Flying the Airbus A380 Paperback – Illustrated, November 15, 2009

I have followed civil aviation developments with great interest over the last 50 years and seen the A380 both up close and in the air. I was therefore keen to know what was involved in operating one of these machines and what changes have occurred in recent years. The degree of automation for safe and efficient operation of the aircraft is very impressive as unlike "real" flying the input from the pilot does not directly correlate with the movement of the control surfaces as the flight envelope is very tightly delineated. The book covers this in some detail for all phases of flight.The book also brought up to date for me the very latest in air traffic control procedures and in flight navigation which, it must be said, is a world away from the simple VHF transmissions I used to monitor when I was a young boy.There are a HUGE number of acronyms referred to in the text. Thankfully there is a comprehensive Glossary and lots of photos of the instruments so all is clearly and logically explained.If you are at all interested in aviation, this book is a great read especially if, like me, you already have some prior knowledge. Even if you don't have prior knowledge, this book will give the general reader an appreciation of what is going on up front on your next flight.Highly recommended.

This book is probably intended for readers who have a reasonable understanding of aviation terminology and the navigation of airliners on long haul routes.It is well written in a matter of fact,technical style that might make it, in parts,difficult to comprehend. Never the less, I think that anyone with a keen interest in aviation would find it an interesting read.From the descriptions of various systems and back ups available it is certainly apparent that this aircraft is a marvel of engineering and computer technology. The level of automation however has brought it's own problems for crews who in some recent accidents have found that they are " out of the loop" when something goes wrong with the computer inputs or sensors.The narrative follows the steps and procedures that an airline crew would follow from the time of the initial 'walk around' inspection of the aircraft at the point of departure (Heathrow, London) to the preparations for departure , the initial navigation out of the busy terminal area, then en route navigation through the airspace of many different countries, and finally preparations for arrival in Dubai. Numerous photographs of the instrument panel are included to illustrate the progress of the flight.

Turns out that there are many people who are turned on about flying. When I was a boy, sometimes I would stand at the end of the runway of New York's Laguardia Airport and watch the extremely heavy machines defy gravity as they lifted off the runway. I later found out that there are many people like me, including to my surprise my son. "Flying the Airbus A380 is a book written for people like me, people who while seated in a plane wish they could view the flight from the cockpit. When I was younger, it never happened to me, and today with security and terrorism in mind, it is apparently impossible. And so the book is the next best thing. Things are described in a way that the layman can understand. I admit that there were parts that exceeded my comprehension, but that is me and not the book. And what I didn't understand (I intend to reread the book soon) does not detract from the many things that I did understand.I have chosen to write this review because I highly recommend this book for people like myself

I liked this book, overall, even tough it's fairly technical and full of acronyms...The author uses one flight as an example to guide us through all procedures and systems that make this wonderful bird that is the A380. It is not too long, but detailed enough. It will teach you a lot about several features and capabilities of these planes, things that the average traveller do not suspect to exist (in terms of complexity, security etc).I certainly recommend it to anyone with a curious mind, at least if not reluctant to do at least a bit off effort in getting used to the acronyms (that are explained, of course, but the many acronyms require from the reader a little bit of effort).Note: If possible, avoid the Kindle edition. The good part is the plenty of pictures the Mr. Vogel included to make the whole read more visual and understandable. Obviously, one can see the pictures on a Kindle, but each tie selecting the pictures to see them in full screen is just a pain. This is not a problem with the book, rather the Kindle format still being way too poor to display anything but text neatly.

I liked the book. It gives details of one of the most modern aircraft and its operation, even to a layman. It helps to understand operation of a complex civil airliner and the routine that the aircrew follow to make airline travel happen safely and pleasantly. The technical details of some of the functions was thrilling and educative.

Good book an incite to the complexities of flying the A380, they are worth the money they are paid awesome

Good content! a little technical though.

It is my first book about "flying" some kind of airplane. I am just an aviation admirer, and this book is so very well written, even for people like me that do not have a profound knowledge about airplanes ; but I read so much that I think I already piloting ... I am just loving this book. Congratulations to the author.