Free Flight: Inventing the Future of Travel

by James M. Fallows

The troubles of the airline system have become acute in the post-terrorist era. As the average cost of a flight has come down in the last twenty years, the airlines have survived by keeping planes full and funneling traffic through a centralized hub-and-spoke routing system. Virtually all of the technological innovation in airplanes in the last thirty years has been devoted to moving passengers more efficiently between major hubs. But what was left out of this equation was the convenience and flexibility of the average traveler. Now, because of heightened security, hours of waiting are tacked onto each trip. As James Fallows vividly explains, a technological revolution is under way that will relieve this problem. Free Flight features the stories of three groups who are inventing and building the future of all air NASA, Cirrus Design in Duluth, Minnesota, and Eclipse Aviation in Albuquerque, New Mexico. These ventures should make it possible for more people to travel the way corporate executives have for in small jet planes, from the airport that's closest to their home or office directly to the airport closest to where they really want to go. This will be possible because of a product now missing from the vast array of flying small, radically inexpensive jet planes, as different from airliners as personal computers are from mainframes. And, as Fallows explains in a new preface, a system that avoids the congestion of the overloaded hub system will offer advantages in speed, convenience, and especially security in the new environment of air travel.

Genres: Aviation

272 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2001

Reviews

[John Hewlett · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found a cheap used copy of this book and thumbed through it because I recognized the name of the author, James Fallows, a writer at the Atlantic Monthly, because A.) I like the Atlantic and B.) I actually met Fallows once at my local airport a couple of years ago while he was flying from Washington DC to Oakland to see his son for Thanksgiving and was having mechanical problems. Another reason the book struck my attention was because it was published shortly after I began flying, a time in my life that seems so long ago and yet something I can recall with fondness and vivid clarity. So I bought it as it looked like a quick read (which it was) and I thought something that would allow me to compare his general aviation predictions of the time with where we are in the real world now, and what's more, perhaps recapture a bit of my childhood in the process. However in short I found the book relatively disappointing. Many of his predictions have not been born out by reality. General aviation flying in 2018 is FAR FAR more expensive than it was in 2000/2001 and many of the timelines for innovation discussed in the book turned out to be way off mark. However no one expected Fallows (or anyone) to accurately predict the future, especially the Financial Crisis circa, 2007/2008, so these are not things I would fault the author with and ultimately the reason I bought the book. My disappointment stems from the fact that many things were transpiring in general aviation at the turn of the millennium, and many of these things, such as advancements in GPS technology, the invention of the RNAV approach etc were largely left out or briefly skimmed over in favor of a subject material that sounded a lot like a commercial marketing plug for Cirrus Aircraft. I realize that was the aircraft that Fallows owned (and still owns) but there was much more going on in the aviation world at the time. There was a chapter devoted to the Eclipse jet, but I just couldn't get past the car salesman tone with respect to the Cirrus Corporation. It was ripe with potential but ultimately came up very short in this pilot's opinion.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like reading James Fallows.

The 'Atlantic' columnist has a clear, conversational style that educates without feeling scholarly. In his articles and blog posts about current events, he combines a deep knowledge of American politics with a kind of grown-up patriotism all too uncommon in the field.

He's also a private pilot, an aviation buff, and the author of several fascinating blog posts about the 737-MAX mishaps that shook the global flying public in 2018 and 2019. It was these last that inspired me to add 'Free Flight' to my birthday list this year. I'm glad my wife chose it.

[NOTE: My wife and I are both bibliophiles. We keep running lists of books that we'd enjoy receiving on any occasion. It's a great way to ensure getting and receiving the perfect while maintaining the surprise factor of never knowing which title lies underneath the wrapper.]

Fallows spends the majority of the 2001 book telling the story of Cirrus Aircraft, a scrappy upstart in the world of general aviation (GA) manufacturing at the time of publication. Now, nearly 18 years later, Cirrus is an established brand with a trusted project. It was fun to read about the struggles of this company when its future was still in doubt. He then spends some time with Eclipse Aviation, another company set on manufacturing GA aircraft. Eclipse failed in 2008, but that doesn't make its contributions to the field (particularly in the design and production of light turbofan engines) any less notable. In the book's final chapter, Fallows describes a transcontinental flight he took with his family in a Cirrus Aircraft; he puts the reader right there in the cockpit.

