Gadling

Ok, so we missed it the first time around, when it was published, back in 2004. But it's made its way to paperback and is now at Hudson News (at a lot of airports, so it's easy to pick up while traveling). It's Patrick Smith's Ask the Pilot.

Based on his salon.com "column" of the same name, it's really a series of questions and answers about air travel related issues, by a straight-talking writer, who happens to be a commercial passenger jet pilot.

The tag line says that the book is 'for anyone who's the least bit afraid to fly,' but this book has enough in it to inform and amuse even the more "seasoned" flier.

He answers questions like, "what happens if a bird flies into an engine during take-off?" "What's that smoke that trails from the wings?" "Will turbulence crash a plane?" "What's a commercial pilot's life like?" "What were the 10 worst airplane crashes?"

The one question he didn't tackle: why is airline food so bad?

Filed under: Learning, Airlines, Books