Ask the Pilot

Ask the Pilot PDF Author: Patrick Smith
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 9781594480041
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 292

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Book Description
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: A nuts and bolts explanation of how planes fly Insights into safety and security Straight talk about turbulence, air traffic control, windshear, and crashes The history, color, and controversy of the world's airlines The awe and oddity of being a pilot The poetry and drama of airplanes, airports, and traveling abroad 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.

Ask the Pilot

Ask the Pilot PDF Author: Patrick Smith
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 9781594480041
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 292

Get Book Here

Book Description
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: A nuts and bolts explanation of how planes fly Insights into safety and security Straight talk about turbulence, air traffic control, windshear, and crashes The history, color, and controversy of the world's airlines The awe and oddity of being a pilot The poetry and drama of airplanes, airports, and traveling abroad 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.

Skyfaring

Skyfaring PDF Author: Mark Vanhoenacker
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0385351828
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 368

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Book Description
A poetic and nuanced exploration of the human experience of flight that reminds us of the full imaginative weight of our most ordinary journeys—and reawakens our capacity to be amazed. The twenty-first century has relegated airplane flight—a once remarkable feat of human ingenuity—to the realm of the mundane. Mark Vanhoenacker, a 747 pilot who left academia and a career in the business world to pursue his childhood dream of flight, asks us to reimagine what we—both as pilots and as passengers—are actually doing when we enter the world between departure and discovery. In a seamless fusion of history, politics, geography, meteorology, ecology, family, and physics, Vanhoenacker vaults across geographical and cultural boundaries; above mountains, oceans, and deserts; through snow, wind, and rain, renewing a simultaneously humbling and almost superhuman activity that affords us unparalleled perspectives on the planet we inhabit and the communities we form.

Adventure of Becoming an Airline Pilot

Adventure of Becoming an Airline Pilot PDF Author: George Flavell
Publisher: Infinity Publishing
ISBN: 0741431300
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 212

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Book Description
Follow an unlikely candidate from high school dropout to a highly successful flying career. Commendation from Lockheed's Clarence "Kelly" Johnson, (SR71) as a High Caliber Flight Instructor, tops the list.

Sadie the Air Mail Pilot

Sadie the Air Mail Pilot PDF Author: Kellie Strøm
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780385750271
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 40

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Book Description
Although her day got off to a bad start, Sadie, a high-flying cat, is confident that she can make the air mail run to Knuckle Peak Weather Station, even after the station reports that a storm is headed their way.

Papa Kilo Part 1: A True Story from a Susi Air Pilot in Indonesia

Papa Kilo Part 1: A True Story from a Susi Air Pilot in Indonesia PDF Author: Dan Richworth
Publisher: Dan Richworth
ISBN:
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 240

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Book Description
HOW DID I BECOME A PILOT FOR ONE OF THE WORLD'S MOST INFAMOUS AIRLINES? "This book is the first of a three part trilogy based on my experience as a bush pilot flying for Susi Air in Indonesia. For 4 years I’ve flown Cessna Grand Caravans in one of the most challenging environments for aviation in the world. This book features the good stories, the bad stories, and the down right unbelievable stories. I must confess, I’ve spent a very long time deciding whether or not to publish this book. Here’s the thing…I’m now a Boeing 737 Captain for a major European airline, and unsurprisingly, I value my career very much. So publishing a book about these bush flying adventures (and occasional mishaps), isn’t necessarily going to impress my current employers...or future employers for that matter. You could perhaps describe publishing this book as “career suicide”. This somewhat undesirable situation of losing one’s career, might just explain why I’m the first Susi Air pilot to publish a book like this. Yes, the sensible thing to do would be to keep my mouth shut. Just stay under the radar and avoid any adverse consequences to the career that I have worked so hard to get. But how could I keep the greatest adventure of my life to myself? I needed to write this book. This isn’t just my story. This is the story of every pilot who was f*cking nuts enough to come fly for Susi Air. Needless to say, the real identities of both myself and my colleagues at Susi Air will remain anonymous in this book. I have no doubt that some Susi Air pilots, both past and present, will know exactly who I really am. However to any of those pilots reading this book, I do ask that you keep my real identity private, much in the same way that I have kept your real identities private in this book. All of the stories in this book are real. Only the names have been changed."

Viper Pilot (Enhanced Edition)

Viper Pilot (Enhanced Edition) PDF Author: Dan Hampton
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0062246305
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 313

