Would you like to settle that hangar bet, or astound your cronies at the next Opera Society meeting? Then you might want to get the records book from the National Aeronautic Association, called World and United States Aviation & Space Records.

Not only are there page after page of data -- covering every facet of air-sports, from skydiving to ultralighting, to heavy-hauling and moon shots so that your own world's records can be seen by all -- but also there are all kinds of useful articles that will help you set your record, and get it recognized.

Some stories, woven through the book, highlight certain record quests, and note the history of some of the records, as well. Other pages explain the genesis of the multitude of classes, and the differences between US records and World records.

Why aviation "& Space?" Well, once spaceflight started, things like altitude, duration, and distance kind of would have left the world of aviation behind. Conversely, it certainly wouldn't be fair to leave out the absolute achievements of the astronautics end of the spectrum.

Plan you own record -- some records (and they're all explained) remain open, available for the taking; some appear deceptively simple; some may rely more on luck than planning; and some won't be broken by non-government types in our lifetimes. [I've always wanted to set the record for time-to-climb to 9000 meters, with a 100,000kg payload, myself --ed.]

As Michael Pablo, NAA's Assistant, Contest & Records, noted, "The records in the book are usually current to December 31 of the previous year. New editions come out around April or May." Most records, though, don't fall every year -- and it's always good to dream... [Many's the night I've neglected sleep, just wandering through these pages --ed.]

Copies are available for $21.95 + s&h; 439 pages.

FMI: www.naa-usa.org