The Right Seat by Avram Goldstein

book cover for the right seat

This book is a very detailed, thorough course in the basics of general aviation flight, radio communication, navigation, and emergency procedures for non-pilots, yet is easy to read and enjoy. If you are a pilot in all but the certificate, you enjoy learning about the hows and whys of flight and would feel more comfortable and have more fun in a small plane with the knowledge to understand what’s going on and help out in an emergency, than this is a great book for you! I’d even recommend it as a book for those who are considering flight training, or pilots who are returning to flight after a long hiatus as a basic review.

I do have a few criticisms. One, I think the level of technical detail would be overwhelming to some, and a more basic “pinch-hitter” course or video would be more appropriate for them. Two, some of the photos and information are very outdated in today’s glass panel world, so a new edition incorporating newer technology would be useful. Three, in my experience flying the remote West, there may not be a VOR with voice capability or an air traffic controller around to help direct you to a large airport, yet this is the only emergency landing scenario the author describes. A short section on the strategies of off-airport lands would be a good idea!

A nice addition would be an easy-to-read, simple checklist in the back to turn to in the event of an emergency, if the pilot is incapacitated or the plane’s checklist is undecipherable to a non-pilot. The steps a discussion included in the book is great for ground reading, but much too lengthy for a quick-reference.

Find this and my other book reviews on goodreads!

Starflight Press wins SnippetFact’s “Top Content” Award

Notice the new award badge on the right? SnippetFact is a community web site dedicated to improving factual information on the web. Here’s what they say about how they choose sites for this award:

Starflightpress.com was awarded for one or more of the following reasons:

  • Accurate and precise informational content.
  • Interesting and inviting layout and/or writing style
  • Reliable source for trustworthy content
  • Unique and entertaining information

Calling all Centurion Owners: Read Flying the Cessna 210 by Chuck McGill

Own a Cessna 210 or looking to buy one? Chuck McGill’s new book Flying the Cessna 210: The Secrets Unlocked should be on your reading list!

This all-new primer on owning and flying the Cessna 210 Centurion is dedicated to helping all who own or want to fly a Cessna 210 master the art of piloting this complex airplane. Author Chuck McGill covers the wide gamut of 210 models, accessories, and modifications, offering his wisdom on optimum performance and safe operations based on his thousands of hours flying and teaching in the airplane. Flying the Cessna 210 contains 114 full-color photographs and illustrations, as well as abundant facts, tips, and techniques to help anyone command the Centurion for the best performance and safety.

While offering some background on the C210, T210, and P210, the book is much less about history and mechanics, focusing instead on systems and operations. Its 11 chapters and extensive Appendix offer insight into common operational issues during preflight, taxi, takeoff, climb, cruise, descent, and landing operations unique to each model of the 210. Additionally, it goes a long way to help pilots of airplanes with STC’d mods, accessories, and new avionics understand how those enhancements can be best used to make the most of safe flight operations. The book also highlights the versatility and utility of this multitalented aircraft.

Chuck McGill is a Master CFI five times over, with over 12,500 hours of total flight time and 8,500 hours of instruction given. In 2009 he was named the FAA CFI of the Year for the Western Pacific Region.

I’m proud to have been a part of producing this invaluable resource that will help every 210 pilot be safer and more proficient.

Get your copy of Flying the Cessna 210 now in print from Marv Golden, or as an ebook for Kindle and Kindle apps. Additional outlets will soon be available. Visit SafeFlight International for more information.

NRA Blog Article about Flight Emergency Author Reya Kempley

If you’ve read the “About the Author” section in Flight Emergency, you know that aside from aviation, I also enjoy competitive target shooting. This summer at the NRA National Smallbore Matches at Camp Perry, Ohio, I was interviewed by Lars Dalseide for NRAblog. In addition to discussing my shooting, Lars asked me about learning to fly and publishing my aviation book. This article is the result: Reya Kempley shoots at NRA Rifle and publishes on Amazon. I’m flattered to be the focus of his post and grateful for the book mention.

As for the next book, barrel rolls and shooting in the Camp Perry sun both sound like fun to me! Hope to see you next year, Lars, with more to talk about on both fronts.

shooters changing targets downrange at NRA National Matches
Reya Kempley walks back to the firing line after changing targets at the 2012 Smallbore Rifle 3-Position Championships at Camp Perry, Ohio. Her brother Tarl, left, was the overall National Champion! Reya finished fourth in 3-Position and second in the Prone Championship. (Photo from NRAblog)

Flight Emergency advances to Finalist in Dan Poynter’s Global eBook Awards

ebook awards finalist medallion

Who doesn’t like good news when it arrives earlier than expected? It was my surprise and honor to discover yesterday that Flight Emergency had been named a Finalist (Aviation Non-Fiction) in Dan Poynter’s Global eBook Awards! The news came out a few days earlier than I had noted the announcement date on my calendar. Nearly 1,000 entries in 101 categories from 16 countries competed to be a Finalist, determined by 252 category-expert judges. Why not look over the complete list of Finalists and put a few on your summer to-read list?

