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Specialty Press |
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Skystreak, Skyrocket, & Stiletto Douglas High-Speed X-Planes |
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by Scott Libis |
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Reviewed By Michael Scott, 43177 |
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MSRP: $24.95 USD Hardbound, 9” x 9”, 184 pages, 275 photos and a color section The first indication that this is a different book about rocket planes is the Skystreak posed with its support vehicle, yellow tractor #573. The tractor is outfitted with state-of-the-art support equipment: lashed to the front end is a fire extinguisher, a water bag and a short hank of rope. Probably some duct tape and baling wire stowed away somewhere. We’ve come a long way, but we had to start somewhere. This book is written by an obvious rocket man fanatic, but this is a good thing – a few people not really interested in experimental rocket planes will care, but for the rest, this book really gets into it. In Skystreak, Skyrocket and Stiletto author Scott Libis attempts a detailed and obviously loving analysis of the Douglas X-Planes. The text is a combination of solid research and personal anecdotes. Scott was hooked on planes at an early age, joined the Air Force – what else? – And afterwards worked around airplanes as his main occupation. This book amply demonstrates his fascination with fast aircraft. Overall it is a detailed history of the D-558-1 Skystreak, D-558-2 Skyrocket, and the X-3 Stiletto, supplemented with operational facts and many, many photos including detailed cut-away drawings exposing the inner workings of these beasts. Proposed design studies are included, showing the progression of the design from paper to production. There are also detailed testing narratives and information and pictures of “Fertile Myrtle”, the B-29 mother ship. The book concludes by detailing the flight logs for all three planes. The real speed demons were the D-558-1 Skystreak, sporting a red airframe that featured a tube fuselage with straight wings and tail planes, and the D-558-2 Skyrocket, the first manned aircraft to exceed Mach 2. Then there is X-3 Stiletto. My favorite – I remember, dimly, building a kit of this plane back in the, what? fifties, sixties. It was cast in white like the real thing. Little did I know at the time that the Stiletto was a dog, comparatively speaking. Never getting the motor it was designed for in anticipation of Mach 2 flight, it slugged along more as an aerodynamic high-speed research platform than a rocket powered bullet even though on appearances only, it is the fastest of the three. More than an evening’s quick read, this is a solid, well researched and well written book about three important aircraft. Rocket on down to your hobby shop and get one. Thanks to Specialty Press and IPMS for the review copy. This book can be ordered by calling Specialty Press at 1-800-895-4585 or by visiting www.specialtypress.com. A $4.95 shipping and handling fee is added to each order. |
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