Is the Nikon 55-300mm lens good?

I have a D5000 with a VR 18-55mm lens, and need a zoom lens for aviation/wildlife pics.
Nikon have VR 55-300, 70-300, and 18-300mm lenses.
Price also climbs in that order.
Obviously if I had the $$$ this would not be an issue, but also don't want a mediocre slow AF lens.
Someday I'd like to do this for income, and am willing to invest if the $700 price difference is worth it: it'd also be great to have a 1-lens camera with the 18-300, but if the others have good optics/performance, I'd rather do one of them now.

300mm is short for wildlife.

The 55-300 seems to be rather decent, the 70-300 has the edge in built quality.

You can add the 55-300 mm lens to what you have and have two lenses that will pretty much handle 95% of anything you may want to shoot.

On the other hand, the 18-200 mm could be a one lens solution for your camera. There's NO 18-300 mm lens. Not yet anyway.

Only you can determine which lens will fit into your style of shooting.

Here is a couple of sample shots, using the 18-200 mm lens.

It is a versatile lens I'm sure you will enjoy

The 55-300mm is not bad, but beyond 200mm it softens a bit. The 70-300mm should be a little sharper and will autofocus faster. The 55-300mm's lighter weight is a attractive feature.

http://www.slrgear.com/...59/cat/all
http://www.slrgear.com/...992/cat/13

http://www.kenrockwell.com/...-300mm.htm
http://www.kenrockwell.com/...300-vr.htm

http://mansurovs.com/nikon-55-300mm-vr-review

I would consider its a good lens

Nikon 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR AF-S DX Nikkor Zoom Lens for Nikon Digital SLR

5.5x Telephoto Zoom lens
Nikon VR II Image Stabilization; Tripod Detection Mode
HRI (High Refractive Index) Lens Element
2 Extra-low Dispersion (ED) Elements
Exclusive Nikon Silent Wave Motor (SWM)