Flights of Fancy: Essential Reading for Aircraft Geeks

A must-read list of books for those who love airplanes

Blame it on Top Gun. When Tom ‘Maverick’ Cruise set the screen on fire in 1986 with his heroics aboard an F-14A Tomcat in the Tony Scott-directed, Jerry Bruckheimer-produced hotshot flyboy movie, being a fighter pilot became the hot new fantasy for many adolescent boys. I know I was one of them. In the close to four decades that have passed since then, my fantasies went nowhere. Cruise, quite incredibly, is still at it, reprising his role in Top Gun: Maverick in 2022, looking just as good as he did in 1986!

These days, I know I’ll never be a fighter pilot in this lifetime – that dream is over. But for whatever it’s worth, I can still read about fast, fancy planes and about what it’s like being out there, flying at supersonic speeds. I’m particularly fascinated by aircraft like the mighty SR-71 Blackbird (also sometimes called ‘Habu’), which flew at three times the speed of sound. And the supersonic passenger aircraft, Concorde, which went from Paris to New York in less than 3.5 hours, which is less than half the time taken by conventional jet aircraft.

For sheer brute speed and power, glamour and intrigue in the skies, here’s my list of essential reading for those who love aircraft and the mystery – and glamour – of flight. Ladies and gentlemen, please fasten your seatbelts; turbulence is guaranteed.

Nadim Siraj: Secret Notes from Iran

Nadim Siraj's book, Secret Notes from Iran, is a fascinating read for those who want to know more about Iran and what really goes on there

Iran is one country that I find quite fascinating – I’ve never been there, but definitely want to go someday and see their ancient palaces, mosques, tombs and shrines. From what I’ve seen of it in photographs, old Iranian architecture looks spectacular and some of it is, of course, mirrored in our own Mughal-era monuments in various parts of India. Iranian food, Iranian movies, their history and way of life – all of these are very interesting for me. So, when I came upon the book Secret Notes from Iran, I made an effort to speak to its author, Nadim Siraj for a quick Q&A session.

A co-founder of Empire Diaries, Nadim is a journalist and has worked with leading newspapers in the past. He spent three weeks in Iran in 2017 and based on this visit and his observations there, he wrote his book, Secret Notes from Iran: Diary of an Undercover Journalist. Here are some excerpts from the Q&A session I did with him.

Forced Induction: Smaller, More Powerful, More Efficient Engines

You'd only find turbochargers on high-end sportscars, supercars and race/rally cars in the 1970s and the 1980s. Today, turbos are everywhere, even on small family hatchbacks

Due to increasingly stringent emissions norms and the need for improved fuel efficiency, one option that car manufacturers are increasingly going in for is engine downsizing. Smaller engine capacity, fewer cylinders – that’s the formula for reduced emissions and better fuel economy. However, to ensure that smaller engines are still able to deliver the kind of power and performance that customers expect, manufacturers often use forced induction – turbocharging, supercharging or, in rare cases, even both.

Book Summary Websites: Are They Really Useful?

Some things take time – that’s just the way it is. Want to be an expert at playing the piano? Want to build a National-level championship-winning physique? Want to learn to cook like the head chef at a Michelin-starred restaurant? Want to get a PhD in aerospace engineering? For any of those things – and perhaps thousands of others – there are no shortcuts. You need to put in the time, the effort, the proverbial blood, sweat and tears. There’s no other way.

On that note, what about reading a 1,000-page book? Or rather more specifically, a 1,000-page non-fiction book? It could be a book on politics, history, psychology, economics or religion. To gain an in-depth understanding of what the author has attempted to convey over a thousand pages, does one need to actually sit down and read every one of those pages, or could there be another way? Personally, I’d say you have to make that effort, you have to read every bit of it – there’s no other way. But clearly, some others believe there might indeed be a short cut.

Motorcycle Aerodynamics: Why the Suzuki Hayabusa Looks the Way it Does

Sportsbike designers have been trying to optimise motorcycle aerodynamics for the last few decades, with varying degrees of success. The Hayabusa, with its 300kph top speed, gets it right, but earlier bikes like the Ducati Paso and the Honda CBR1000F also took major strides forward in terms of design and optimised aerodynamics

What are the things that matter most when it comes to increasing a motorcycle’s overall performance and efficiency? Power and weight, right? Yes, certainly, more power and less weight are a good thing. But there’s also one more factor, which is especially relevant for bigger, faster, very powerful bikes – aerodynamics. As speeds increase, most of the engine’s power is spent in overcoming wind resistance. So, with improved aerodynamics, motorcycles can deliver higher performance levels as well as better fuel efficiency.

