F-16 Fighting Falcon, Viper Under The Skin – Special Edition (Eagle Aviation, 2018)
Eagle Aviation has just released a special edition book in their "Under The Skin" series of walk around and in-depth studies of the most popular of jet fighters. This time it is the F-16 Fighting Falcon, examined in an updated close detail book in "Viper Under The Skin – Special Edition" which is available now from the publisher's website and selected bookshops, model shops and online stores.
Viper Under The Skin – Special Edition (2018)
From Eagle Aviation
Written by Ioannis Lekkas & Ilias Gkonis
Book size: 285mm x 205mm
Number of pages: 144
Number of photos: 600 in full colour
Release date: 30th October 2018
Retail price: 35.00€
F-16 Fighting Falcon, the “Viper”! The most successful and agile fighter in the globe. A true legend of jet aviation that inspired modelers and enthusiasts more than any other aircraft, the F-16 seems as a masterpiece of aerodynamics with its splendid flying virtues, its powerful engine and the innovations that it introduced, such as the side stick, the bubble canopy, and the excellent blended wing-fuselage shape.
After the huge success of the first edition (2015) with almost the same title, three years ago, Eagle Aviation is proud to publish the ultimate guide for the modern Viper, a unique 600 photos book that uncovers every aspect of the F-16C/D/E/F Fighting Falcon. Cockpits, fuselage details, landing gear, engines, and avionics are thoroughly presented throughout the totally redesigned book, both in content, as well as in size. This Special Edition is redesigned with over 75% new photographs and offers 44 extra pages and larger size. (144 in total in A4 landscape format).
Most photos are new to us. Very few are the same (or almost the same) as in the first edition but there is a huge difference here: the quality of the photos and printing is 100% better or even more than that. We compared closely many photos and found that the new edition has better color processed detail in every aspect. Besides, the photographic lens of Ioannis Lekkas has now revealed new, more interesting angles, much appreciated by the modeller and aviation enthusiast alike, and there is a huge input of totally new photos, much more interesting than in the previous book. For example, the detail of the upper surfaces is even better, the cockpit is covered by many more and better photos and this trend is going in many of the other areas/sections of the aircraft, inside and out. We had to study side by side the two editions to decide definitely that this one is by far the better! Also, it is better balanced by including more full-sized aircraft, especially in flight, something we missed in the first publication. Of course the main focus remains the close-up details and the authors have taken great care to include informative captions to guide the reader about the place, direction (arrows showing FWD for example), variant (which Block), type of weapon seen in each photo plus other useful and practical info, often missed in similar publications.
We also liked the new A4 landscape, wider format, much better than the almost squared shape of the first edition. The sewn binding is also of the highest quality.
What is unique also, is that this is probably the only publication where the experienced modeler, as well as the serious enthusiasts, will discover all the internal parts of the jet, shot during heavy maintenance, like the engine bay, fuel cells, APU, hydraulic systems, flight control actuators etc. as well as all the modern ordnance (no practice rounds) from AIM-120Cs and AIM-2000s up to AGM-154Cs and GBU-50s. Further to this, several users of the type are presented. The reader can find detailed illustrated information for aircraft in use with over 10 Air Forces, including USAF, Israeli, Hellenic, United Arab Emirates, Polish, Singaporean and Chilean Air Force as well as some other Air Forces from all around the globe. We particularly liked the photos of the AAQ-33 and -28 Sniper & Litening sensors, DB-110 Recce pods and of course all the AA and Air to Ground Weapons.
Yet another F-16 book in the market? As every publication has its own purpose, “Under The Skin” books series is designed having in mind the appetite for capturing through the photographic lens almost every disclosed detail of the aircraft in focus. And this SPECIAL edition F-16 Viper Under The Skin is a true representation of that!
Photo processing and printing quality: All photos are processed vigilantly, color by color, to match the exact tones of the real parts of the jet so that the reader gets a clear and accurate picture of the subject. All detail shots are captured and processed in a way that diminishes shadows leaving no disclosed areas. The book has been printed in high-quality printing facilities in glossy three layers 135gr paper with the best quality inks in the market.
If you are going to build any scale model of the F-16C Block 50/52+/M, or you just want to study all the details of this magnificent aircraft, then you cannot miss this book. Rivet counters will love it, but you don’t have to be one to appreciate this kind of publication. Buy one while you can! Highly recommended.
The book is available and you can order it easily by clicking here.
