Douglas A1 Skyraider Owners' Workshop Manual: 1945 - 85 (all marks and variants) (Haynes Manuals) Hardcover – December 12, 2017

2017 was kind of an odd year for Haynes. Although they published a number of fine books, many of their newer "manuals" were novelty books, lacking the in-depth technical details that were a highlight of their earlier titles. This book, for the most part, is a refreshing return to form for Haynes, and much closer in tone to their "classic" aircraft manuals, such as the ones on the de Havilland Tiger Moth and Avro Lancaster.As usual, there are brief introductions focusing on the design of the aircraft, the different variants, and the type's combat record. Where this book really impresses are in the two chapters dedicated to the anatomy of the aircraft and the inner workings of its massive Wright R3350 engine. The author is currently an engineer with Kennet Aviation, which currently has the AD-4NA G-RADR in its collection, and he certainly knows his stuff. The descriptions of individual systems - hydraulics, oil, flying controls, undercarriage, etc. - are surprisingly in-depth, and there are dozens of "guts of the airplane" type photographs accompanying them. There's also a large number of diagrams sourced from original Technical Orders and maintenance manuals, ranging from views of the wing pin-pulling cylinder and hydraulic reservoir to overviews of the landing gear hydraulic system and propeller controls. If you're an airplane geek, you're going to find a lot to love here. Along with the technical material, there are quite a few personal recollections from former Skyraider pilots and armorers, and some modern-day accounts from those tasked with keeping surviving aircraft flying and maintained for the airshow circuit.Unfortunately, the writing in the non-technical areas is rather clumsy in places (too many exclamation points!), as in the translation of an account from a French mercenary pilot. The diagrams are large and clear, but unfortunately quite a few of them lack keys. One major disappointment is actually the binding. Since mid-2016 Haynes has been using proper stitched bindings, rather than the poor-quality glued bindings used previously, which split way too easily and wouldn't stay open. This book seems to use a combination of both techniques. I'm not sure how it'll hold up in the long run, but hopefully this is just a minor hiccup and Haynes will use stitched bindings in the future. That aside, this is still a pretty solid reference, and more detailed than I'd expected it to be.

Nice book. I learned a lot about the Skyraider that I hadn't even suspected before. For example many versions have a two person cabin behind the fuel tank.

A nice reference bokk, but not al lot of details, more stories.

I bought the manual because I worked on these outstanding planes in Thailand and Vietnam as a weapons mechanic and was thrilled when I found out Tony Hoskins was producing this manual. I was proud to be a small part of it by sharing some photos. I gave a short history of the role of the A-1 to our Veterans group, which is mostly made up of Army and Navy with a scattering of Air Force. One Navy man identified his Spad on an aircraft carrier that he was plane chief on. He had tears in his eyes when Tony provided me with the original photo I requested from him to be presented to the Navy plane chief. Just reading the manual and the history of building the various versions of the plane with a giant engine as the basis of construction and the reliability and air worthiness of this aircraft backed up the first impression of what a wonderful airplane this was to work on and be part of the crew that had near impossible missions to perform in Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam

Was exactly as I described, most satisfied, THX.

Ottimo libro con un sacco di informazioni e foto inedite dello Skyraider.

Great pictures and info on this great aircraft

Not bad, would have liked to see more details on variants

Excellent book for modelling reference.