1980s 500cc GP Bikes: The Greatest Paintjobs Ever

500cc GP roadracing bikes from the 1980s look glorious!

There’s something about those old 500cc grand prix roadracing bikes from the 1980s that makes them a bit extra-special for me. Maybe it was the men who rode those bikes; names like Freddie Spencer, Eddie Lawson, Wayne Gardner, Kevin Schwantz, Wayne Rainey and Randy Mamola come to mind. With those wild 500cc two-stroke bikes with no traction control or other fancy electronics, the racing used to be quite spectacular. Also, that was the age before tobacco sponsorship was banned, and the racing teams were sponsored by cigarette manufacturers like Marlboro, Rothmans, Gauloises, Camel and maybe a few others. The thing with these sponsorships was, the paintjobs the bikes got were some of the best ever. Who can forget those Marlboro Yamaha YZR500s and Rothmans Honda NSR500s of the 1980s? Suzuki was sponsored by Pepsi in 1988 and 1989, and the 1989 Suzuki RGV500 in Pepsi colours was a sight to behold. Cagiva did not have a cigarette or soda manufacturer sponsorship but their all-red bikes looked glorious anyway.

The Story of the Mighty Paperback

A senior professional from the Indian publishing industry, the exceptionally well-read and eminently knowledgeable Sridhar Balan tells us the story of the ‘paperback’ format of books, which has over the last few decades democratised reading and made books more accessible to a wide range of buyers. In addition to his work in publishing, Balan is a well-known writer himself and his columns have been published in The Hindu, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Financial Express and The Asian Age. His book Off the Shelf: On Books, Book People and Places was published by Speaking Tiger in 2019.

A ‘paperback’ is defined as a softcover book with a thick paper cover or paper board cover, the pages of which are held together with glue rather than stitches or staples. Glue is used in a hardback too but here the pages are sewn together in sections. The hardback is characterized by sturdy boards with a loose jacket cover. The paper used for printing in a paperback is often of lower grammage or thickness than that of the hardback. Therefore, the paperback appears less sturdy, lightweight and perhaps flimsier. It’s difficult to believe that such an object could save a life. But that’s precisely what the paperback carried in the breast-pocket of French legionnaire Maurice Hammoneau did during the battle of Verdun, in the First World War, in 1913. Hammoneau was shot and lost consciousness. When he regained consciousness, he found that he was alive because the book had stopped the bullet – its last twenty pages had miraculously stopped the bullet from creating a fatal wound. As for the book, we know it well in India. It was the pocket edition in French of Rudyard Kipling’s famous work, Kim. This book can be viewed in the Rare Books Room of the Library of Congress in Washington DC, along with some correspondence between Maurice and Kipling.

Bad Medicine: The Books That Took on Big Pharma

Truth is stranger than fiction, they say. And that sure seems to be the case in the world of medicine. Over the last few decades, the pharma industry has earned significant disrepute for the dark, dubious ways in which it sometimes functions. Pharma companies (especially those that manufacture generic drugs) have often blatantly, habitually ignored quality guidelines and evaded inspections with the intent to deceive consumers. They have palmed off spurious, low-quality drugs to unsuspecting users and wrongly incentivised doctors to prescribe more medicine and higher dosages in order to boost profits, even if the said medicines were doing more harm than good. For such companies, the sole aim seems to have been to evade regulation and maximise profits at the cost of patients’ health. It’s a shady world of nefarious dealings and cut-throat competition, where such companies will do anything to earn their next billion bucks.

In this context, here is my list of some of the best books I’ve read, which have exposed big pharma, revealed the gory details that pharma companies tried their best to hide, and unveiled the stinking morass of greed, lies and deception that big pharma can be. Forget medical thrillers – these books are drama in real life. Prepare to be shocked.

The Lensman: In Conversation with Pradeep Chandra

Based in Bombay, Pradeep Chandra is a senior photojournalist who has worked with the Times of India for more than 25 years. He has also worked for a host of other newspapers and magazines and is the author of five books, three of which are on megastar Amitabh Bachchan. His latest book, Amitabh Bachchan: The Forever Star, was released in 2022. I had an opportunity to speak to Pradeep about his work as a photojournalist and an author, his books and the experience of working with Amitabh Bachchan. Here are some excerpts from that conversation.

Book Review: Becoming Goan - A Contemporary Coming-Home Story

Goa. For a lot of people, it’s their idea of paradise. White beaches. Blue sea. Lazy, snoozy days and cocktails in the evening with a soft sea breeze blowing gently. Some good music. A relaxed, chilled-out Goan lifestyle that’s a world away from the helter-skelter of a Delhi or a Mumbai. That’s the dream, right? Sure, and for a lucky few, that’s exactly how things might work out. For many others though, the reality of Goa might be a bit different. If you’ve always thought about what it takes to truly become Goan, Michelle Mendonça Bambawale’s book, Becoming Goan, gives you the lowdown on what it’s like.

