The World's Worst Aircraft

by Jim Winchester

Hardcover, 2005

Status

Available

Call number

629.133

Genres

Publication

Amber Books

Description

This book, divided into categories of "Bad Timing," "Bogus Concepts," "Power Problems," and "Unintentionally Unstable," explains why some aircraft were commercially unsuccessful or didn't meet requirements.

User reviews

LibraryThing member ABVR
This is, to my knowledge, the *third* book (all by different authors) to carry this title . . . after one by James Gilbert published in the early 1980s ]and another written a decade later by Bill Yenne. Of the three, Winchester's covers the widest range of failed designs, but offers the least
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 discussion of each type. Its greatest value is its definition of "worst," which corresponds roughly to "least successful" and thus includes aircraft that worked alright but were designed for poorly conceived niches (jet flying boats? parasite fighters?), were left behind by the rapid advance of technology (the hapless Douglas Devastator and Fairey Battle of WWII), or were testbeds for failed concepts (nuclear-powered bombers, Mach-3 airliners). Airplane enthusiasts will get a good laugh out of this book, but it also underlines the fact that the history of technology is *not* a steady, linear "march of progress" . . . always a valuable lesson.
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LibraryThing member Karlstar
A fun reference book of 'bad' aircraft. From 20 wing monstrosities (more must be better, right?) to flying cars and early VTOL attempts, the planes range from total disasters to concept planes that just didn't make it. If you are a fan of airplanes, this is a good reference to have, if just for a
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 chuckle or two.
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Subjects

Airplanes
Airplanes Design and construction

Language

English

ISBN

0760767424 / 9780760767429

Local notes

Donated by Jim Hoffman

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