Rating:  Summary: The best so far... Review: Captain Stewart first prepares the reader with competent knowledge of the aircraft and navigation before letting the person take a peek at the entire flight from beginning till end from London to New York.I find the language used and the way the book is written in to be very serious, as if the Capt. takes your interest in what he does seriously. Of course, this book omits all the boo boos and emergencies that the writer experienced in his career, but it is a great book to learn by heart if you are an airliner enthusiast. There is something for the experts as well as amateaurs. A must read!
Rating:  Summary: The best I've seen as an introduction to aviation. Review: For those who like planes and decided to understand how it really works, there is still nothing better that I have seen. It comprehends basically all aspects of flying: how a big jet works, how to fly it and basics of aerodynamics and meteorology. In the last chapter, the author vividly describes a complete flight from London to New York, depicting from the pre-flight plan up to the gate at JFK. I strongly recommend it.
Rating:  Summary: Fascinating reading. I have a new appreciation for pilots. Review: I throughly enjoyed this book. So many fascinating details about theplanes, flight procedures and complexity of navigation. As a bonus you get auseful introduction to the physics of flying as well as the history of navigation. My copy of the book already has two people signed up to borrow it!
Rating:  Summary: Jet Lag Writing Style Review: I was excited to read this book given I have always been interested in what it is like to fly these massive hunks of metal. I have also read a few books by this author about airline crashes, which always proved to be interesting. So here is my problem, I was expecting an interesting and maybe at times even exciting book, what I got was a somewhat bland, even dull at times book that spelled out all the facts about flying a jet. OK, I know that is exactly what the author stated the book would be about on the dust jacket, but he did not mention that the text would be bone dry. With that criticism out of the way, I did enjoy learning about flying a commercial jet. I thought the run down of the mechanical operations of the aircraft and the actual job of flying the aircraft were the most interesting. The rest of the book was informative and in enough detail to be considered a good overall review, it was just a bit dry, textbook dry. To be honest I do not know exactly what I would have done to make the book more exciting, but hey, he is the author. It is his job to make the book interesting. And to be a nitpicker, how much actually changes with each new version of the book? Overall the book was ok, it had some interesting parts but really is only for someone that is truly interested in how these aircraft work and what it is like to fly them.
Rating:  Summary: Jet Lag Writing Style Review: I was excited to read this book given I have always been interested in what it is like to fly these massive hunks of metal. I have also read a few books by this author about airline crashes, which always proved to be interesting. So here is my problem, I was expecting an interesting and maybe at times even exciting book, what I got was a somewhat bland, even dull at times book that spelled out all the facts about flying a jet. OK, I know that is exactly what the author stated the book would be about on the dust jacket, but he did not mention that the text would be bone dry. With that criticism out of the way, I did enjoy learning about flying a commercial jet. I thought the run down of the mechanical operations of the aircraft and the actual job of flying the aircraft were the most interesting. The rest of the book was informative and in enough detail to be considered a good overall review, it was just a bit dry, textbook dry. To be honest I do not know exactly what I would have done to make the book more exciting, but hey, he is the author. It is his job to make the book interesting. And to be a nitpicker, how much actually changes with each new version of the book? Overall the book was ok, it had some interesting parts but really is only for someone that is truly interested in how these aircraft work and what it is like to fly them.
Rating:  Summary: An interesting and informative account. Review: If you are truly interested in the technical aspects of flying large aircraft, but never really understood physics at high school, then this is the book for you. It makes sense of those areas of flying that could put you off becoming a pilot in the future.An interesting read.
Rating:  Summary: This is a great reference Review: It answers lots of questions , and makes you discover things you wouldn't even think of. This is an important reference which all aviation enthousiasts must acquire .
Rating:  Summary: In some ways disappointing... Cut & paste job Review: On the one hand, what did I expect? This doesn't exactly promise to be a whole new book. On the other hand, this is so much like Stewart's "Flying The Big Jets--The 747," that it's clear though most of the text all he did was use a word processor to change "747" to "777." There are of course some areas where this won't do--the aircraft have some differences that must be addressed--but even here he didn't sit down and write new material but rather simply inserted individual sentences and paragraphs as needed, wherever the Triple-7 differed in some way from the 747. Even the flight that's the last chapter is exactly the same except we're going to Boston's Logan Airport now instead of New York's JFK. But the weather and flying condititions, and the descriptions and experiences the pilot has along the way, are identical to those of the 747 book. He could have had it snowing in this trip, for instance, to discuss how a pilot deals with a wintery snow landing vs. the rainy landing of the last book. There are a few plusses: diagrams of the cockpit gauges have been redrawn--much better this time. The section on avionics is updated a bit to reflect new technology. And the text is laid out a little better by the publisher. But if you already have Stewart's 747 version of the book (which I've also reviewed), no need to get this one. If you don't, and you're curious as to what goes into flying a jumbo from chocks away to chocks under, then this is a reasonably good book, if bland at times. (The chapters on meteorology are particularly challenging to stay awake while reading.) There is a near-complete lack of anecdote or personal observation. For a man who has flown around the globe, he has little to say. There are a few attempts at levity, but they fall painfully flat. Stewart may be a fine pilot, but he doesn't sound like he'd be interesting company at a dinner party. He makes something this exciting sound as dull as driving to work. Well, maybe to him that's what it is.
Rating:  Summary: Authoritative Review: Stanley Stewart does an excellent job describing the basic knowlege and procedures for flyng a 747-400. Obviously, you won't learn to fly one just by reading this book, but you will have a good appreciation of the sort of background a senior pilot has. The prose is dry, and Stewart's occasional attempts at humor fall totally flat, but otherwise this book is totally authoritative and therefore a mandatory addition to the armchair pilot's bookshelf.
Rating:  Summary: A highly technical yet interesting book Review: This book has a large amount of useful information in it, and it's organized well. Because the author is a B747-400 captain for British Airways and, based on my comparatively limited experience everything agrees with what I've learned from other sources, I find that it's also quite accurate.
The only gripe I have is that I found the book to be extremely dry in the chapters dealing with navigation and meterology, and this is the only reason I gave it a "4" instead of a "5". It read very much like a textbook throughout these chapters; but besides that most every other aspect was satisfactory. It's quite in-depth for someone with a passing interest in these areas.
Overall, this is a good book for people interested in the "big jets", especially those who already know the basic principles of flight and a little bit about aviation. For those who have absolutely no background in this subject, the information-packed chapters may have to be re-read a few times to be fully comprehended.
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