What do you think?
Rate this book
Commercial Aviation 101
Commercial Aviation 101 is an in-depth look at the ins and outs of the commercial aviation industry as it stands today. Featuring a detailed explanation of the various security programs that are in place today, Commercial Aviation 101 will help the reader understand the policies and procedures that have been established to keep the skies of our nation safe. For those who are also interested in learning some of the basics of the commercial aviation industry, Commercial Aviation 101 also features detailed descriptions of common terms and practices used by commercial airlines and airports today. Among other things, eaders will learn how airports make money, how to identify different commercial aircraft as well as dozens of various terms in the Encyclopedia.
Commercial Aviation 101 takes the reader through a history of the industry, from its inception to the changes wrought by deregulation in the late 1970s through the current era. For those with very little knowledge of the industry to old hands, there is something in here for everyone.
About the author: Greg Gayden has nearly 15 years of experience in the aviation security field, working with the various rules and regulations that are in place to ensure the system of the commercial aviation system. Gayden also operates a website devoted to commercial aviation, airplane spotting, and photography.
Commercial Aviation 101 takes the reader through a history of the industry, from its inception to the changes wrought by deregulation in the late 1970s through the current era. For those with very little knowledge of the industry to old hands, there is something in here for everyone.
About the author: Greg Gayden has nearly 15 years of experience in the aviation security field, working with the various rules and regulations that are in place to ensure the system of the commercial aviation system. Gayden also operates a website devoted to commercial aviation, airplane spotting, and photography.
123 pages, ebook
Published January 25, 2016
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 28, 2021
In this book, there are two quarters of a book.
The first two-fifths of the book contain an overview of American airport security procedures, with particular emphasis on TSA, where the author is employed. Some of this content is block quote copy-pasted from the government website for that topic (which is noted by the author) which makes it feel more like a compendium of public domain data rather than particularly useful or interesting information. Conversely, some sections dive into strangely detailed discussions of various TSA employee levels and their salaries and equipment which seems only tangentially related to the titles implied core focus of the book.
The final quarter of the book is comprised of a glossary and various lists of airport codes. The glossary is serviceable and as anticipated TSA/security related entries take precedence in terms of quantity and quality of definition. The lists of airport codes are accurate but pad out a lot of pages in an otherwise already short book - this is reference material easily available online.
That leaves approximately 30% (or 80 pages) to cover 47 chapters on the commercial aviation business. Much of this content is so shallow that it's barely worth reading. For the sake of comparison, the chapter on Call Signs is approximately 145 words (including two "Did You Know?" sections), whereas the Wikipedia article for Aviation call signs is 1,700-odd words. I'm not suggesting the book need cover every topic in this level of detail, but surely there's more than four sentences one can say about this topic. Most of the chapters in the commercial aviation section are the same - extremely surface-level overviews that leave you wanting more (or any) detail. The information presented is all accurate, and for someone with little to no knowledge of commercial aviation it would be a good place to start to get some foundational knowledge (then move to other sources for the details).
Recommended: If you're interested in U.S. airport security screening policy, history and equipment or this is your first foray into aviation and want a broad overview of U.S. commercial aviation.
Don't recommend: If you have even a passing familiarity with commercial aviation, you can give this one a miss.
The first two-fifths of the book contain an overview of American airport security procedures, with particular emphasis on TSA, where the author is employed. Some of this content is block quote copy-pasted from the government website for that topic (which is noted by the author) which makes it feel more like a compendium of public domain data rather than particularly useful or interesting information. Conversely, some sections dive into strangely detailed discussions of various TSA employee levels and their salaries and equipment which seems only tangentially related to the titles implied core focus of the book.
The final quarter of the book is comprised of a glossary and various lists of airport codes. The glossary is serviceable and as anticipated TSA/security related entries take precedence in terms of quantity and quality of definition. The lists of airport codes are accurate but pad out a lot of pages in an otherwise already short book - this is reference material easily available online.
That leaves approximately 30% (or 80 pages) to cover 47 chapters on the commercial aviation business. Much of this content is so shallow that it's barely worth reading. For the sake of comparison, the chapter on Call Signs is approximately 145 words (including two "Did You Know?" sections), whereas the Wikipedia article for Aviation call signs is 1,700-odd words. I'm not suggesting the book need cover every topic in this level of detail, but surely there's more than four sentences one can say about this topic. Most of the chapters in the commercial aviation section are the same - extremely surface-level overviews that leave you wanting more (or any) detail. The information presented is all accurate, and for someone with little to no knowledge of commercial aviation it would be a good place to start to get some foundational knowledge (then move to other sources for the details).
Recommended: If you're interested in U.S. airport security screening policy, history and equipment or this is your first foray into aviation and want a broad overview of U.S. commercial aviation.
Don't recommend: If you have even a passing familiarity with commercial aviation, you can give this one a miss.
September 9, 2018
Great for aviators. We need it.
It is great to have this book, loaded with loads of knowledge. Thank you very much to the author. I love it.
It is great to have this book, loaded with loads of knowledge. Thank you very much to the author. I love it.
January 28, 2016
Airports are curious places. This book takes the mystery out them.
For instance, did you know there's an industry term for those annoying people who storm the gate at first announcement, even though it'll be twenty more minutes until their boarding group is called? Yup. "Gate lice".
Gayden explains the complex inner workings of commercial aviation in simple terms in this surprisingly entertaining read.
For instance, did you know there's an industry term for those annoying people who storm the gate at first announcement, even though it'll be twenty more minutes until their boarding group is called? Yup. "Gate lice".
Gayden explains the complex inner workings of commercial aviation in simple terms in this surprisingly entertaining read.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews