P-51 Mustang
Manuals and Photos

by Jack Parker

Self Published by the Author

Reviewed by Brett Green

Multimedia publishing is starting to emerge as a legitimate reference area. This is the fourth CD title to cross the HyperScale review desk in the last year. Reference CDs have a lot going for them. There are no practical space limitations (ie, number of "pages"), no cost implications for large numbers of colour photos, the ability to provide video and audio and the choice of small production runs for niche interest areas.

The P-51D/K can hardly be described as a niche interest. The Mustang must rank as one of the most recognised and admired aircraft in history. However, Jack Parker has taken a very specific look at this broad subject in his new CD publication, "P-51 Mustang - Manuals and Photos".

The title accurately summarises the contents of the disk. Variants covered on the CD are the P-51D, P-51K and the British Mustang IV.

The core of the publication is the original wartime 500 page maintenance manual and the 800 page manual for the Packard Merlin. Each page has been scanned as a high resolution image. Navigation is by way of a frame to the left of the screen that permits each section to be selected, then the individual page can be enlarged from the main window. There can be no doubt about the quality and detail of the reproduction of the pages. The main problem is that the images are very large on screen. I have a 17" screen with resolution set at 1028 x 768 pixels, and I still only see around a quarter of each page at a time. This means that I have to scroll to read the whole page. Printing will be complicated due to this size too.

However, the content of these manuals will satisfy the curiosity of the most pedantic modeller about almost any dimensional, technical or maintenance aspect of this famous aircraft.

Also included are over 180 close-up photos of two Mustangs under restoration. There are plenty of details on display that are usually hidden behind panels, including the engine, radios and structural details.

The content is rounded out with two short videos of a restored Mustang starting up and taxing, 33 terrific detail photos of the typical Mustang pilot's flight helmet and goggles, and even the manual for the helmet!

The CD auto-plays on its own browser when it is placed in the CD drive of your computer. Navigation is fairly straightforward, and the style of presentation is appropriately simple - no fancy bells and whistles to distract the reader. There is no text search facility on the CD, but this would be of limited value anyway as each page of the manual is presented as an image file. However, the manuals themselves do have an index section, so this will assist in the location of any specific information.

Jack Parker's "P-51D Mustang Manuals and Photos" CD will be an ideal companion to the Mustang fanatic who just has to know where every nut and bolt is located, and the torque pressure that needs to be applied to each!

Recommended to real Mustang fanatics.

Thanks to Jack Parker for the review sample.

This CD is available from the Author's webpage

Review Copyright © 2000 by Brett Green
This Page Created on 08 December, 2001
Last updated 22 July, 2003

Back to HyperScale Main Page

Back to Reviews Page