No one ever said that flying was completely safe and while commercial air transportation is about as safe as walking, testing the sharp edge of technology isn't. Or perhaps I should say 'wasn't' as much of what used to require an experimental prototype is now handled in a super-computer.

Back several decades ago, one didn't know how an aircraft or system would function until it was tested to the limits. When those limits were reached, there was often the chance that even the skill of the finest pilot would be unable to bring the aircraft back into controlled flights. The result would be a pilot floating down on a parachute and a twisted mass of wreckage on the ground. In the US, this ground was the floor of the Mojave Desert just north of Los Angeles where Edwards AFB is located.

Switching to a related subject, there have always been groups of people that are so fascinated by aircraft crashes that they spend days and weeks researching and travelling to crash sites. So it is with a group that enjoys finding the sites of crashed experimental aircraft. This book is the result of that research and those travels.

The authors have combined the story of the aircraft in question with the research they have made into where these aircraft met their fate, their travels to the sites in question and photos of what those places look like today. In the majority of cases, there is no pile of twisted wreckage as those things were picked up and carted away by the USAF soon after for crash investigation. Yet they don't get all the bits and often one will find a myriad of tiny pieces of airframe, or a section of panel or a switch at the site. Sometimes, as in the crash of the Hughes XF-11, there will be nothing at all, while in some of the more remote locales, there will still be considerable debris.

In this book many famous aircraft are profiled and sites visited. I especially like that the authors took the time to photograph the wreck sites from the same angle and location as the USAF crash teams so you can see for yourself what these places look like today. Aircraft such as the YB-49, X-1A, XB-51, XB-70, SR-71 and many others are within these pages. It all makes for a most interesting read and is a book that I enjoyed going through. I know you will find it equally as fascinating.

November 2008

Review book courtesy of Specialty Press, where you can order your copy of this and many other superb aviation and modeling books. Visit their website at the link above or call them at 1-800-895-4585

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