Ask the Pilot: Everything You Need to Know About Air Travel [Paperback]

Patrick Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2004

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.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

As an airline pilot and Salon.com’s air travel columnist, Smith has both aviation expertise and the ability to write with sassy intelligence, which turns out to be a winning combination for this book on the weird and fascinating world of commercial flying. While Smith has no special love for tiny seats or half-ounce bags of snack mix, he is nonetheless awed by the concept of flight: "Okay, flying sucks, but if you can’t value the idea of zipping to Hong Kong in twelve hours in a million-pound machine, there’s a problem." Having revised and organized his columns, Smith sets this book up in a loose Q&A format, and answers questions on the physics of flying, the wonder of autopilot, the treatment of pets below deck, air-ground communications and the degree to which passengers should worry about terrorism. Smith clearly possesses a wide breadth of knowledge about engines, takeoffs, weather patterns and other important aspects of flight; best of all he’s realistic without being alarmist. For example, when addressing the sudden change in the direction and/or velocity of the wind, known as "windshear," and whether or not it can "rip the wings off" a plane, he writes, "It’s like asking if a wave can break a ship in half. Theoretically, yes. Practically speaking, no."
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Review

"Anyone remotely afraid of flying should read this book, as should anyone who appreciates good writing and great information." -- New York Times Book Review

"Brilliantly down to earth and reassuring" -- Cath Urquhart, the Times (London)

"I wish I could fold up Patrick Smith and put him in my suitcase." -- Stephen Dubner, coauthor of Freakonomics

"Patrick Smith is extraordinarily knowledgeable about modern aviation, and communicates beautifully in English, not in pilot-ese." -- Alex Beam, Boston Globe

"Patrick Smith is one of the best writers around, period. Ask the Pilot is deliciously stylish and informative." -- James Kaplan, author and contributing editor, New York Magazine

"Smith has both aviation expertise and the ability to write with sassy intelligence" -- Publisher's Weekly

Patrick Smith is extraordinarily knowledgeable and communicates beautifully in English, not in pilot-ese. The ideal seatmate, writer and explainer. -- Alex Beam, Boston Globe

Patrick Smith is one of the best writers around, period. Ask the Pilot is deliciously stylish and informative. -- James Kaplan, author of Pearl's Progress

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Riverhead Trade (June 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1594480044
• ISBN-13: 978-1594480041
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (49 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #392,187 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #77 in Books > Travel > Specialty Travel > Air Travel
  • #100 in Books > Professional & Technical > Transportation > Aviation > Commercial

More About the Author

I'm an airline pilot, air travel columnist, and author of ASK THE PILOT -- EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT AIR TRAVEL. The book was Amazon's pick for Best Travel Book of 2004.

My column of the same name appears regularly at Salon.com, one of the Web's most respected sources for news and politics. There I answer reader-submitted questions and take on everything from airport security to the latest urban myths to the trends and travesties of the airlines. You'll find basic facts and stats; personal stories and vignettes; essays and opinions on virtually all aspects of flight and travel.

Additionally, I am the host of WWW.ASKTHEPILOT.COM

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From another airline pilot - accurate, witty, informative, August 26, 2004

By 

John Bell (Orlando, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ask the Pilot: Everything You Need to Know About Air Travel (Paperback)

None of the previous reviews of this book appear to be by fellow airline pilots - this one is. I suppose that airline pilots really don't need to read books like this to know the answers to the questions that Mr. Smith answers.

I happened to stumble across this book at a local bricks and mortar bookstore on the way to a comfy chair loaded with coffee and some other titles. Seeing Ask a Pilot on the shelves, I grabbed it for a quick skim. What was meant as a quick skim turned into a relatively thorough read.

I am an airline pilot with almost 20 years of working for the airlines. Although I might quibble about some points here and there, the book was very accurate. Never once did I find myself uttering the cattle by- product expletive. I did find myself silently chuckling and nodding my head several times.

The book is written as a question and answer format, with the answer to each question being essentially a small essay. The questions vary from airline safety, pilot pay, interaction between flight attendants and pilots, and technical aspects.

If you are looking for a shocking expose on the airlines - look elseware. On the other hand, this is no airline puff-piece.

Mr. Smith is a good writer. The book is witty, accurate, and engaging. There are so many misconceptions about so many aspects of the airline industry, it is refreshing to see a book that deals with them with accuracy and style.

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unraveling the mysteries of air travel, June 18, 2005

By 

JoAnne Goldberg (Silicon Valley, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ask the Pilot: Everything You Need to Know About Air Travel (Paperback)

I'm a tough grader when it comes to non-fiction books, probably because I've suffered so many disappointments: books that begin with a dynamite first chapter filled with revelations and insights...that are then repeated for another few dozen chapters.

Ask the Pilot manages to avoid these pitfalls, possibly because it's not trying to impart any earthshaking philosophy (other than demonstrating that flying is safe), possibly because there's so much material to cover that it's only moderately repetitious, partly because flying is inherently fascinating, and primarily because of Smith's breezy and entertaining style.

Reading this book is like hanging out with a witty storyteller, except I missed the fact that I couldn't pull on his sleeves a few times to ask pointed questions. Too, I'd love to have heard more about the economics of the industry, but I accept that this is not particularly his area of interest and can't quibble about that. Although the book jumps around a bit chronologically and topically (understandable given its origins) it's one that I could hardly bear to put down once I started it. The toilet story alone is a classic.

As one who has never quite felt comfortable buzzing about the skies in a metal tube traveling hundreds of miles an hour, I have sometimes thought about trying to start an airline (White Knuckles) that caters to my fellow fearful passengers (flight attendants who hold your hand and explain the meaning of every scary sound and bump). Until White Knuckles gets off the ground, Ask the Pilot is the next best thing.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful, humorous, and well worth the read, June 12, 2005

By 

fdr - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Ask the Pilot: Everything You Need to Know About Air Travel (Paperback)

The essay "Not All Mistakes Are Fatal. Some Are Worse" alone is worth the price of the book. His witty writing aside, Patrick Smith gives very straightforward explanations of technical matters that will make sense to those of us who aren't engineers or physics graduates. This book offers you a better understanding of planes and the people who transport them, and what all those regulations, codes, and other stuff in the world of flying really boil down to. Granted, it comes with a heavy dose of Mr. Smith's own opinion -- which, if you're looking for an insider's view of the industry, is entirely appropriate and generally pretty common-sense. If you've ever been curious about whether it's really safer to fly in a large plane than a small one, where airport codes come from, or why the flight crew, when you mention it at deplaning, didn't seem to notice the turbulence that nearly made you lose your coffee in an unfortunate fashion -- check out this book for the answers to these and other questions about flying you may have (if you're a jaded air traveler like most of us are these days) long forgotten you ever had.