The Pilot Class

by Harrison Jones

Tri Con Airlines has nine thousand pilots and they need more. When Tri Con hires eight new pilots and assigns them to a pilot class, they find the ground school and flight simulator challenge more than expected. The class is a mix of former military pilots and civilians with varying experience, including a former female flight attendant. Who can survive The Pilot Class and meet the challenge of flying the line as a Tri Con first officer. Personal relationships, a married flight attendant with an abusive husband, a major airline accident, and the federal government are all obstacles that stand in the way of The Pilot Class.

277 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 20, 2015

About the author

Author Harrison Jones writes aviation fiction based on personal experience. Before becoming an airline pilot, his forty year career included stints as an aircraft mechanic, a pilot ground school instructor and a flight instructor. He recently retired as an international captain with more than 20,000 hours in the cockpit and extensive flying throughout Europe, Asia, South America and the Middle East. His writing features realism and plausibility that is uncommon in aviation novels. His method has been described as separating fiction from fantasy by developing plot that is not only possible but indeed probable. Harrison says, "My career has blessed me with an endless supply of colorful characters and I allow them to dialogue freely. The narrative is there to simply keep them in scene and herd them all toward a final conclusion." Harrison is currently editing the manuscript for his second novel. He lives in his native Georgia with his wife, Diane.

Reviews

[Chaplain Stanley Chapin · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK,

But not spectacular. There were several things when it stretched believability. The multiple millionaire grandfather that the daughter and granddaughter, who were close to him had no idea of his wealth. The military drone not being detected next to an major airport with all its electronic wizardry. Then the feel good weddings ending.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

A single sitting read!

Wow! Not a disappointment. This air thriller is one of the best. It combines psychological in sight, with political pressure, and pure greed. 200 lives are lost in an airplane crash. The how and why are investigated . The author must be commended by his skillful plot.

[Edward B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read,Heart-warming,and Just a Bit Unrealistic

Enjoy a well-told yarn about a class of disparate students getting their initial experience as first officers of a national airline.

[Auggy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yeah, I’m going to nope out of this at 20%… I signed up for fictionalized Air Disasters, not a soap opera where everyone is a pilot (or flight attendant). Oh well.

[Joseph Halsted · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unusual airline tale

Well crafted multi dimensional techno-mystery with credible characters leading to a surprise conclusion. Not just another airline crash story with a pilot hero.

[Melanie Goode · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this author!

Great characters and interesting technical information without being overwhelming. Make sure to read books in order to enjoy at its best.

[Mrs Vivienne Blundell]

This book I really enjoyed. It’s a follow on and so you ‘know’ the characters . The story is one that you could read as a standalone or book two

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a fan of aviation thrillers and I'd read Jones's Equal Time Point, so I was happy to find The Pilot Class. It was only in reading the book that I realized he was using some of the same characters and that there was another book in between the two, but The Pilot Class stood on its own.

The novel really seemed to be two different stories. I'm not sure if they just weren't quite that well interwoven or if Jones had two ideas that he felt didn't each merit their own novel. The beginning of the book focused on a new hire class of pilots for a major airline. One of those pilots had been a flight attendant and had a friend with an abusive husband, thus started the second half of the novel about a plane crash that may or may not have been engineered by the vindictive husband in revenge for his wife leaving him. The crash investigation really didn't involve any of the characters from the pilot class, save for one who was affected on the ground when the crash happened, so the deviation from the original storyline was pretty noticeable.

Jones is like many thriller authors, most notably Clive Cussler, who is very talented at creating an overall plot, but his characters are a bit underdeveloped and their dialogue doesn't read the way people actually speak. Jones manages to make up for it by packing the novel with detailed information about flight and the operations of a major airline. It was interesting that he gave little duty in the crash investigation to the NTSB, but it's the author's world, and he can make things work the way he wants them to work.

Overall, a fun read!

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

A page turner and enjoyable read.

[Sue Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding book - loved it.
Excellent writer - edge of your seat suspense, amazing characters!!!!
Can't wait to read Shadow Flight!