Customer Reviews

The Backseat Flyer: Plane Sense About Flying As a Passenger

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I read this book with fear as I was apprehensive about flying although I wouldn't say I was fearful. It relaxed me because of the light way it described the flight from start to finish. I learned a lot. It also talked about a specific remedy to calm me down which I took and will say it delivered what it claimed to do. I also learned what to do about my jet lag and although I did not follow the suggestions, I may consider them on my next long trip. I though this book was fun and useful and would gladly recommend it to my friends.

This is a very small book from a vanity press that has churned out other titles on hemorrhoids and pet care. While the author, an experienced pilot, is no doubt knowledgeable, the book itself is spotty, repetitious, poorly punctuated and just not worth its price. It comes up in searches for books on overcoming flying anxieties, and while it does touch on that topic, there are far better and more comprehensive books to be read for that. In fact, until the section that is dedicated to alleviating those fears, the author demonstrates a rather sadistic attitude about potential plane disasters, so the more phobic will probably want to avoid this book.

Also, a good chunk of the text is dedicated to recommending various quackery to relieve the health hazards of flying with flower tinctures and the like, and the writer lets the lecture bleed into the evils of things such as sugar and soft drinks in general rather than sticking to the issue at hand.

My girlfriend was panicked everytime she thought about flying. Since I'm a pilot and wanted to take her flying with me, this was not acceptable. This book talked about one specific flower remedy for fear which we bought and it worked. I'm so grateful. The book is worth that one suggestion and at $9.95 saved me a lot of psychiatrist bills.

Meager (and often inappropriate) attempts at humor about the ins and outs of flying make this book not simply a waste of time, but yet another reason for fearful flyers to avoid the aviation industry entirely. After having perused the rather flimsy book, I found myself thinking of ways to get out of my upcoming flight. Not exactly what I was looking for in a write-up about how to tame my airline anxiety.

Ms. Anderson's attitude throughout the book is condescending and smug. The list of "commandments" (such as "Worship the Pilot"), speak more to a battered ego than compassion for the timid flyer. The entire tone of the book is one of disdain for the passenger, omnipotence of the crew, especially the pilot, with wise-cracking threats if one is not properly intimidated. I'm not without appreciation or gratitude for the experience of the airline pilot, the cardiologist, or the hazmat team, but I find it offensive to have it hammered into me as karmic law. Try reading Patrick Smith's Ask the Pilot, which is at once informative and thought provoking.

I love to fly--choosing a four-hour flight with a two hours of airport time over a six hour drive is a no-brainer for me. I find airports and airlines fascinating, and I picked this book to learn more about the ins-and-outs of flight itself, not to resolve any fears of flying.

There is a good bit of decent information contained within The Backseat Flyer; after all, Ms. Anderson has extensive experience as a pilot. The "survival guide" portion does contain good ideas for those fearful of or even just unsure about what to do to make one's flight the safest and best experience possible, and I found it fascinating to read a pilot's take on passenger travel.

However, the book also contains items of questionable value (and information that at times is flat-out wrong). For instance, Ms. Anderson addresses the idea of catching colds or other illnesses from fellow passengers and says that airlines have gone from bringing in fresh air to recirculating the same stale air repeatedly "to save costs," which is simply incorrect; modern turbofan (jet) aircraft change their air completely out as frequently as every two to three minutes--so in reality you are not at risk of catching a cold, the flu, or SARS from anyone but perhaps the passengers seated directly beside you. She also advocates pseudo-scientific mumbo-jumbo like "elemental diodes" to reduce jet lag and fatigue, something akin to wearing magnets for join pain (which sometimes "works" due to the placebo effect).

The book is also rather spare; I had hoped for something longer. Yet the illustrations are funny (if not terribly reassuring to the fearful flier!) and the text engaging. I would recommend "The Flying Book" or "From Takeoff to Landing" perhaps as better books of a similar vein, but you may still wish to give this one a read.

I would have to say that until reading this book I had appropriately earned the title of Ms. Most Fearful of Flying. Every noise I heard, every slight bump I felt and every single unknown event that occured while in a plane made me have a full blown panic attack. I had decided not to fly any more and had even boycotted vacations with my family that involved airplanes. Finally my friend decided to purchase this book for me -- what a difference! I officially made a flight from New York to Colorado without the slightest hint of fear. This book tells you everything that you need to know about flying. I even know what's going on in the cockpit. The description is correct you go from backseat driver to backseat flyer, without any fear. I'm so glad that this book was written.

My friends gave me this book as a gift because I took flying lessons years ago and they though I would appreciate it. It was fun to read the stories about flying and the experiences the author went through. I didn't know what it took to become a professional pilot. The description of the flight brought back memories of my flying days although I never piloted the big stuff. I found particularly interesting the part on jet lag and the need for light to reset our body clocks. I'm happy that a new book is out that gets to the core of how passengers really feed about airline food and why it may not be the gastronomic experience you expect. Anyone who needs a fun but serious gift for people who fly should buy this book.

A group from our local school is flying across the US soon and one member of the team is afraid of the flight. This book helped everyone understand the training pilots received, the safety precautions taken and that "the more you know, the less you fear..." and, the illustrations are sure to put a smile on your face. There is also great info on how to deal with air sickness.