0 Items- Home >
- Testbeds, Motherships & Parasites: Astonishing Aircraft From the Golden Age of Flight Test-Limited Signed Edition
This limited edition book is signed by author Frederick A. Johnsen.
Filling a void in major works about rare and exotic flight test aircraft, this book is the definitive work on the converted bombers and transports that served as the critically important launch vehicles to the headline-grabbing X-Planes. Covered are scores of aircraft of all types converted for use as "flying laboratories" to test engines, wings, cockpits, and aerodynamic devices all in the name of aviation progress. Also included are the "parasite" aircraft carried aloft to be launched and recovered by their motherships.
With 204 pages and 12 detailed chapters in this book, it thoroughly covers every aspect of mothership, testbed, and parasite aircraft. Also featured are detailed appendices containing extensive reference material for modelers, historians, and enthusiasts, including a complete listing of known engine testbeds; a complete listing of known airframe mods and systems-test aircraft; and all combinations of U.S. and foreign motherships and parasite-carrying aircraft.
Aviation history is filled with legendary aircraft, but in many cases, the design and development of these brilliant machines were dependent on significant inflight testing of new engines, advanced airframe structures, and the latest in flight control and flight-related systems. The availability of already-flying airframes that could be modified easily for specific airborne test work saved years of engineering time, not to mention the lives of countless test pilots who did not have to face airborne risks of the unknown.
Pages: 204
Size: 9 X 9 (inches)
Format: Paperback
Illustrations: 93 color, 167 b/w
Publisher: Specialty Press
ISBN: 9781580072601
Product Code: SP241S
Acknowledgments
Preface
Chapter 1: Old School
Chapter 2: Parasites with a Purpose
Chapter 3: Bomber Bonus Testbeds
Chapter 4: Transport Testbeds
Chapter 5: Canadian Testbeds
Chapter 6: Post-War Motherships
Chapter 7: Motherships in the Jet Age
Chapter 8: Space Shuttle Carrier Aircraft
Chapter 9: Underwing and Useful
Chapter 10: Scaled Composites’ Motherships
Chapter 11: Airframe Mods and Systems Tests
Chapter 12: Miscellanea
Epilogue
Appendix 1: Testbed Aircraft
Appendix 2: Mothership Aircraft
Appendix 3: Glossary of Acronyms and Abbreviations
Appendix 4: The X-15A-2 Report
Selected Reading
Endnotes
Index
Reviews
-
SpeedReaders.info
-
(Posted on 2/7/2018)"This book so obviously fills a niche and therefore is sure to be picked up often."
-
Modeling Madness
-
(Posted on 2/12/2018)"Specialty Press is well regarded for these sorts of books and this one is no exception to their long and very successful series of books."
-
Cybermodeler Online
-
(Posted on 3/20/2018)"Make this informative effort your launchpad to history's spellbinding saga of 'testbeds, motherships and parasites'."
-
Aviation History magazine
-
(Posted on 8/7/2018)"This is a breathtakingly beautiful and learned compilation of unusual aircraft that belongs on the shelf of aspiring designers or any aviation-minded reader who appreciates the boundlessness of imagination."
Frederick A. Johnsen
Frederick A. Johnsen recently retired from a lengthy career at the U.S. Air Force Flight Test Center and NASA's famed Dryden Flight Research Center, both located on the historic desert site known as Edwards Air Force Base. During his time there, Johnsen amassed a wealth of knowledge related to the Golden Age of Flight Test Research at Edwards. He has written numerous books about aircraft and aviation history.
