NZFF

Random topic....

Just thought I'd share in my surprise at the cost of trying to start a Cold War aviation book collection (1946 to 1991, with a preferred focus on the 1970's on up)! Decided to start on the Soviet side, and the book prices are absolutely all over the place, which really threw me off.

I was able to get four books in a hardback series about various aspects of Soviet military aviation (strategic, navy, homeland defense, and tactical) as well as a softcover specialty book about the Tu-154 for a reasonable cost (especially considering that the four military-focused ones are new, large hardbacks) but there are many others out there (as part of varying series with the most common authors being Yefim Gordon and/or Dmitriy Kommisarov) ranging in price from US$20 to US$300 or more, with little price consistency.

Check out the prices sometime for a book about the Tu-144....+$300! So much for adding books about aircraft I use often in the sim! I know there's a Mig-21 book by the authors mentioned above going for nearly $2000! (with one seller trying to sell a copy for over $7000, which I hope is some sort of sick typo.)

No wonder everyone is transitioning to e-books/digital formats.....wow....

Sean it'll only get worse... falling hardcopy sales mean unit prices will climb proportionately.
Time to move on; I switched my magazine subs to iPad some time ago, and it's a cheaper and better experience.
The e-books are often interactive and linked too, which adds enormously to the depth of the read.
And the tablets are no great burden to handle...

I know how u feel i just had to buy 4 books today for Aircraft engineering, $90 for the electronic ones...

Are well aviation is an expensive hobby....

Yob wrote:

QUOTE (Yob @ Apr 4 2014,5:34 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I know how u feel i just had to buy 4 books today for Aircraft engineering, $90 for the electronic ones...

Are well aviation is an expensive hobby....

It is indeed E.J .... no matter which way you approach it .

Sean, Amazon is a great site to source books, there is another form the UK, Greg 'Scaber' sent me a link but I don't recall it ... as far as the COLD WAR is concerned Oooo boy- have a fair bit here, the TU144 would be interesting but i'm sure lacking due to its period.

I was looking for one on the Tu-144 in "Like New" or "New" condition, and it looks like now I'm in a bidding war:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Tupolev-TU-144-Boo...=item4ad32a8c53

Sean, I'm sure you would find a brand new copy , least one thing required for my shelf is it has to be Hardcover, God Luck with your bid , if I see anything that will suit your search I'll give you a nudge.

Decided not to mess with a bidding war and being Ebay sniped, and shelled out the cash for a "Like New" condition one for a bit more, so I'll have that Tu-144 book in my hands hopefully in about a week.
Another one to the collection....

I think next up may be either the Soviet/Russian Testbed Aircraft hardback (by Yefim Gordon and Dmitriy Kommissarov) or US Aircraft in the Soviet Union and Russia (Yefim Gordon). Probably won't go for more specialty type-specific books for a while unless something really catches my eye.

Ian,

I'll let you know if it says anything about the airshow coverup as you requested in the Tu-144 screenshot thread.

SeanTK wrote:

QUOTE (SeanTK @ Apr 10 2014,1:04 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'll let you know if it says anything about the airshow coverup as you requested in the Tu-144 screenshot thread.

Would be interesting to find out if they become more forthcoming since opening up to the west, I still recall the crash on TV and the photo on the front page off the "Christchurch Star" newspaper back in 1973, I have a small article about it, but was written pre 1989 so it is very cloudy and also the French authorities got no answer even back then.