Special Offers see all
More at Powell'sRecently Viewed clear list
Guests | May 6, 2013
1 comment
|
On Order
$16.00
New Trade Paper
Currently out of stock.
More copies of this ISBNAsk the Pilotby Patrick Smith
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:More than ever, air travel is a focus of curiosity, intrigue and anxiety. This year, some half a billion passengers will ride aboard the ten largest US airlines alone. Fair to say each one has a question, a doubt, and a lingering fear in the back of his or her mind. We take to the air routinely, yet few of us understand the how and why of jetting from New York to London in six hours. Patrick Smith, an airline pilot and author of Salon.com's popular air travel column, unravels the secrets and tells you all there is to know about the strange and fascinating world of commercial flight.
Patrick speaks eloquently to our fears and curiosities, incorporating anecdotes, memoir, and a life's passion for flight. He tackles your toughest concerns, debunks conspiracies and urban myths, and in a rarely heard voice dares to return a dash of romance and glamour to air travel. Review:"Patrick Smith is extraordinarily knowledgeable about modern aviation, and communicates beautifully in English, not in pilot-ese. Smith is the ideal seatmate, a companion, writer and explainer who will set your mind at ease." Boston Globe
Review:"Patrick Smith is one of the best writers around, period, which certainly makes him by far the best writer ever to have earned a commercial pilot's license. Ask the Pilot is deliciously stylish and informative. A soaring accomplishment, and an indispensable book for anyone who travels by air, which means everyone." James Kaplan
Review:"Anyone remotely afraid of flying should read this book, as should anyone who appreciates good writing and the value of great information." The New York Times Book Review
Synopsis:Though we routinely take to the air, for many of us flying remains a mystery. Few of us understand the how and why of jetting from New York to London in six hours. How does a plane stay in the air? Can turbulence bring it down? What is windshear? How good are the security checks? Patrick Smith, an airline pilot and author of Salon.com's popular column, "Ask the Pilot," unravels the secrets and tells you all there is to know about the strange and fascinating world of commercial flight. He offers:
In a series of frank, often funny explanations and essays, Smith speaks eloquently to our fears and curiosities, incorporating anecdotes, memoir, and a life's passion for flight. He tackles our toughest concerns, debunks conspiracy theories and myths, and in a rarely heard voice dares to return a dash of romance and glamour to air travel. Synopsis:Salon.com's most popular columnist tells why airline travel is still the safest way to get from here to there-and lots of other flight facts.
Even frequent fliers, probably don't have a clue how their plane gets from New York to Los Angeles in 5 hours. And many people probably think flying is more dangerous now than ever-even though it's still the safest means of transportation. In Ask the Pilot, Patrick Smith-a commercial airline pilot and author of Salon.com's popular column-explains in frank and very funny language what fears are grounded in reality and which ones are airborne urban myths. He stacks up the facts, anecdotes, and advice to every flying question imaginable: * Just how safe it is to fly? * What is the safest airline? * Do airlines reduce cabin oxygen flow to save fuel and keep passengers docile? * Can turbulence cause a crash? * What's windshear - and can it really rip the wings off a plane? * How does a plane get off the ground? * Why does the plane sometimes bump, jig, and turn at a high angle during climbout? * Has anyone ever survived a water landing by donning a vest or using a raft? * Why are tray tables stowed before landing? Frequent flier or neurotic aerophobe, this is the one book that will wise people up - and calm fliers down. About the AuthorPatrick Smith, 37, is an airline pilot and freelance contributor. Patrick made his first solo flight at 16 and has flown both cargo and passenger jets. He has traveled to more than 50 countries and always asks for a window seat. He lives in Somerville, Massachusetts.
Table of ContentsAsk the Pilot Author's Note and Acknowledgments Introduction: The Painter's Brush 1. Things About Wings and Why Knots? Airfleets For Neophytes Airfoiled—the art of wings and keeping aloft · A primer on moving parts · Aerobatics in a 747? · Turbines and turbofans—an intro to jets and props · No engines? Can we glide to a landing? · Boeing versus Airbus · Too hot to handle, too high to fly? · Those white lines—clouds or conspiracy? 2. Turbulence for Tyros: Windshear, Weather, and Elements of Unease Up to Speed—The Promise and Peril of Concorde Turbulence and windshear · Pressurization—how, why, and what if it's lost? · How can ice crash a plane? · The truth about toilet water · Are we flying with broken parts? · Aging planes—how old is too old? 3. What Goes Up . . . Takeoffs, Landings, and the Mysterious Between Idlewild, Roanoke, and Timbuktu Too Into the wind and backwards to boot · Takeoff trauma and the climbout cutback · V-what? · A runway nightmare—fact or fiction? · From whence the aborted takeoff? For what the aborted landing? · Foggy notions and crooked landings—finding the ground · Those mysteriously missing thunderstorms · SCROD, WOPPO, BOSOX, and Gardner·The biggest and busiest airports · To HEL and back 4. Are You Experienced? The Awe and Oddity of Piloting The Exploding Toilet And Other Embarrassments Labor and loathing—the myth and mirth of pilot salaries · Pilots and copilots—what's the difference and what do they do? · The workday commute—New Zealand to Atlanta? · Where are the women? · Secrets of skill · Are you irrelevant? · Is there a future in pilotless planes? · Up, locked, and loaded—guns in the cockpit · Flight deck fatigue—are the pilots sleeping? 5. Life in the Cabin Terrorism, Tweezers, and Terminal Madness Class warfare: Where am I sitting and what's the difference? · Do pilots cut airflow to save fuel? Do they reduce oxygen to keep me docile? · Cell phones, laptops, and headphones · Those damn dings · Are we really cleared to land? · The briefing babble · Tray tables, window shades, safety belts, and seatbacks · The skinny on seats 6. . . . Must Come Down: Disasters, Mishaps, and Fatuous Flights of Fancy En Route Angst And The Psychology of Fear The ten worst crashes in history · Those dangerous foreign airlines? · Cockpits and culture · Fallacies and flotation—getting to know your life jacket · Crackpots and conspiracy · The true and false of shoulder-fired missiles · Crewless catastrophe—can a passenger land the plane? · Soft walls and other lousy ideas 7. To Fly To Serve Mourning the Cheat Line The oldest, biggest, best, and worst carriers · What, no Africa? · Small countries, big airlines · Red-eye rationale · A code-share primer · The world's longest flight · Flight numbers, Shamrocks, Clippers, and Cacti What Our Readers Are SayingBe the first to add a comment for a chance to win!Product Details
Other books you might likeRelated Subjects
Business » Management
|
|||||||||
|
|
||||||||||
|
Follow us on...
|
||||||||||