As a professional pilot (first with the Navy, now with a major U.S. airline), I found this book to be absolutely fascinating. Though I've had limited exposure to GA flying, 'Free Flight' makes me want to drive down to my local airport and see whether they have any Cirrus planes for rent. Nicely done, Mr. Fallows. I hope you publish an update.

Recommended for: pilots and aviation enthusiasts

[Joe White · Rating 3 out of 5]

Notes: 12/12/13
Free Flight 9781586480400
The author has a great deal of "RA RA" enthusiasm.

His basic premise that commercial air travel is a pain, was obvious in the late
90's. I've only flown once in the TSA era, but I suspect it's gotten much
worse.
The psychological aspect of dealing with the TSA idiots adds a cost in
aggravation.

The downside to the book however, is that the author either used redundancy to
get his message across, couldn't help himself, or just needed to perform better
editing. :

less than 500 miles - small plane or driving can take less time and be cheaper
- go it. Don't tell me again.
jet versus piston - take the jet for performance and safety if you can at all
justify the cost - got it. Don't tell me again.
the main cause of small plane crashes - weather - got it.

I would have liked to have seen more elaboration on the projected appearance of
the "highway in the sky" set up as seen from the cockpit. Some plane-to-plane
communication was being generated and certainly discussed at the time of
publication. I would liked to have seen how this "crowd-sourced" information can
be managed in order to add to the efficiency of a small transportation system.

Since tha book was published almost 15 years ago, it would be interesting to
see a follow-up study of small airfields available today, and see how many are
functioning and adequately maintained.

Also some discussion could have been given to the small airport landing
experience. For example, the assumption was made that the local airport is a
relatively close drive. The destination airport might be only a 30 minute drive
from the final destination, but there might not be a reliable taxi service.
What then?
Also the author mentioned the cost analysis performed by large airlines based
on flying miles, and indicated that it didn't include driving and waiting times
at airports. However he failed to mention that a private plane of "X" cost also
needs to be stabled and maintained, and unlike the luxury cars mentioned, the
pilot cannot usually park the plane at the house. So there are additional
maintenance and storage costs that affect private flying. I would have liked to
have seen a more rigorous analysis of the "total" cost of owning a small plane.

[Hella Comat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not just for pilots, this book suggests an alternative to airline travel. The author notes that despite technological advances, airline travel, especially over smaller distances using regional airlines, is becoming slower and slower. It's partly due to the economical hub and spoke system of the airlines and partly due to all the bottlenecks - traffic, increased security etc.

He suggests that an alternative is small aircraft - fast props and small jets. He notes (the book was written is 2002) that general aviation aircraft have progressed very little in 30 years. Newer Cessnas and Pipers, other than their panels, certainly confirm this.

I found his look at 2 startups - Cirrus and Eclipse - to be a really interesting look at the incredible difficulty of financially developing a new certified aircraft. However, knowing what happened to Eclipse since the book's publication and Cirrus' problems with the development of the whole-plane parachute makes you marvel at the risk and challenge the developers undertook!

[Alain · Rating 4 out of 5]

The really interesting thing about the book is that it's been updated by an article Fallows wrote in The Atlantic in May 2008. Otherwise it might be considered as just another set of hi-tech aviation dreams that were lost in the wake of the dot-com crash at the beginning of the century

[Noah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite any intentions of deeper meaning, this book is mostly just Fallows geeking out about the history and experience of flying small planes. And I loved it. It made me want to run out the door and sign up for flying lessons.

[Bryan]

I'm a fan of James Fallow's blog at http://jamesfallows.theatlantic.com/.

[Wayne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written back in 2002. An interesting look into the furture of General Aviation aircraft. Worked out well for Cirrus Aircraft, not so well for Eclipse --- tried marketing small jets and went bankrupt.