Billingshurst pilot Steve Ford assesses the aviation and travel industry challenges

It follows on from his first book 20 West: A Journey Through Six Decades Of Turbulent Change Within Aviation.

Steve, aged 60, said: “Following the success, I was asked to write opinion pieces for various magazines and online blogs around the world. The subjects ranged from general aviation to commercial aviation and even space flight!

“It was only natural that as a result Flight Envelopes, a short book, evolved with 24 opinion pieces that will appeal to not just aviation enthusiasts but also anyone with a business facing difficult decisions.

“The impact of COVID-19 on the aviation and travel industries makes the understanding of challenges past a significant part of preparing for tomorrow.

“Limited to between 500-600 words, each article can be read in any order as a stand-alone piece. The book is not meant to challenge the reader’s opinion, but initiate a healthy debate. It allowed me to write and share what are, after all, personal opinions whilst at the same time engaging with the reader. Whilst it is in an aviation and aerospace genre, readers in transportation, road haulage and shipping will see similarities. At the end of the day, we have to raise our own questions in order to come up with solutions for the future.

“Flight Envelopes follows on from 20 West which was a journey through six decades of turbulent change within aviation. I am working on a third book which I hope to release early 2021 and progress can be followed on my dedicated website: https://20westbook.com/“I started writing five years ago as I approached retirement, the reason being that I felt a strong connection with living history. I recognised how important it is to capture events at the time, as opposed to retrospectively.”

20 West reflected the diversity of the aerospace industry, following Steve’s journey through aviation, from a child travelling the world on standby, training from an apprenticeship to a jet engine specialist, to a career as a long-haul commercial pilot.

But as Steve stresses, it wasn’t simply autobiography.

The book also presented an insider’s history of the past 60 years of the industry, giving readers an insight into the ways commercial flight and the corporate giants that dominate it have evolved over the years.

Steve offered it as a book packed with captivating stories from both above the clouds and down on the tarmac – a must-read for anyone who’s ever wondered what really happens on the other side of the cockpit door.

“It spans six decades, stretching from propeller-driven transport aircraft to composite, fly-by-wire and wide-body double-decker aircraft, plucked from the pages of science fiction.

“Over the years, I have probably worked with and flown with hundreds if not thousands of pilots, and one of the biggest drivers for me wanting to write the book was not because it is about me, but because it is about them.

“It will also allow those who have absolutely no idea what it is like to spend a lifetime in aviation to get a sense of what it looks, feels and smells like to be embraced by such a career. It is a way of life that wraps itself around you and enters every pore as you fall within its envelope.”

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