The Hush-Kit Book of Warplanes

We’re closing the supporter list at the end of this month, at midnight on Sunday 27 March. That will be the last point at which people can pledge and get their names listed in the book. Tell friends to order here. Pledges are still open for volume 2. If you have (rather cleverly) already pledged, a big thank you. 

It's been a long journey (not physically as it just involved three trips to London) to create The Hush-Kit Book of Warplanes –and fingers crossed my input and part in volume 1 will soon be over, meaning the book is nearing completion. It has been a long time since my first meeting with Rowland 'Vulcan' White metres from the first RAF headquarters on the Strand in London, where he suggested this…

A few weeks ago I went over the latest design concepts with Unbound and gave feedback, fingers crossed the next tranche will be the final version and then I can share a cheeky preview. The book will be gorgeous. I'm also awaiting the final feedback on the manuscript. It will feel great to sign this off. 

Once the designers have selected the final images from the selection I have provided, I…

There are millions of World War IIs, and some are more fun than others. The one your grand – or great grandparent –fought or endured was probably the least fun, though a period of (say) six years always holds countless contradictions. The most enjoyable 'version' of World War II was the retelling that was born as propaganda and became cemented to the public psyche through model kits, Commando…

From 1920 to 1963, Hawker Aircraft Limited created a slew of incredible aircraft – but which was the most beautiful? Woodcock? Hedgehog? Danecock? Or maybe the classic Hunter? Let us know in the comments below and we will democratically select the top 10 which will form the basis of a top 10 article for hushkit.net. The Hush-Kit Book of Warplanes Vol 2 is now 24% funded. It can…

It's started! Please support and pre-order now

It's started! Please support and pre-order now

Dear supporter/aviation obsessive/patient friend,

There's big news at the end of this email but first: 

The final design for the cover is done and it looks gorgeous. Courtesy of the sleek design skills of Art Director Mark Ecob.

I can't wait to have this beautiful badboy in my greedy hands (may need to work on phrasing here). If you have a friend who wishes to have their name…

Dear supporter/aviation obsessive/patient friend,

There's big news at the end of this email but first: 

The final design for the cover is done and it looks gorgeous. Courtesy of the sleek design skills of Art Director Mark Ecob.

I can't wait to have this beautiful badboy in my greedy hands (may need to work on phrasing here). If you have a friend who wishes to have their name featured…

Been up to my elbows so the updates have not been as regular as I might have liked. So where’s the Hush-Kit Book of Warplanes up to? Currently, the manuscript is being stress-tested, Red Teamed, and microscopically fact-checked by the veteran aviation writer Jon Lake. I nervously await his feedback. This man knows his onions – but then so do I and the other Hush-Kit contributors. Basically, there…

Had the pleasure of being a guest on the World War II history podcast We Have Ways of Making You Talk with Al Murray and James Holland, you can listen here: 

https://play.acast.com/s/wehaveways/330.bestfightersofthewar-notcomplete-

The Hush-Kit Book of Warplanes manuscript is now with the editor and it’s the Spitfire’s birthday! Let’s talk Spitfires! 

FOR TODAY ONLY: 20% discount on The Hush-Kit Book of Warplanes with discount code: SPITFIRE20

My favourite Spitfire #1 – Spitfire Mk XIV by Paul Beaver

For some time, I have trying to decide which is my favourite of the 73 variants or sub-variants of that…

Artwork for The Hush-Kit book of Warplanes by The Teasel Studio 

The M.20 was a thoroughly sensible design, cleverly engineered to be easy to produce with minimal delay at its nation’s time of greatest need, whilst still capable of excellent performance. As it turned out its nation’s need never turned out to be quite great enough for the M.20 to go into production. First flying a mere…

Jan 4 is the date that the Tejas, Fulmar and Vindicator all took their first flights. To celebrate this, use discount code FIRSTFLIGHT10 for a 10% discount on The Hush-Kit Book of Warplanes (valid today and tomorrow). 

I have no mixers in the house so I'm drinking gin with tap water as I research Soviet electronic warfare aircraft. The manuscript hand-in date is looming: January 31st. I will make it. Head down and keep at it. My Mac has decided this is a great time to embrace mindfulness and takes regular pauses to enjoy the moment, leaving me swearing at a spinning rainbow wheel. Unrelated crises also take the…

Following our contest to choose graffiti for our Soviet fighter aircraft artwork the winner is Stephen Caulfield from Canada with his suggestion 'Pussy Riot'. 

Nikitin-Shevchenko IS-4 (1941)

If the Nikitin-Shevchenko IS-4 (1941) had gone into service what might pilots or ground crew have scrawled on the tail? You decide on the word or phrase - ideally in Russian and if selected it will appear on the artwork seen in THE HUSH-KIT BOOK OF WARPLANES. Let’s find out about the world’s first variable geometry wing fighter. Leave your suggestions in comments…

Speaking to a former Soviet air force pilot convinced me the Su-15 was far better, and certainly more significant, than is commonly thought. The Soviet Sukhoi Su-15 was one of the best interceptors of the 1960s and '70s. It had better acceleration and initial climb rate than the US F-106; compared to the British Lightning it had double the weapon-load and double the endurance. Vitally, this supersonic…

The M16 assault rifle, good enough for Goldie Hawn.

Have you ever seen a homemade gun? At the National Army Museum in Chelsea, London, there is a fascinating display of guns made for the IRA. These were not factory produced but cobbled together in sheds and workshops.

They are brutal and naïve looking tools, quite unlike the mass-produced weapons familiar to our eyes. They are…

The day began at 97%. I watched the figure rise with excitement. I felt a bit sick with nerves. Then we hit 100. I didn’t spit my coffee out with surprise but I did trip over the kitchen bin during my victory dance.

The ‘Hush-Kit Book of Warplanes’ is now going ahead. Thank you. To me it's more the just a screen of virtual confetti, it's the vindication of many years of obsessive writing. My fetishisation…

  I was drunk when I said to Unbound that I would attempt to get the Hush-Kit Book of Warplanes to full 100% funding by 30 August 2020. I chose this date as it marks both the anniversary of the first flight of the Vulcan bomber (1952) and my birthday (YEAR WITHELD). As we are at currently at 81% this seems insanely ambitious, but the clock is ticking and there's no point in hanging around. With some…

British Rail Flying Saucer (1970)

British Rail, the much missed national rail service, couldn't make a decent sandwich - but that didn't stop them flirting with interplanetary nuclear fusion powered flying saucers. Simply squirt liquid fuel beneath the aircraft, ignite it with a series of lasers, create a nuclear fusion explosion and contain the highly radioactive explosion within…

Whether it's loyalty or emotional immaturity that led me to keep my boyhood obsession with aeroplanes I can't tell you. I loved the aeroplane books I read as a child. Now, 35 odd years later I am making my own. I’ve had a lot of time to think about it. This is it.

Since I started my aviation site Hushkit.net in 2012 I have had the chance to do so many things that would impress my seven-year-old…