Cockpit Confidential
Everything You Need to Know About Air Travel: Questions, Answers, and Reflections
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- $21.99
Publisher Description
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
A fascinating fear of flying book from a commercial airline pilot and author of the popular website askthepilot.com.
For millions of people, travel by air is a confounding, uncomfortable, and even frightening experience. When you go behind the scenes, however, you can see that the grand theater of air travel is actually fascinating. From the intricate design of airport architecture to the logistics of inflight service, here is everything you need to know about flying.
Commercial airlines like to hide the truth from customers and do nothing to comfort nervous fliers. And what's scarier than the unknown? In this aviation book, pilot Patrick Smith breaks down that barrier and tells you everything you need to know about flying, including:
•How planes fly, and a revealing look at the men and women who fly them
•Straight talk on turbulence, pilot training, and safety
•The real story on delays, congestion, and the dysfunction of the modern airport
•The myths and misconceptions of cabin air and cockpit automation
•Terrorism in perspective, and a provocative look at security
•Airfare, seating woes, and the pitfalls of airline customer service
•The true colors and cultures of the airlines we love to hate
Cockpit Confidential is a thoughtful, funny, and at times deeply personal look into the strange and misunderstood world of commercial flying. If you liked other books about airplanes for adults, including Soar by Tom Bunn or Skyfaring, you'll find reassurance, humor, and guidance in Cockpit Confidential.
"Anyone remotely afraid of flying should read this book, as should anyone who appreciates good writing and great information." —The New York Times, on ASK THE PILOT
"Patrick Smith is extraordinarily knowledgeable about modern aviation…the ideal seatmate, a companion, writer and explorer." —Boston Globe
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
If you're a white-knuckle flyer, this informative, comprehensive book on air travel is for you. Smith, an airplane pilot and travel writer, takes the mystery out of commercial aviation by giving the reader the basic elements of flight, explaining how these large planes stay airborne; the dangers of takeoffs and landings; and the dreaded presence of wind shear and turbulence. Casual in tone though detailed, Smith's narrative does not skirt the safety issues of lightning and bird strikes on the aircraft, and one of the most dangerous problems ice build-up. Whether he's writing about the confined legroom of the "puddle jumper regional jets" or the rigid training of pilots, he never gets caught in industry jargon or talking down to the reader. The regular air passenger will be intrigued by his expert take on the hazards of the modern airport, with overbooking, delays, and lapses in customer service, while the nervy one might gain a measure of relief or not. Along with the inside scoop on collisions, crashes, and terrorism in air history, Smith paints an unflinching portrait of modern air travel with several fresh and unexpected insights.
