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Books

The miracle of modern flight, by a 747 pilot with a poet’s sensibility

In a review of Skyfaring, a memoir by Mark Vanhoenacker, Stephen Bayley overcomes his nervousness on the subject of flying and is entranced by a pilot’s poetic vision

18 April 2015

9:00 AM

18 April 2015

9:00 AM

Skyfaring: A Journey with a Pilot Mark Vanhoenacker

Chatto, pp.352, £16.99

With Alpine wreckage still being sifted, this is either a very good or a very bad time to write about the mystery and beauty of aviation. I am a nervous flyer, always imagining the worst will happen, so when I hear that ‘the captain has turned off the seat-belt sign’ I feel a jolt of relief.

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