Jean-Christophe Carbonel was born in 1959. He collaborated with Steve Coates on Helicopters of the Third Reich (Classic Publications) in 2003 and has written books in France and the UK, including the trilogy French Secret Projects (Crécy Publishing Ltd) and Zborowski, la Snecma et le Coléoptère (Artipresse). He wrote numerous articles for The Aviation Historian, Aeroplane and is currently running a series of articles on VTO aircraft for Avions de Combat in France. He also wrote books and articles on the history of plastic model kits in France.