Blitzkrieg: Audi RS5 Sportback Driving Impression

Three years ago, I had an opportunity to review the Audi RS5 for a leading men’s magazine. Along with its younger brother, the S5, the RS5 remains one of my most favourite Audis ever. So, here’s the article I wrote about the RS5, back in 2021.

Audi is making a bunch of truly phenomenal cars these days. And that’s causing me some grief. No, not the cars themselves, of course. The problem is with the reviews I end up writing, which tend to go a bit overboard with praise for the cars’ performance. Take the last Audi I drove – the S5 – which made me fall deeply in love with its screaming, rasping, turbocharged V6, intense acceleration and terrific handling. Predictably enough, I wrote a rather glowing review, which was subsequently accused by the Editor [of the magazine for which I wrote the review] of being ‘gushing’ and ‘breathless.’ Oh, the shame!

Book Review: An Inky Parade - Tales for Bibliophiles

Author, avid bibliophile and book collector Pradeep Sebastian’s new book, An Inky Parade ‘is a window into the charming world of antiquarian book trade in India and around the world, as well as an ode to the book as an object of art, sure to delight every reader,’ says the publisher’s note. ‘Blending personal experience, revelatory conversations and bewitching legends from the world of books, the author paints in full splendour the picture of a life devoted to the romance of books,’ it adds.

From the Archives: In Conversation with Pierre Terblanche

 
Pierre Terblanche has done some phenomenal work for Ducati and other motorcycle brands

For motorcycle afficionados, the name ‘Pierre Terblanche’ needs no introduction. Born in South Africa, Terblanche is one of the most well-known, widely respected motorcycle designers in the world. With a Masters degree in transport design from the UK’s Royal College of Art, Terblanche has, over the last 40 years, worked with Volkswagen, Cagiva, Ducati, Piaggio, Confederate and even Royal Enfield. The bikes he has designed include the Cagiva 900 Gran Canyon, the 1^st generation Ducati Multistrada and Hypermotard, the Ducati SuperMono, the Ducati SportClassics, the Ducati 999, the Ducati MH900e, the Confederate X132 Hellcat Speedster and the 1^st generation Royal Enfield Himalayan. He also redesigned the Ducati 851 which then became the 888, and he designed a spectacular bunch of concept bikes for Moto Guzzi, which were shown at the 2014 EICMA. More recently, Terblanche designed a futuristic concept bike, which you can read about here.

In 2013, I had an opportunity to do an interview with Pierre Terblanche (who was working for Confederate Motorcycles at that time) for one of my other websites, Faster and Faster, which I had to shut down in 2017. I wanted to preserve this interview, hence putting it up here, where I hope it’ll remain forever.

Keep Walking: Not Just a Walk in the Park - Part 2

You might have seen part 1 of this article, where I wrote about some of my favourite books on adventurers who chose to travel to faraway lands, not by car, motorcycle, boat or airplane but on their own two legs. Exhibiting incredible courage, endurance and sheer determination, they walked distances – and in some cases the kind of terrain – that most would think twice about before setting off in motorised transport, let alone walk. So, here are some more books that are in a similar vein. More walking, more adventures, more tales of incredible resolve and courage.

In Conversation with His Excellency Prashant Agrawal, Ambassador of India to Laos

During the time when he was serving as Indian Ambassador to Namibia, Mr Prashant Agrawal led The Cheetah Project, for reintroducing the Cheetah to India after a gap of more than seven decades

I like speaking to people who are ardent readers and who love books – such people often have interesting perspectives on not just books but also life in general. The conversations that I have with such people, some of which I post here on this website, often make for interesting reading.

Some time ago, I had an opportunity to catch up with His Excellency Mr Prashant Agrawal, Ambassador of India to Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Laos), who loves to read and has an eclectic taste in books. Currently based in Vientiane, the national capital of Laos, Mr Agrawal is a senior diplomat, who joined the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) in 1998. In addition to having served in various capacities in the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi, he has also served as Deputy Chief of Mission and India’s Deputy Permanent Representative to UNESCAP in Thailand, and India’s Consul General to Hong Kong SAR and Macau SAR. Before taking up his current assignment in Laos, Mr Agrawal was serving as India’s High Commissioner to Namibia, where he successfully initiated and led Project Cheetah, aimed at reintroducing the Cheetah in India.

Despite a packed schedule and a hectic pace of life, Mr Agrawal – who also has a degree in mechanical engineering from IIT Kanpur – retains his love for books and reading, which has been dear to his heart since his school and college days. I had an opportunity to ask him a few questions about his early days, his love for reading, the books he likes and the authors whose work he likes. Here are some excerpts from the conversation.

