From the Flight Deck: Plane Talk and Sky Science

by Doug Morris

Imagine you’re sitting next to a pilot on a flight and he’s eager to answer all those nagging questions you have about air travel. Are those bumps and noises normal? Why are some take-offs delayed? What happens if there’s a storm? How does this plane stay in the air, anyway?In From the Flight Plane Talk and Sky Science, pilot, meteorologist, and flight-school instructor Doug Morris lets you take the window seat on a trip around the world, giving you the scoop on everything from take-off to landing. He explains what you see looking out the window, what that window is made of, and how the plane is kept in rigorous flying condition. Perfect for informing the aviation enthusiast and calming the fearful flier, From the Flight Deck tells you everything you want to know about commercial airline the physics of flight, how airplanes work and what they’re made of, how pilots are trained, route planning and the importance of the ground crew, turbulence, flying in storms, what the flight crew gets up to on layovers, and much more. With facts, trivia, humour, and illuminating photos throughout, From the Flight Deck is the ultimate flight companion.

Genres: Nonfiction, Aviation

184 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2007

Reviews

[Sam Erickson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book! I could definitely tell that Doug Morris had written before this book because of how he writes (and is something he mentions in the beginning of the book). The plane information was informative, well-written, strung together well, and (mostly) made sense. The math portions were a bit too much for me (something about knots and finding the square root of the altitidue, etc.), but they only popped up once near the end. It is a bit of an older book, so published in 2007, so some well-known examples that I expected to see, weren't present; specifically, the Hudson ditching. He talked about how in flight simulations you'll have an engine fail on takeoff, and so I turned the page expecting to see the Hudson ditching, but it hadn't happened yet, so he just continued talking about simulations.

Not the type of book I expect most people to read, but it was fun to learn something new, and from someone who knew how to write an engaging story.

[rabbitprincess · Rating 5 out of 5]

* * * * 1/2

An excellent, highly accessible guide to the wonderful world of air travel. The author, a pilot with Air Canada, is well placed (both literally and figuratively) to give the layman a primer on aviation. After a brief chapter on what it takes to become a pilot in the first place and a lesson on how planes are able to fly at all, Morris basically takes you through a flight, from arrival at the airport in Toronto to touching down in Hong Kong. There are chapters on takeoff, cruising, approach and landing, not to mention the weather one encounters along the way, and throughout each chapter Morris provides helpful recaps of the facts and statistics he's just gone through. He uses the terminology but does not sound jargony, and he even includes some jokes that had me laughing out loud.

I am docking half a star because the copyeditor fell asleep during the chapter on takeoff with some less obvious but still embarrassing homophones, such as berth/birth (when would you give someone a "wide birth"?) and shear/sheer. But this is a very minor bone to pick with this very accessible resource. Only 184 pages but he makes those pages count. Recommended for nervous air travellers and aviation enthusiasts alike.

[Iangagn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Doug Morris' "From the Flight Deck" is a short, informative and enjoyable read. If you're interested in the aviation industry and/or if you're not entirely comfortable with riding an airplane, then I recommend that you read this book. The author does a fine job of explaining every step of an airplane trip by taking you on an imaginary crossing of the North Pacific Ocean from Toronto to Hong Kong. Enjoy!