Hub Plott
Reviews By Author
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The Hurricane Pocket ManualPublished:
The Pocket Manual is a compilation of various Air Ministry pamphlets, publications, and manuals on the Hawker Hurricane. The book starts with the design specifications and related documents. This is followed by the pilot notes in chapter 2, the tactical in chapter 3, and operations in chapter 4 publications. These last sections detail aspects of tactical trials as well as 111 SQ operations record book, Fighter Command Combat report for 12 Group and Sqdn. Leader Douglas Bader’s September 7-19, 1940 flight log. This is an interesting look at various period publications to aid in operating and maintaining the Hurricane. There is good information for the historian, pilot and some nice detailed period cockpit photos with instrumentation callouts. If the Mosquito interests… more |
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P-51 In ActionPublished:
The In Action series should be familiar to all. David Doyle continues his update of this series this time focusing on the iconic P-51 Mustang, a plane many would say was the best of the war. The book begins with the NA-73X prototype designed to help supply Britain in the early part of WWII. The USAAC would only allow North American to export the planes if they provided 2 at no cost to the Army for evaluation. These two became the XP-51 one of which survives today with the EAA in Wisconsin. The book follows the development of the plane as it progressed first with the Allison engine powered variants; the Mustang I, F-6A, A-36A dive bomber and the P-51A. Next comes those powered by the Rolls-Royce Merlin and its license built examples from Packard. That change in engines… more |
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Spotlight on Junkers Ju 87 StukaPublished:
The Spotlight series of books consist of a large number of color profiles of multiple variants of the covered subject. The first page discusses the RLM colors of the various Stukas shown. This is followed by 42 beautiful color profiles from the early Ju-87A1s to the final Ju-87G2s. The last page shows top views of the Ju-87A-1, B-2 and D-5s. If you love color profiles and I do, you will like this book. The numerous color profiles are beautifully rendered. The modeler will find many schemes for modeling the Ju-87 in any scale. Those who like WWII history, aviation history, Luftwaffe history and modeling will find this book very useful. I recommend it to all of the above. Our thanks to Mushroom Model Publications for the review copy and my thanks to IPMS/USA for the… more |
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American Secret Projects Vol 1: Fighters, Bombers and Attack Aircraft 1937-1945Published:
Luftwaffe ’46, Hikoki ’46 all have had many books and websites devoted to them, the paper projects, X-planes and wonder weapons of the enemy Axis Powers. Now there is a book that details all of the same from the US manufacturers. We are given a nice hardback book filled with photos of those designs that actually were built or made it to the mock-up stage, and drawings of those that did not. Some of the drawings are just basic rendering of the aircraft, while others are more useful engineering drawings with dimensions and scale. The chapter layout begins with USAAF single engine fighters. Here each manufacturer’s designs are discussed. From early Bell designs for what would become the P-39 to the XP-47H and J on to the XP-75 Eagle and beyond are all discussed. There are… more |
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Spitfire The Legend Lives OnPublished:
March of 2016 marks the 80th birthday of the Spitfire design. Like its American counterpart the P-51, the Spitfire is the most numerous survivor of its country’s WWII fighters both on display and flying! As the years go by we lose more and more of those who were there and flew these machines in the last great global conflict. Soon they all will have passed into history. Their machines though will live on to tell the story. Each of the Spitfires discussed in this book has a service history. Whether found behind a hangar, unearthed or recovered from crash sites on land and in the sea, they have been lovingly rebuilt. Some seemingly from only a few remaining usable parts. We are given a beautiful, large book equally at home in the library or on the coffee table… more |
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Siebel Fh 104Published:
Upon opening the box, one is greeted with a simple resin kit of an aircraft so obscure that even though I pride myself on my knowledge of WWII aircraft and have built over 100 resin kits of many obscure aircraft, again I had to look this one up! The following brief history was gleaned from Wikipedia:
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Convair Deltas From Sea Dart to HustlerPublished:
The delta wing design configuration is synonymous with Convair. No other aircraft company had as many delta designs as they did. Convair designed America’s first jet with delta wings, first and only seaplane supersonic jet fighter as well as the phenomenal B-58 Hustler! This is a new paperback version of a book previously released in hardback. The book is broken down into 20 chapters. The first two explain what delta wings are and the history of Convair and its predecessors. Chapter three covers the XF-92 which was the first US jet aircraft of Delta configuration. It covers the history of this aircraft and is accompanied with many photos several in color. The next five chapters are devoted to the F-102 Delta Dagger and cover it from inception through combat in Vietnam and on… more |
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Dornier Do 24 Units / Combat Aircraft #110Published:
If ever a seaplane design could be called elegant it is the Do- 24! The Dornier Do- 24 outlived its Third Reich users by 24 years. What was probably the best seaplane in the Nazi inventory was designed to meet specifications from the Dutch Navy. The competition for the Luftwaffe’s next seaplane was fierce between the Blohm und Voss Bv -138 and the Dornier Do-24. Even though the test pilots declared the Do-24 the best handling seaplane they had ever flown, it lost out to the Bv-138. The RLM favored diesel engines on its flying boats and thus even though it was less powerful and an all around lesser aircraft, the RLM chose the diesel powered Bv-138. The first chapter covers a supply mission to Narvik. The three Bv-138s heavily loaded with ammo and medicine could not… more |
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Yakovlev Fighters of World War IIPublished:
This book is the comprehensive history of the fighters produced by the Yakolev Design Bureau during World War Two. The Yak-1 first flew in 1940 under the designation I-26, changing to the now familiar Yak-1 when production began at the end of that year. The authors trace the development of these designs and offer the reader a comprehensive history from drawing board to final use. Ever wonder why the Yak-3 was actually produced after the Yak-9? It is all here. The book is divided into 9 chapters. Chapter one is comprised of 58 pages and deals with the design, development and use of the Yak1. This begins with the I-26 initial variant and the loss and death of Yakolev’s chief test pilot Yulian Piontkovsky. Each variant and weapons system is covered. Chapter two covers the… more |
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Fouga MagisterPublished:
This book takes a look at one of the most famous French training aircraft of all time. There is a brief history of its development and use and then the book moves into an extreme detail photo essay. The book begins with the type’s development including the explanation for why all Magisters built were done with out ejection seats. We are provided with scale drawings in both 1/72 and 1/48 as well. There is a brief overview of all the variants of the design before going into the production of the aircraft and coverage of all nations that used the Magister. This section is accompanied by 40 color profiles of these various users. Want to see what a Ugandan or El Salvadorian Magister looked like? They are here. The bulk of the book, approximately 70 pages gives the reader an… more |