This excerpt from a previous post, Entering Dan Poynter’s Global eBook Awards, explains a bit about the contest:

Dan Poynter and his company Para Publishing LLC has always been at the forefront of the publishing industry. Now he is recognizing the quickly-growing world of eBooks in their very own awards contest. Other book award programs I’ve seen offer awards for eBooks as a sideline to print books, or do not offer different categories for eBooks as they do for print books. But in Dan Poynter’s Global eBook Awards, Flight Emergency and all other Nominated entries are competing against books in their own categories, as well as “best of” categories, such as cover and illustrations.

Winners will be announced August 18 at the Second Annual Awards Ceremony in Santa Barbara, California. Congratulations to all Finalists!

Happy Birthday Reno High Sierra Ninety-Nines!

The Stead airport near Reno, Nevada is known for hosting the Reno Air Races, an internationally famous aviation event. During this time, the airport is inundated with huge crowds, the sounds of high-performance aircraft racing at low altitudes, aircraft displays from biplanes to military cargo planes, and concession stands. However, on June 2nd, the airport was quiet and empty in comparison, with a few hangar doors open and a small plane or two taxiing about. But if you knew where to look, a party was being had to celebrate the founding of the Reno High Sierra Chapter of the Ninety-Nines! I’m a proud member of this award-winning chapter of the Ninety-Nines, the international organization of women pilots. Enjoy the photos below of our annual “Hangar Craw” where we all enjoyed food and fellowship, followed by honoring our annual scholarship winner and the changing of the guard (new officers). Of special note: Our past secretary Lynn Meadows will be inducted into the 99s International Forest of Friendship for her contribution to aviation and the 99s. This is a well-deserved honor for a treasured member of our chapter—congratulations, Lynn!

Yes, men are allowed to join us–they are known as 49 1/2s.
Enjoying food and aviation fellowship in a hangar at the Stead Airport.
A birthday cake to make women pilots smile and eat!
Our woman pilot scholarship winner, a current commercial pilot working her way up to the big iron!
Lynn Meadows (left) will be inducted into the International Forest of Friendship for her contribution to aviation and the 99s! Moe (right) explains this honor to the chapter.

Hide Your Kindle or face the wrath of Hay-on-Wye

What are your feelings about the ebook versus the traditional paper book? In a previous post entitled Entering Dan Poynter’s Global eBook Awards, I discussed my mixed views on the coming age of ebooks. Most likely there are some paper books that may never make it onto the screen of a Kindle and wouldn’t be the same if they did—such as my yellowed vintage science fiction paperbacks. Paper books have their place and surely will for a long time. However, ebooks are making books more inexpensive, more accessible, and are opening doors for small publishers and self-publishing. In my opinion, each type has its place, its pros and cons.

Perhaps much of the controversy arises from our individual definitions of a book. Is it defined by bound paper, the weight in our hands, the fresh smell of a newly printed book or a musty library basement? Or is it the story inside, the experience we get from a fantastic novel or an inspired cookbook?

As with any new technology, there are the naysayers and skeptics. Some scoffed at the horseless carriage, rolled their eyes at the “talkies,” and said aviation had no place in the military. And now there are the residents of Hay-on-Wye, who threaten to destroy any Kindles in their town with lightsabers. Is it satire? A publicity stunt? Or an honest-to-goodness case of fear of change? Just to be safe, you might want to hide your Kindle away if you attend the Hay Festival of Literature, lest you be tarred and feathered and run out of town!

Also check out this post at The Passive Voice: Warning: You are welcome, but your Kindle is not

eBook Flight Emergency now available on Kobo

The giant online ebookstore Kobo is now offering Flight Emergency for sale as an ebook in epub format. In addition to using one of their e-readers, you may use their free PC desktop application or their smartphone or tablet app. Thanks to their cloud-based service, ebooks you buy from Kobo can be read on any open device. (Amazon’s Kindle has its own proprietary file format.)

You can also find the ebook on Amazon for Kindle and Barnes&Noble for Nook. Coming soon: Apple’s iBookstore.