I highly recommend this book!Nothing better for perspective pilots Yeah, the book was written long ago. And suprise the author didn't have pinpoint accuracy in predicting the future. But nothing compares to this wonderful book for someone who wishes to become a pilot. I was given this wonderful book by an aunt while suffering a short hospital stay. She knew I was intrigued by airplanes. Was only 14 at the time. The book was terrific and explained fairly complex things in a way one could understand. Not without some effort on my part. But still I have never seen it done better. I read, and reread this book dreaming of one day flying myself. It would be ten years before I was in a position to get a license. And rereading this book for the 5th or 6th time before starting on the training was a tremendous help. As someone else commented "flying in your imagination".
The author made many very correct observations on flight and how it works at a time when so little was understood. It is clearly a classic text. Reading the book will give you a very thorough understanding of many of the nuances and characteristics of flight that any pilot should want to know. It's very difficult not to recommend this book for that reason.
However, this is where I'd have to advise people to look elsewhere. This book is old, it's not the content which is out of date but the style of writing is archaic and difficult to follow. It may also lose some clarity, or be drawn out in some examples due to what may be translation problems too.
The author takes an awful long time, many many pages to describe the same principles over and over again. It does reinforce, it does give a thorough understanding...yet it is hard to follow because it drones on long after you got the point and can be boring. I had a great amount of trouble finishing the book for this reason.
A more modern book can get to the point much quicker, with more straightforward text, formatting and diagrams. To me, this is more educational as points are less easily lost.
This book is cheap. If you have the cash around then buy it and judge for yourself. Combined with some of the other pilot study courses you will find this helps to reinforce many points and details, in some cases offering a much deeper understanding. This book is not a bad purchase by any means.
However, you don't _need_ this book. I saw all the reviews and really felt that I did need it, that I should own it. If you personally need to be more selective about your purchasing then choose a great flying instructor who can speak to the additional details and questions you need answered and have a browse through other titles in the bookshop to find which is best for you. Select the right study guide, such as Jeppesen. Choose the books more specific to the topics that you feel weaker on, such as weather flying or aviation safety books.
There are indeed many good aviation books, but unfortunately I have not been able to find a more modern text which is a direct equivalent to this book. There is definately a gap which a modernized version of this text could fill. The closest I know, are actually gliding/soaring books by the author Pigott - great texts on aerodynamics and the art of flying.
