Russell Kay
WARPLANES: MODERN FIGHTING AIRCRAFT, (Maris Multimedia, Ltd., London, U.K.,) $69.95
As "the ultimate encyclopedia of military aircraft and aviation" for the 1976-1994 period, this CD-ROM doesn't quite live up to its billing. For those in love with planes, however, it's a good start. The disc has aircraft and weapons data, a history section, a three-plane flight simulator, and coverage of many conflicts.
Planes are the heart of this CD -- 530 aircraft from around the world, most with photos and about 20 percent with video clips. There is reasonably complete information on each plane's history and specifications, but the photos (a maximum of two per plane) are disappointing. Often, you can't tell what the plane really looks like. There are no photos for several far-from-secret aircraft, such a
s the F-16XL. It appears the publisher assembled these pictures hurriedly, without much attempt to select good images.
The video clips, displayed in a 2- by 3-inch window on a 14-inch monitor, show mostly takeoffs. Image quality is fair. Overall, the video adds little value.
The flight simulator lets you "pilot" a Russian SU-27 fighter, a C-130 Hercules transport, and an A-10 Warthog ground attack plane. It's poorly documented, and some controls seem backward--left-arrow key to bank right, and vice versa.
The conflicts section cross-references planes, airfields, and so on for the cold war in Europe, the Arab-Israeli conflict, and the Gulf War (U.S. Navy and joint RAF/coalition operations). Its history feature shows a shadowy map; when you click an on-screen button, event captions appear in chronological order, with lines to show where they occurred. When the screen gets full, it clears and moves to the next time period. It's not very interesting or informative.
All in all, this dis
c tries to cover too much ground. Limited to plane facts, with better photos, would have made this a treasure trove for the aircraft enthusiast. As it is, it's a reasonably in-depth reference on many planes and weapons.
Russell Kay is a BYTE technical editor. You can reach him on the Internet or BIX at
russellk@bix.com
.
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