Skyfaring

Written by Mark Vanhoenacker

Narrated by John Moraitis

In Skyfaring, airline pilot and flight romantic Mark Vanhoenacker shares his irrepressible love of flying, on a journey from day to night, from new ways of mapmaking and the poetry of physics to the names of winds and the nature of clouds. Here, anew, is the simple wonder and transcendent joy of motion, and the remarkable new perspectives that height and distance bestow on everything we love.

• Language: English
• Publisher: W. F. Howes Ltd
• Release date: Apr 2, 2015
• ISBN: 9781471294976

Reviews for Skyfaring

[kropferama · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A PILOT AND A POET. If you've ever stopped to marvel the the miracle of modern airplane flight, Mark VanHoenacker is a pilot who wonders right along side of you. He works as a pilot but writes as a poet. He found his love of flight turned into his second career as a commercial pilot. His most powerful observations are around the mixing of time and place especially on long haul flights that he flies such as London to Tokyo or London to Johannesburg. I found myself underlying passages that I wanted to go back and reread for their poetic nature. The chapters effectively divide air travel into basic parts: Lift, Place, Machine, Air, Water, Night and others. The most compelling was Night. Seeing the stars above and the lights of cities below. Long haul pilots race into the night or away for it. They will see several sunsets in a flight or a continuous twilight. This book reminds you that even pilots are still filled with awe for day at the office and may even make you want to follow VanHooenacker's examples and enroll in flight school.

[pdcread · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I have flown domestic, short haul and long haul flights in everything from cattle class to Upper Class and as a form of transport it is a little bit dull. Flying is seen as mundane now and love it or hate it, you cannot deny that modern air travel is the thing that has opened up the world up. It is one of the safest forms of transport ever invented too, making travelling to destinations far and wide, safe, easy and painless.

In this eloquent book, Vanhoenacker tells us just what it is like to be a commercial pilot in this modern age. The plane that he is trained to fly is the classic 380 ton Boeing 747. He tells about crossing oceans and continents, night flying and the delights of spending time in different destinations on each day of the week. He loved flying from an early age, but it was only after he graduated and ended up travelling the world as a management consultant that he started to re-consider his career choice, wondering if he could be a pilot. He took the plunge, retrained and realised his dream of becoming a pilot.

I really enjoyed this book, he writes in a calm measured way, as you’d expect and hope for, from a pilot. What comes across most is that he has never lost the sense of wonder in flying. You hear of him as a small boy being completely entranced by it and he still is now, from the magical scenes of the Northern Lights to the history behind the names of beacons that they track across the world. He takes pleasure in the names of winds and clouds, night flying with only the stars for company and reassurance in the skills of the engineers that enable him to fly. I like the way that he focuses the chapters on a particular aspect of flying; Water, Place, Air, Night and Machine; all different perspectives of the same journey.

The writing is a breath of fresh air; it is adept and detailed without feeling complicated. When he is flying across the oceans you see the curve of the earth as he does and sense the ice on the wings as they descend into world famous cities. A beautifully written book, even one for those who don’t like flying. 4.5 stars

[brangwinn · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

If you fly and are the person who wants the window seat, you’ll relate to this book. It’s not a conventional pilot’s book. Instead the author takes you on a journey with him. You learn about different planes, coming from Seattle hearing compliments about the 747 is music t my ears, but what was most interesting was information about how pilots fly without GPS, what are things pilots like in the cockpit. What will stay with me though on a personal level is the term “place-lag”, traveling from airport to airport isn’t much different that “Jet-lag” confusion about where you are. One of the best books I’ve read. I thought it sounded interesting, but I didn’t expect to be reading it aloud to my husband because each chapter was filled with interesting tidbits and details.

[dramman_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The author is a pilot and clearly 'in love' with flying, which I can well understand as I still experience a thrill every time I take off, even after several thousand flights as a passenger. However his sometimes lyrical prose may not endear itself to all readers. Certain insights did give me pause for reflection, as in the way pilots (at least in a large airline) usually work with crew members whom they have never met before, as is also the case with the cabin crew team. This absence of a group of stable work companions and the friendships that this engenders, is pretty unusual. Still, the author flies the Boeing 747 which is still my favourite aircraft type, 40 years and counting after it took to the skies.

[pier50 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A beautifully written book. It is divided into sections - night, return etc that reflect seperate elements of flight and what these mean to the pilot of large commercial jets. The author clearly loves his job, not just the physical side of flying, but the spiritual element of connecting with the sky and the land over which he flies. Quite a slow, deep sort f book, but worth losing yourself in. It certainly makes you look at flying in a different light

[rightantler · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The book, perhaps unsurprisingly, reads like a long flight. There are moments of excitement as the author reveals as aspect of flying new to the reader, generating more like a warm smile than a moment of enthusiastic new discovery or wonderUltimately the book offers a lot of depth and rewards the reader with a feeling of amazement a traveller gets when realizing they are in a new and different place. The journey to get there can at times feel onerous, but a little stretch and walk round enables the reader to settle back into their seat and enjoy the journey.Put another way, it's a enjoyable read full of great information which at times is a bit slow but ultimately worth the trouble!