American Secret Projects 3

The title of this book is very misleading. Along the way to 2008 where the book effectively ends, the authors cover the conventional airlifters, but provide an incredible inventory of the esoteric, the evolutionary dead-ends and the purely experimental. While the programs leading to the airlifters like the C-130J and the C-5 covered, the authors ventured further afield into areas such as ICBM Carriers and Carrier Onboard Delivery along with the on again, off again fits and starts of various programs of small battlefield tactical airlifters, V/STOL, nuclear powered and ultra-heavy airlift. Frankly, there is so much information that it literally took nine months to work through this book. There's a few technical issues with the book, such as on page 255 the specifications block for the Tri-engine C-XX lists four engines. And as is the bane of many others, the available specifications differ in what was listed making a direct apples to apples comparison difficult at best. None of this detracts from the overall quality of the book itself and it is magnificent addition to the "Secret Projects" series. I cannot recommend this book for a casual modeler. For a scratch-builder this book could indeed provide a fertile field for some rather outrageous builds. Overall? A conditional recommendation for skilled modelers looking to do an unconventional subject. Unequivocally and strongly recommended for anyone interested in a full history of US Tri-Service airlift and cargo aircraft since 1962 including the evolutionary dead ends.

A wonderful book for those of us interested in aircraft evolution and development. Excellent illustrations throughout.

I own numerous Secret Projects titles and am particularly impressed by this one. It seems like the longest in the series, with lots of information and illustrations and covers a huge breadth of projects and proposals, most of which are new to me and are certainly not covered anywhere else. The discussion of each project left me wanting more but that's a function of the book's scope. If you're at all interested in the topic, this is a fascinating read.

A very inclusive, well-researched review of a little-known subject

It's not often that a sequel meets or even exceeds expectations based on the original work, but this book simply knocks it out of the park! As a fan of the first volume covering U.S. Airlifters up to 1962, I was hoping this book would carry the story forward in the same colorful and comprehensive manner, and I was not disappointed. The reader's eye dances across each beautifully designed spread, enjoying the sometimes mindblowing photos and illustrations, then reading excellent captions and informative descriptions in the text. A veritable feast of artwork, models, tech art, and photos, all bolstered by clear, concise writing that was obviously a passion for the writers. 'Cargo Planes' may not get all the glory, but they were and always will be the veritable backbone of all military combat operations. This book is a must-have for any aviation library, and is highly recommended!

The book follows the earlier pattern of "American Secret Projects", with a much expanded treatment of the numerous - one would be surprised - designs for air transports that come from America's leading aircraft design firms. The book is divided into 11 chapters: * Chapter One - The Evolution of American Military Airlift * Chapter Two - A Quest for Size. (the C-5 competition). (p. 12) * Chapter Three - Pursuit of VTOL. (p. 59) * Chapter Four - The Air Force Turns to V/STOL * Chapter Five - Routes to the C-17 and KC-10 * Chapter Six - Carrier On-Board Delivery (COD; US Navy search for strategic transport) (p. 152) * Chapter Seven - Extending the Design Boundaries * Chapter Eight - Estreme Outsized Airlifter Conversions. (p. 249) * Chapter Nine - The once and Future Hercules. (C-130) * Chapter Ten - New Missions Energy. (1980 to current). (p. 301) * Chapter Eleven - Exploring New Technologies This is followed by Glossary-Terms and Units; Reference Sources and Bibliography (p. 349), General index; and, Aircraft and design proposals index (p. 358). If you are into tactical or strategic airlift issues and especially the past from the 1960s onward - this book is for you! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED !

Info for mdelling

I ordered this book as I own everthing in this series and did not want a gap in my collection. I felt a book solely about transport aircraft must be very boring. Surely they all look alike. Page after page. Or at least very similar. So I thought. Not the best of assumptions. It arrived and I put it aside with the rest of the order. I was a little bit astonished about the size of the volume, many more pages than the other ones, much thicker. Then I finally took a look and WOW. I would go as far as saying it is the most interesting book in the entire series. So many different designs and projects in drawings, photos and paintings. And so many interesting, unexpected and unusual designs. This book IS really interesting because most of them are so different and thus it never gets boring and you want to turn the page to see "what's next". I do not regret the purchase. High quality, well researched and well illustrated. A gem in my collection. I highly recommend it. Don't get fooled by the title, it's much more than "just" transports in here.

Having loved the first volume of the series, released in 2019, I had been anticipating the publication of this book, since its announcement. When it arrived, I was staggered by the sheer depth and quality of the research and the wealth of drawings and artists impressions that fill this weighty volume. Most aircraft today look so similar, but this book shows that had things been a little different, our skies could be filled with weired and wonderful military transport aircraft. I thought I knew a bit about the sort of subjects featured in this book, I was wrong! I knew about 5% (or less) of these secret projects, the rest were all new to me... something that doesn't happen very often. Buy this book and prepare to be amazed!

Excellent book, amazing range of different types, designs and areas. Recommended to aviation enthusiasts even if you consider transport aircraft not your normal bag.

i can’t really say much because i got it as a present for my dad but i know that he really likes it :)