Another American icon in the military aircraft world is the North American F-86 Sabre. To many enthusiasts, this is the epitome of a clean jet aircraft. No masses of lumps and bumps, no multiple weapons pylons on which to place drag inducing ordnance and no complex electronic systems. Just a turbojet, pilot and guns. About as basic as one can get and aside from the powerplant, it is typical of what nations were fielding for fighters during WWII.

Such was the success of the aircraft, that it became the mainstay of nearly every free world air force during the 1950s and 1960, some Sabres lasting on the active roster into the 1970s. Even today, there are a number of F-86s flying the warbird circuit in North America and Europe.

That makes it a natural for Zenith Press' series of Haynes Owner's Workshop Manuals. Now I am not sure if it could be used to fully maintain and service the aircraft, but it is quite complete and covers what seems to be pretty much everything required to keep one operating.

The book is Britain based so it is pretty well dedicated to the lone F-86 flying in that country. However, this is a pretty special Sabre, being the only F-86A still in flying condition. The folks at Golden Apple Aviation managed to salvage F-86A 48-178 and with help from a donor Alpha model and lot of metal work, have it flying at various shows in the UK and Europe. Naturally, one would expect there to be a rather large section on the restoration of this plane and along with a history of the type (including all of the various wars in which it was involved), that is what you get.

Then the book goes into the various systems of the aircraft and looks at the J-47 engine that is used to power it. All is accompanied by a lot of photos of these areas as well as drawings/blueprints. The book then goes into the viewpoints of the aircraft as seen by an owner, a pilot and an engineer. Then there are sections on how to operate the aircraft and then how to perform scheduled maintenance. This is finalized with a brief commentary on extant airframes and a look at the differences between the major variants.

Containing over 300 images, mostly in full color, it all makes for an excellent detail book for the modeler and enthusiast alike. A super look at one of the most famous aircraft to ever take to the skies and a book I know you will find as fascinating as did I.

December 2011

 Review book courtesy of Zenith Press. Visit them to order this and other great books.

If you would like your product reviewed fairly and quickly, please contact me or see other details in the Note to Contributors.

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