I finally got around to reading a book that’s been sitting in one of the towering piles on my desk for, maybe months? years? A View From The Hover: My Life in Aviation by British test pilot John Farley. I should have read it sooner. It’s great. An engaging tour of a top test pilot’s professional life, with hard-won flying insights …
Category: Book Review
Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise
There are loads of self-help books. Boat loads, as they say. Some are good. Most are not. This new book—part self-help, part popular science—won’t help you lose weight or find inner peace; but if you want to learn to fly, or get better at piloting, or be the best pilot in the world in some airplane or mission—this is the …
Standard Checklists
Despite the emergency checklists provided for abnormalities, it’s the standard checklists that you use before you begin your flight that often determine whether you live or come crashing down in a pile of mistakes. Erika Armstrong from her new book ‘A Chick in the Cockpit.’ The book has some good flying stuff in it, but is more about her personal …
New Book for Pilots Heading to the Airlines
After the rubbish book last week (The Pilot Factor: A fresh look into Crew Resource Management) it was a real pleasure to read something well thought out, nicely presented, and filling an otherwise unmet need. Pilots in Command (2014) by Kristofer Pierson is published by Aviation Supplies and Academics (ASA) who have a large range of pilot training products. It’s about all …
A Very Bad CRM Book
I was so looking forward to The Pilot Factor: A fresh look into Crew Resource Management (2014) by Jean Denis Marcellin. Had heard about it online. Cool cover picture has airline pilot ripping off uniform shirt to show Superman costume underneath. Some glowing reviews on Amazon. Then I got the book and started reading. Oh dear. It’s a self-published stretched padded 100 …