Book Review: This Is Your Captain Speaking – Stories from the Flight Deck

There is something inherently fascinating about the flight deck of an airliner. For most passengers, the cockpit remains a largely inaccessible place, separated from the cabin by a door and a world of procedures, technology, terminology and decision-making that few ever get to see.

In This Is Your Captain Speaking: Stories from the Flight Deck, Captain Doug Morris sets out to open that door, at least metaphorically, and give readers an insight into what happens behind it.

Morris is a long-serving airline pilot who flies the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and is also a qualified meteorologist. He has spent more than two decades writing for his airline’s inflight magazine, an experience that is evident throughout the book. Rather than approaching aviation as a technical textbook, Morris explains the subject in the conversational style of someone answering questions from an interested passenger.

And there are plenty of questions.

Why does turbulence happen? What actually happens during a flight when passengers hear the familiar announcements from the cockpit? How are routes planned? How much fuel does an aircraft carry? What is the purpose of all those checklists? What happens to pilots and cabin crew during long layovers? And, perhaps inevitably, does an airliner actually have a key?

These are the sorts of questions Morris tackles.

An aviation book for everyone

One of the book’s biggest strengths is that you do not need to be a pilot, engineer or aviation professional to understand it.

Morris takes subjects that can initially appear complicated and breaks them down into straightforward explanations. Flight planning, weather, aircraft systems, navigation, autopilot, air traffic control, simulator training and the realities of airline operations are all explored without turning the book into a technical manual.

For aviation enthusiasts, some of the information will inevitably be familiar. Anyone who has spent years reading about aircraft or following airline operations will probably find themselves nodding along to some sections rather than discovering something completely new.

That, however, is not really the point.

This Is Your Captain Speaking is aimed at taking the knowledge that pilots and aviation professionals take for granted and explaining it to the people sitting behind them in the cabin.

It is particularly effective when Morris explains why something happens rather than simply telling the reader that it happens.

Turbulence is a good example. For a nervous passenger, a few seconds of unexpected movement can be enough to create genuine fear. Morris approaches subjects such as turbulence, icing and weather from the perspective of both a pilot and meteorologist, providing reassurance without simply dismissing passengers’ concerns.

That combination of operational experience and meteorological knowledge gives the book an added depth.

Behind the scenes

The book also goes beyond the aircraft itself.

Morris looks at the people and processes that make commercial aviation work, from flight crews and cabin crew to dispatch, air traffic control and the often unseen preparation that takes place before an aircraft even leaves the gate.

There are sections covering pilot training and simulator work, life on the road, difficult passengers, airport codes and some of the more unusual aspects of airline life.

It is these human elements that prevent the book from becoming simply a collection of technical explanations.

Morris clearly enjoys flying, and that enthusiasm comes through. There is humour throughout, along with anecdotes from his career and observations about the sometimes strange world inhabited by airline crews.

The result is a book that often feels less like a formal aviation reference work and more like sitting down with an experienced airline captain and asking him the questions you have always wanted to ask.

More than just aircraft

One of the interesting things about This Is Your Captain Speaking is the breadth of subjects it covers.

The book moves from the highly technical to the downright curious. One moment Morris is discussing flight planning or aircraft operations; the next he is explaining airport codes, crew life or one of the many oddities of commercial air travel.

There is also an extensive aviation glossary, which is useful for readers who are new to the subject.

That makes the book particularly accessible to people who have an interest in aviation but perhaps lack the technical background to understand much of the terminology encountered in aviation publications.

For an aspiring pilot, it provides an enjoyable introduction to the profession. For a frequent flyer, it offers an opportunity to understand what is happening around them every time they board an aircraft. And for the committed aviation enthusiast, there are enough insights and anecdotes to make it an enjoyable addition to the bookshelf.

Not quite the flight-deck memoir you might expect

The title and subtitle may lead some readers to expect a traditional pilot memoir packed with dramatic stories from the flight deck.

This is not really that book.

While Morris includes plenty of personal observations and anecdotes, the book is much more of an accessible guide to commercial aviation than a collection of dramatic tales of airline life.

There are no attempts to sensationalise flying and relatively little emphasis on near-disasters or dramatic incidents. Instead, Morris concentrates on explaining the everyday realities of airline operations.

For some readers, that will be a strength.

For others, particularly those looking for an aviation equivalent of a traditional tell-all memoir, it may feel slightly different from what the title initially promises.

The book’s structure also means it works particularly well as something to dip into rather than necessarily reading from cover to cover in one sitting. The subject matter ranges widely and some sections naturally appeal more than others depending on the reader’s interests.

A reassuring read for nervous flyers

Perhaps one of the most unexpected audiences for the book is the nervous flyer.

Morris does not patronise passengers who are uncomfortable with flying. Instead, he explains what is happening and why.

Understanding what the aircraft is doing, why it makes certain noises, why the wings move, what turbulence actually means and what the pilots are monitoring can make the experience of flying considerably less mysterious.

The book’s conversational style helps here.

Rather than throwing technical terminology at the reader, Morris generally takes the time to explain the terminology and put it into context. That makes the book approachable without stripping away the technical substance.

It is easy to imagine this being particularly useful reading before a long-haul trip — or even during one.

Verdict

This Is Your Captain Speaking is an enjoyable and accessible look at the world of commercial aviation from someone who has spent decades working inside it.

It is not a dramatic pilot memoir, nor is it intended to be. Instead, Doug Morris has produced something arguably more useful: an approachable guide to the many questions that passengers, aviation enthusiasts and aspiring pilots have about life in the air.

For experienced aviation readers, not every chapter will deliver a new revelation. But there is considerable pleasure in seeing familiar subjects explained from the perspective of a serving airline captain, while the anecdotes and humour give the book plenty of personality.

For the general reader, meanwhile, it provides an excellent introduction to the world behind the cabin door.

Most importantly, Morris succeeds in making commercial aviation feel less mysterious without taking away any of its fascination.

For anyone who has ever looked out of an aircraft window at 35,000 feet and wondered exactly what is happening at the other end of the aeroplane, This Is Your Captain Speaking provides many of the answers.

UK Aviation News rating: 4 out of 5

Recommended for: Aviation enthusiasts, frequent flyers, nervous flyers, aspiring pilots and anyone curious about what really happens behind the flight-deck door.

This Is Your Captain Speaking: Stories from the Flight Deck
Author: Captain Doug Morris
Publisher: ECW Press
Published: 2022
Length: approximately 272 pages
ISBN: 978-1-77041-585-0