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Book Description
Get inside the cockpit with Dan Hampton, the military’s most decorated F-16 pilot, in this enhanced e-book edition of Viper Pilot. Exclusive to this edition are 11 video interviews, where Hampton talks candidly about his time as a Wild Weasel and about the fighter jet that kept him alive through so many dangerous skirmishes. In addition, an interactive “first-person” cockpit diagram lets you get deeper into the action, providing a visual companion to the book that leaves you feeling like you’re sitting in the iconic F-16 itself. 151 combat missions 21 hard kills on surface-to-air-missile sites 4 Distinguished Flying Crosses with Valor 1 Purple Heart Sure to rank as one of the greatest aviation memoirs ever written, Viper Pilot is an Air Force legend's thrilling eyewitness account of modern air warfare. From 1986 to 2006, Lt. Col. Dan Hampton was a leading member of the Wild Weasels, the elite Air Force fighter squadrons whose mission is recognized as the most dangerous job in modern air combat. Weasels are the first planes sent into a war zone, flying deep behind enemy lines purposely seeking to draw fire from surface-to-air missiles and artillery. They must skillfully evade being shot down—and then return to destroy the threats, thereby making the skies safe for everyone else to follow. Today these vital missions are more hazardous than direct air-to-air engagement with enemy aircraft. Hampton's record number of strikes on high-value targets make him the most lethal F-16 Wild Weasel pilot in American history. This is his remarkable story. Taught to fly at an early age by his father, Hampton logged twenty years and 608 combat hours in the world's most iconic fighter jet: the F-16 "Fighting Falcon," or "Viper" as its pilots call it. Hampton spearheaded the 2003 invasion of Iraq, leading the first flight of fighters over the border en route to strike Baghdad. In the war that followed, he engaged in a series of brilliantly executed missions that earned him three Distinguished Flying Crosses with Valor; he notably saved a U.S. Marine unit from certain death by taking out the surrounding enemy forces near Nasiriyah. Two years earlier, on 9/11, Hampton's father was inside the Pentagon when it was attacked; with his dad's fate unknown, Hampton was scrambled into American skies and given the unprecedented orders to shoot down any unidentified aircraft. Hampton also flew critical missions in the first Gulf War, served on the Air Combat Command staff during the Kosovo War, and was injured in the 1996 Khobar Towers terrorist attack. With manned missions rapidly giving way to remote-controlled UAV drones, Viper Pilot may be the last memoir by a true hero of the skies. Gripping and irreverently humorous, it is an unforgettable look into the closed world of fighter pilots and modern air combat. Please note that due to the large file size of these special features this enhanced e-book may take longer to download then a standard e-book.

The Air Pilot

The Air Pilot PDF Author: Randall Parrish
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 342

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Book Description


An Airline Pilot's Life

An Airline Pilot's Life PDF Author: Chris Manno
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781717142580
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 528

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Book Description
The true story that is Amazon's #1 aviation new release: who didn't want to be a jet pilot as a kid? Yet for most, life gets in the way and charts a different course. But what if? Here's your chance to live the dream, the real story of a childhood passion for airplanes and flight to the rigorous military college that lead to Air Force pilot wings, to years as a USAF pilot in the Pacific and Asia, then into the cockpits of the world's largest airline, and decades as a captain. Live the struggle, the adventures, the flying, the ups and downs of airline crew life from an insider perspective. An airline pilot's life: strap in, hang on--it's a wild ride.

The Air Pilot's Manual

The Air Pilot's Manual PDF Author: Dorothy Saul-Pooley
Publisher: Air Pilot's Manual
ISBN: 9781843362159
Category : Aeronautics
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description


Flying Drunk

Flying Drunk PDF Author: Joseph Balzer
Publisher: Savas Beatie
ISBN: 1611210488
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 257

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Book Description
March 8, 1990: An intoxicated three-man crew, including Flight Engineer Joseph Balzer, fly a Northwest Airlines Boeing 727 with 91 passengers aboard from Fargo, North Dakota to Minneapolis, Minnesota.Northwest Airlines, alcoholism July 25, 1990: All three pilots stand trial for flying a commercial airliner while under the influence of alcohol; all three are convicted and sent to federal prison. July 26, 1990 – present: Joe Balzer fights for redemption and to regain all that he has lost. Flying Drunk is his story. Since he was a young boy, Joe Balzer dreamed of flying. He pursued his goal with a vigorous passion and earned his pilot licenses, piling up hours of flight time with a wide variety of planes and jets with one overarching goal: to one day fly for a major airline. But Joe had a problem. He was an alcoholic and refused to admit to himself that he had a problem. His alcoholism caught up with him in March 1990, when Joe was arrested with two other pilots for flying a commercial airliner while under the influence of alcohol. His world began crumbling around him and his new marriage faced the ultimate test. He lost his promising career and his dignity. Every major media outlet, including The New York Times, Newsweek, and Time Magazine covered the shocking story for the stunned American flying public. The trial that followed drained Joe’s life’s savings and federal prison nearly broke him. Flying Drunk is Joe’s bittersweet and thoroughly chilling memoir of his twisted journey to a Federal courtroom, his time in the notorious Federal penitentiary system in Atlanta, and his struggle to recapture all that he held dear. Today, Joe is a recovering alcoholic, celebrating more than nineteen years of sobriety. The long road back from perdition led him to American Airlines, where good people and a great organization recognized a talented pilot who had cleaned up his act and was ready to fly again, safely. Flying Drunk is an incredible journey of the human spirit, from childhood to hell, and back again. Everyone should read and heed its message of hope and redemption. No one who does will ever forget it. About the Author: Joe Balzer is a pilot for American Airlines with more than 15,000 hours of flight experience. He has a Master’s Degree in Aerospace Education and is also an inspirational speaker, traveling around the country speaking to pilots and other groups on the dangers of alcohol and other addictions, bringing his audience to laughter and tears with his powerful message of hope. Joe lives in Tennessee with his wife Deborah and their two children. Flying Drunk is his first book.