Not Just a Walk in the Park – Part 1

I love the very idea of a long roadtrip. The dream is to saddle up on a BMW R1300GS and ride into the sunset. Or, for the times when I crave air-conditioned comfort and when a motorcycle just won’t do, maybe I’ll swap that BMW for a Toyota Land Cruiser, which is supposedly indestructible and can be driven to the farthest corners of the planet without ever breaking down. There are, however, people who’ve proved that you don’t really need a car or a motorcycle in order to embark on a grand adventure. No set of wheels? Just use your own two legs, then. What could be simpler? Now, walking thousands of kilometres over many months or even years certainly isn’t for everyone. Not everybody has the mental and physical toughness to pull it off. But in the right circumstances and with the right mindset, it can be done. I’ve read and enjoyed some excellent books where the authors have written about how they walked thousands of kilometres. This is part 1 of a two-part feature on the best books on walking adventures.

Adventures on High Seas: The Books to Read - Part 2

You might have read part 1 of this article on some of the best books on adventures at sea. In this second part, here’s more of the same; battling unstoppable forces in the middle of unending expanses of dark, cold water. ‘Smell the sea and feel the sky. Let your soul and spirit fly,’ said Van Morrison. And, sure, that’s the way it is when the sea is calm, placid. But when the sea gets angry and decides to unleash its fury upon those who dare set sail upon it, all man can do is capitulate and pray for the best. The outcome is often as unpredictable as the sea itself. The sea is a force of nature, wild and ceaseless, but the human spirit – and the will to survive – can sometimes win the day. It’s an eternal battle that has raged forever and if that’s something you’re interested in, here are the books you should read.

Adventures on High Seas: The Books to Read - Part 1

Across the world, anywhere between 22-25 lakh seafarers work on merchant cargo ships, passenger ships and other types of ocean-going vessels. That’s a lot of people working on the high seas at any given point in time, and despite all the advances made in recent years in maritime safety and technology, accidents can and do happen. Things can and do go spectacularly wrong, and for ships caught unawares in a full-blown sea storm, there’s no mercy. People can go missing at sea. People lose their lives. On the high seas, situations can change dramatically very quickly – for ships caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, it can be a high-risk environment.

Where danger lurks, you’ll also find incredible true stories of human courage and resilience. When nature attacks, man can often be puny and, in many ways, helpless. But the human ability to fight back tooth and nail, in the face of adversity, can be quite astonishing. Men who chose to fight back have survived storms that tore entire ships apart, they survived weeks and months alone, in tiny boats, with little or no food and water, and lived to tell their story to the world. Seamanship and courage seem to go hand in hand. For those who may be interested in reading some of these true stories of bravery at sea, here’s part one of my two-part list of the books you should read.

From the Archives: In Conversation with Damien Basset

French designer, Damien Basset, who is currently design director at Peugeot Motorcycles, used to work with Ducati earlier. He’s the man who had designed the first Ducati Streetfighter, which was launched in 2009 and which was offered with a choice of 1099cc and, later, 849cc V-twin engines. I had an opportunity to do an interview with Basset in 2009, for Faster and Faster, a motorcycle website that I used to own at that time. I had to shut down that website in 2017, but wanted to preserve this interview, hence posting it here, where it will hopefully remain forever.

Tales From Silicon Valley: Must-Read Tech-Biz Books - Part 2

In part 1 of this feature, I wrote about some of the best technology-business books I’ve ever read. That list wasn’t complete, though, and these are the remaining books on that list. As with part 1, the books described here, in part 2, are essential reading for anyone who is fascinated by the business of technology.

Maserati GranCabrio: Beauty and the Beast

It may not be the fastest car I've ever driven, but it's certainly the most beautiful!

I was between jobs in 2012. Had moved on from Buddh International Circuit, where I had served as the PR manager and was national press officer for the inaugural Formula 1 Grand Prix of India, and had nothing much to do for a couple of months. At that time, my good friend Murali Menon, who knew exactly how much I loved fast Italian supercars, gave me an opportunity to drive the incredible Maserati GranCabrio, which was on sale in India in those days, retailing at Rs 1.76 crore ex-showroom.

Murali, who was the managing editor at MW magazine at that time, spoke to Maserati and arranged for me to drive the car on the Noida-Agra Expressway, which had just been opened up to the public and remained, for the most part, fairly empty and devoid of traffic. The Maserati was stunningly beautiful – gorgeous beyond words – and sounded divine, orgasmic, beyond anything that words can describe. Here’s the piece I wrote on the car.