The only resource a pilot needs to understand all types of weather and how to fly in it, with coverage of weather creation along with the philosophy of navigating itnow updated to include new technological devices and changes in weather briefings
An old man lamenting about his hatred for technology
I found this book on a list of books every pilot should have on their shelf.
I didn't finish it. I'm three chapters in and I can already tell that the book would be twice as useful if it were half as long and a quarter more optimistic.
It's like being told repeatedly that technology is the devil and lectured on how much better things were "back in my day."
If you want to write a useful book about weather that is actually helpful today, focus on how to incorporate the vast wealth of knowledge you clearly have with the technology that now exists. Don't carry on forever about how things used to be as if you're writing a memoir and then label it as a helpful book for people to reference right now.
It may be repetitive in some spots, however i am a student pilot and as reading this book i was up doing my solo cross country and like the book said check stations and watch for signs of deteriorating weather. Thunderstorms started building right over my destination airport the sky went black and the rain came down hard. I was deciding on what to do an eventually turned a 180 and flew back home. I wasn't going to chance it. This book taught me a lot about weather the importance of checking along the route and something that today is pushed aside. Taking control of the skies even if its talking to air traffic control. Great read.
This is a book every pilot should read no matter how many hours he or she has under his or her belt. A great read and very informative. Thank you to the author for putting this together.
I'm almost done with this so I figured I'd rate it now.
I hesitated reading this for a long time because I stay away from flying in any serious weather and I was worried about how up to date the information is.
This book of course, is a classic and constantly recommended as one of the 5 flying books you have to own. I can't disagree.
The good: The information in this book has been updated. He mentions the Internet and GPS. The fact that he's flown since the DC-3 days adds a lot of weight to what he says. I learned a lot about weather, how to read it and what to do about it and it's made me want to study the weather more. hH doesn't leave any type of flying out. He tells you what you need to know if you're flying a 172 all the way up to a 747. As a matter of fact, his favorite plane right now is a glider!
Oh yeah, and it's entertaining!
The bad: Well, not too bad. Some of his weather explanations went over my head. Also, even though he mentions the west several times, a lot of his explanations are about weather in the northeast. I also think more specifics on how to check the weather would be nice. I think he's seen so many changes that he tries to leave it more general.
If you're a pilot, just buy the book. You know you will eventually.
A surprisingly easy to read book, despite the relatively dry subject. A lot has changed with technology in the 30 years since this was written, but the fundamentals of weather (and flying it) haven't. This is a great book for tips on flying weather conditions- first, on how to avoid it and, second, how to fly through it if you find yourself in that situation.