Patrick Smith is a pilot&writer，in his new book, pilot and columnist Patrick Smith explains why you have to turn off your cellphone for takeoff and landing, and why your ideas about autopilot are probably all wrong. He wants people to "re-appreciate the act of air travel. It's not as horrible as everybody thinks it is.

For millions of people, travel by air is a confounding, uncomfortable, and even fearful experience. Patrick Smith, airline pilot and author of the web's popular Ask the Pilot feature, separates the fact from fallacy and tells you everything you need to know...

•How planes fly, and a revealing look at the men and women who fly them

•Straight talk on turbulence, pilot training, and safety

•The real story on congestion, delays, and the dysfunction of the modern airport

•The myths and misconceptions of cabin air and cockpit automation

•Terrorism in perspective, and a provocative look at security

•Airfares, seating woes, and the pitfalls of airline customer service

•The colors and cultures of the airlines we love to hate

Cockpit Confidential covers not only the nuts and bolts of flying, but also the grand theater of air travel, from airport architecture to inflight service to the excitement of travel abroad. It's a thoughtful, funny, at times deeply personal look into the strange and misunderstood world of commercial flying.

The ideal book for frequent flyers, nervous passengers, and global travelers.

Refreshed and vastly expanding from the original Ask the Pilot, with approximately 75 percent new material.