VIEW FROM THE COCKPIT
45 years in the Skies – Insights and Stories on Flying
There is a story I have never quite been able to forget. It happened over the Baltic Sea – the moment I had to dump 80 tonnes of fuel before we could safely return to land. Thousands of feet above the cold grey water, with a full cabin behind me, every decision counted. That episode, and the quiet discipline it demanded, is one of the stories found in my latest book, A Pilot’s Story.
This is my third book, and in many ways my most personal. My first, Life in the Skies (2013), became Asia’s best-selling aviation book. My second, Sky Tales (2016), drew more years spent flying with the airlines. This one is different. Written entirely in retirement, without sponsorship, it comes straight from the logbooks: 45 years, 25,500 hours, and a cockpit window that was my office from the day I left school.
One of my favorite stories recounts a diversion from Perth to Adelaide aboard a Boeing 777, a 1,000-mile detour forced by severe weather that gave us no choice but to change course. Another episode that still stays with me takes place on a flight from London to Kuala Lumpur, cruising over the Bay of Bengal, when the aircraft was struck without warning by a violent jolt that would have thrown me clean out of my bunk had I not been belted in. These aren’t the polished highlights you read about in airline brochures. They are the real moments – the ones that tested judgment, nerve and training all at once.
But A Pilot’s Story is not only about nail-biting moments. Some of my most-enjoyed chapters involve the passengers them-selves. After 45 years, I’ve accumulated cabin stories most people wouldn’t believe, and the best of them are included here. I’ve also answered the question nervous flyers ask me most: what are pilots actually doing when the autopilot is on? The honest answer might surprise you.
What inspired me to write this book now? Frankly, it was readers who kept ask-ing. When I first considered it, I hesitated. We live in a world of short videos and scrolling feeds. How many people still read books? But the messages kept coming: from passengers, from aspiring pilots and from people who had read my earlier work and simply wanted more. That loyalty convinced me to sit back down at the keyboard.
The book also carries a more personal thread. It traces the journey of a boy who left school dreaming of flight – through years flying for the Royal Malaysian Air Force, then Malaysia Airlines on the Boeing 777, followed by AirAsia and AirAsia X on the Airbus A320, A330 and A340. And then, during the COVID-19 pandemic, I completed my law studies and was called to the Malaysian Bar at the age of 75. Aviation taught me one lesson above all others: always have a backup plan. The skies can be uncertain. So can life.
For those considering a career in aviation, there is a dedicated section with practical guidance on becoming an airline pilot. For those who feel anxiety about flying, I’ve included tips that I hope will genuinely help.
A Pilot’s Story – 280 pages, more than 90 color photographs – is now available. If you have ever wondered what really goes on beyond that closed cockpit door, this is your invitation inside.
For more details on A Pilot’s Story, go to www.askcaptainlim.com/pilots-story or the Kindle eBook here https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H7BGZK67