Down: The Misty Pilots and the Secret Battle for the Ho Chi Minh Trail

( so far very good)

I'm sure I forgotten several

Does Red Eagles contain anything about the Mig-29? I'm referring to how NATO over estimated it's capabilities. I'v read articles about West German and NATO testing of the Mig-29 after they received them from East Germany and found it incredibly interesting and would love to read more.

Griffin, "The Jet Engine" by Rolls Royce is an incredible book! I would actually recommend it over every other for knowledge about Gas turbines. But are you looking for something between Design and introduction? What exactly does the work entail, maintenance, consulting etc.? I can recommend quite a few to you. But anything more advanced than "The Jet Engine" WILL be very intensive maths and the prices go WAY up!!

I'd recommend these four, by the differing level and by what I think your after, but It would be better to know your needs more specifically?

http://www.amazon.com/Jet-Engines-Fundamentals-Theory-Operation/dp/1853108340/ref=pd_sim_b_1 -Excellent for a person starting out or looking to find out more without any previous knowledge. Read this years ago like a novel :D

http://www.amazon.co.uk/P-Technician-Powerplant-Textbook/dp/0884873382/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1347536885&sr=1-1- Might be what your after.

http://www.amazon.com/Aviation-Maintenance-Technician-Powerplant/dp/1560278625/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1347535957&sr=1-1&keywords=Powerplant -I think this is the one you might be after, but it's in Imperial units. A friend had it and I borrowed it off him and read through it. Quite good book on the subject.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Elements-Propulsion-McGraw-Hill-Mechanical-Engineering/dp/0079121969/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1335548063&sr=8-1 - I'll put this in as the other end of the spectrum. But if you ever want to go further I recommend this hands down!

Thanks alot Razor! Can't rep here... The Rolls Royce book is the only one I have access to check out if it's suitable for me. Can't really go to a book store for this kind of books and browse them one by one so it's kinda difficult to know what exactly I want.

I think I'll start with Rolls Royce and move up to some of those.

It's a bit hard to narrow it down more from what I've already said. I'm a maintenance guy who hopes to be engineer one day (and an aviation enthusiast most of all) so I want solid basics and deeper knowledge gradually to drive me towards that. :)

I PM'd just a second ago. The list in the PM I think is a better one, I would strongly recommend looking at the engineering books I suggested if you would like to pursue Engineering. It's not easy and a mountain of maths is involved. I have seen plenty people take up engineering courses and then leave because it's not for everybody, it can seem more like doing a maths degree than an Engineering one! If you live near a university you can enter the library and look at some of these if they have an aerospace department.

A new Book about the A-10 is on the Way. You can order it now at Reid Air Publications.

"A-10 Thunderbolt II:21st Century Warthog"

http://www.reidairpublishing.com/products/RAP010.html

Looks great. :)

Anna Timofeeva-Egorova — Over Fields of Fire: Flying the Sturmovik in Action on the Eastern Front 1942-45

http://davidmarxbookreviews.wordpress.com/2012/06/03/over-fields-of-fire/

Thanks Nameless1 ;)

Already ordered that one, sounds interesting.

I was always looking for a book from a former Hind Pilot in Afghanistan, maybe you know one?

Try R. Masons`s "Chickenhawk".

I recommend this to anybody who is remotely interested in the Huey module - fantastic account of flying the Huey in Vietnam.

Nate