Customer Reviews

Weather Flying

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
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Bob Buck is a retired airline captain who spent over 30 years flying for Trans World Airlines. He is also regarded as first person to make reading about weather interesting. This is the book he wrote to convey the pilot's perspective of flying through fronts, circumnavigating thunderstorms, and surviving icing conditions. If you are a pilot desirous of learning about how to predict weather, learning the tricks of the pros, and how to get there through the 'muck', this is the book to read. It is not an easy read, and Buck assumes you already know some weather basics, but it puts together all that you learned reading those boring FAA manuals, and Buck makes it interesting. (This is a review of the first edition, Weather Flying is now in its fourth edtion.)

Buck entertains and teaches. Alone, that is a talent, but add to that Buck's experience and his ability to observe and anticipate our weaknesses as pilots, and this book becomes a valuable down and dirty reality check. If you are a high-time pilot or just getting under the hood for real, read this book.

There is a particular joy to flying with the clouds. The style of Buck's writing captures this uniqueness. It also warns the pilot of the consequences of not preparing for the same event.

Weather Flying is a fast read, yet might just save you from being tangled up in a ball of scrap aluminum.

I got my instrument rating 25 years ago, and Buck's Weather Flying recommendations are still fresh and pertinent. A friend just shared that she is going to tackle an instrument rating, and Weather Flying came to mind as the perfect gift to make a safe pilot. I still use his practical recommendations in my infrequent IFR flights, and feel that it has contributed to making me a safer pilot. Sorry if this sounds a bit corny, but few books have stuck with me like this. PS: If you're interested, try T.R. Fehrenbach's "The Reckoning" or "This Kind of War" if you want something that will also stick with you through life.

Tom

A very informative and easy-to-read book on weather flying. Being a student pilot, I found the book very helpful in understanding the weather around us. Makes you "think" before you "fly". Definitely enjoyed the book ;)

It is hard to imagine a pilot with more weather flying experience than Captain Robert Buck. And much of this flying was in the old days: in the early years of the Army Air Corp and a young company called TWA. Much of this flying was accomplished without the assistance of modern instrumentation. Captain Buck travelled the world seeking the most ornery weather he could find, and then flew into it time and time again, compiling the experience and collecting the data that no one else had at the time. Captain Buck shares that experience here. This book is interesting and engaging to the flying enthusiast, essential to the VFR pilot, and absolutely priceless to the aspiring instrument pilot. Every discipline and every pastime has its classics, and WEATHER FLYING is, without a doubt, one of the classics of aviation.

The language of WEATHER FLYING is simple and straightforward. The lessons are practical more than theoretical, though Captain Buck keeps his readers briefed on essential weather theory as well. Virtually every weather situation that a pilot can encounter is covered in this book, from the ordinary to the exotic. Then Captain Buck instructs you how to fly it. The concept is simple and direct; the lessons are comprehensive and pragmatic.

In short, this is not a book to read once and then shelve. The lessons are too important to be forgotten. This is a manual to be taken down and read over and over again by any sort of pilot who flies any sort of aircraft.

Jeremy W. Forstadt

I first read this book early in my private pilot training, many years ago. Needless to say, I did not really understand what I was reading. Coming back to it now, with a number of additional ratings and many more hours of flight time to my name, was a revelation. Almost on every page, I found myself saying, "Yes, that's how it is." Buck really knows what he is talking about, whether it be ice, thunderstorms, turbulence, or transitioning from instruments to visual on the approach. Taking to heart what Buck has to say will first and foremost help you to survive as a pilot by making good weather decisions. Just as importantly, he imparts a great deal of wisdom on how to get maximum utility from the airplane while keeping risk to a low level. However, as indicated earlier, the book is definitely not for beginners. A solid understanding of basic meteorology and a considerable amount of piloting experience are needed to interpret it correctly--and safely.

As a CFI I have numerous books in my aviation library. This book details flying in weather and the mindset required to be a safe and competent instrument pilot.

Recommeded to me by my instructor after I received my instrument rating I now recommend it to students and associates whenever the subject of flying in weather (or not flying in weather) comes up.

I read Northstar Over My Shoulder prior to buying this book so I had an understanding of Captain Buck's history and experience which added weight to the wisdom obvious in Weather Flying (buy that book too!)

An indispensable guide to flying in real-world weather. No book can teach good judgement, but this one comes close.

Written by a veteran pilot for pilots. This book is a must for aviators. The latest revised edition is to keep up to some changes in technology (internet and advancement in weather forecasting.

Very nice and not dry like technical books on weather. You will learn all about weather on a pilots perspective.

Buck really knows Wx and the book is as clear as a book on this topic can be. I have given several copies of this book to pilot friends, on the occasion of either their solo or getting the Private.