Consultant, Expert Witness, Electrical & Mechanical Accidents

BANISH FEAR OF FLYING

By
Understanding Your Airplane
With FAA Advisories For Passengers
A PASSENGER'S HANDBOOK
by
Lawrence J. Kamm

Dedicated to my daughter for whom flying was changed from fear to pleasure by the half hour phone call which became the basis for this book.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

  • Introduction
  • Chapter 1. It's Reasonable To Start Out Afraid.
  • Chapter 2. Is It Really Safe?
  • Chapter 3. What Holds The Airplane Up?
  • Chapter 4. What Pushes It Forward?
  • Chapter 5. Why Does It Tilt?
  • Chapter 6. What Makes The Different Noises?
  • Chapter 7. Why Is It Sometimes Bumpy?
  • Chapter 8. Who Takes Care Of The Airplane?
  • Chapter 9. How Does The Pilot Find His Way In The Dark?
  • Chapter 10. What About Bad Weather?
  • Chapter 11. How Well Is The Pilot Trained?
  • Chapter 12. I'm Afraid Because I'm Afraid.
  • Chapter 13. The Beauty and Pleasure of Flying.

Chapter 1. It's Reasonable To Start Out Afraid.

Your airplane is a big metal box. They lock you in. It makes strange noises which suggest that you are in trouble. There is nothing you can see which keeps it from falling out of the sky. You know there are engines but you see nothing which keeps the airplane moving forward. It sometimes tips from side to side. There are no signs to show which way it should go so you will not get lost. It sometimes bumps up and down. When it does land it bumps and makes a noise. They make you wear seat belts. Why? Is there a reason they do not tell you? Before you get on, your hand luggage is passed through a masked tunnel and you must walk through a peculiar doorway while a guard stares at you. A few times each year the newspapers and TV scream about a hideous, horrible crash or hijacking. Those flight attendants keep smiling reassuringly, but they get paid to do that.

If all this doesn't scare you, there is something wrong with you.

But if you understood all these scary things; if they are no longer shocks out of a horror movie; if you actually knew what makes airplanes tick and why flying really is the safest, and often the most beautiful, way to go long distances, then you would have a happy trip instead of an ordeal.

This book will make you understand.

On the other hand, suppose you read the book, understand the unknown, know the safety of flying, and you're still afraid? Are you an irrational pariah who should be shrugged off? No way! There are thousands like you; Chapter 12 is written just for you; and it will help you to eliminate the purely emotional basis of your fear of flying.

Lawrence Kamm
Licensed Prof. Engr.
B.S. and M.S. in Electrical Engineering
"I calls 'em as I sees 'em"
phone: 619-224-3494
fax: 619-224-3495
LJKAMM@LJKAMM.COM
1515 Chatsworth Blvd.
San Diego CA 92107

Curriculum Vitae

My formal education includes a B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from Columbia, a Master of Electrical Engineering degree from Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute, and Professional Engineer licenses from New York, Maryland, and California (California Professional Engineer License E5897).

My professional societies include Sigma Xi, Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), National Academy of Forensic Engineers (NAFE), San Diego Forensic Consultants Association (SDFCA), American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE), and, when working in those fields, American Rocket Society [now American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA)], and Robot Institute.

Before becoming an expert witness I worked as an employed engineer in both small and large companies, as an entrepreneur (Numerical Control Corp., Devonics, Inc., Typagraph Corp., Mobot Corp., L. J. Kamm Co.), as a teacher and author in design theory and practice, and as a consulting engineer, inventor, and author.

Publication or presentation of seven books, 27 technical papers, many tutorials, and much trade literature and lectures at three universities and several companies. A regular column in Electronic Design and frequent tutorials in Chipcenter.com. A lecture series on "Energy" at UCSD. Consulted by the National Academy of Science to evaluate grant proposals.

Lectured at the University of California San Diego on: Energy, Man- In-Space, and the Challenger Disaster and gave a course based on my book, "Real-World Engineering."

I practice as a consultant and expert witness in the analysis of electrical and mechanical accidents.

Full Resume

Other Writings

  
  1515 Chatsworth Blvd. San Diego CA 92107 | phone: 619-224-3494 | fax: 619-224-3495 | E-mail: ljkamm@ljkamm.com | www.ljkamm.com