REVIEW: Airline Pilot: A Day in the Life by Grant Corriveau

JayneB+ Reviews / Book Reviews / Recommended ReadsCanada / flying / non-fiction / pilot3 Comments

“This is the captain speaking…” You’ve heard the announcements. But, have you ever wondered what’s really going on “up there?” You can’t visit the pilots during flight, but you can get the inside scoop. Join an experienced A320 flight crew as they face a typical day’s work. From the hectic pace of irregular operations, turbulence, and quick turn-arounds, to landing in marginal weather with minimal fuel reserves, this detailed description of a line pilot’s job places you in the heart of the action. Captain Grant Corriveau (Uplift – A Pilot’s Journey) once again takes you beyond that locked door to see what real airline pilots are up to while you’re invited to “sit back, relax, and enjoy the flight.” After thirty years of airline flying the captain has gained a few insights and formed some opinions. Now, he’s happy to share…

Corriveau shares intimate details with typical humor and candor… “I hear the sounds of galley doors and storage units slamming shut behind me. I glimpse someone in the jetway swinging the main cabin door closed. It must be time to go.” Here’s your boarding pass, now hurry! Don’t miss this golden opportunity to sit in the flight deck, and view the job of an airline pilot from the inside out.

Review

Four years ago (gah! has it been that long?!), I read Captain Corriveau’s book “Uplift. That book was a humorous recap of his years of training and flying commercial aircraft complete with (at different times) funny or scary anecdotes. In this book, he takes us step by step through exactly what a captain and First Officer have to do to get us from here to there and back. Oh yes, and toss in some blizzard conditions on the return leg back from Vancouver to Montreal to add some nerve wracking recalculations to the amount of fuel on board and possible diversions should they not be able to make their intended destination.

Corriveau’s humor is still very evident but this is a much more technical discussion of flying an Airbus 320 complete with discussions about some of the bells and whistles that an Airbus is equipped with and checklists for many stages of the journey. It might be more than the average reader is looking for but I can see aviation geeks geeking out (as I did) over it. At times I really felt as if I were on the flight deck (particularly at take off from Montreal) and I was mentally checking the fuel status along with Corriveau as they made their final approach home, in the dark, among the swirling snow, waiting for the Air France Airbus to clear the runway.

Flying a plane will never be something I will do but after reading this book, I kinda have the feeling that I did. B+

~Jayne

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