A compelling and important memoir of being a female pilot (she started young) and not having people believe in you due to sexism. She shares her learnings and story with grace and leaves us feeling inspired as if we too can soar high if we want to.

Thank you to Netgalley and Mindbuck Media for an ARC and I voluntarily left this review.

✈️📖 BOOK REVIEW: How Not To Fly an Airplane by Shirley M Phillips 📖✈️

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5 STARS — witty, adventurous, and full of heart.

This book blends aviation, humor, and personal storytelling in such a charming way. It’s clear how much passion the author has for flying, and it makes even the technical moments feel alive. At times, some sections slow down with a bit too much detail, and a few emotional beats could have used more depth — but overall, it’s a unique, clever, and highly enjoyable read. Perfect for aviation enthusiasts and readers who love memoirs with a dash of danger and delight.

💬 My mood while reading: grinning one moment, holding my breath the next.

🎧 Theme song: “Learning to Fly” by Tom Petty — hopeful, nostalgic, perfect vibes.


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🔥 Tropes / Vibes:
✨ Adventure memoir
✨ Humor + heart
✨ Aviation made personal
✨ Moments of danger + wit
✨ Learning from mistakes


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✨ Keywords / phrases to boost reach:
aviation memoir • adventurous reads • funny memoirs • books about flying • inspiring non-fiction • pilot stories • memoirs with humor • aviation enthusiasts • book recommendations

📚 #Hashtags:
#BookReview #AviationBooks #MemoirReads #BookTokNonFiction #BookstagramMadeMeDoIt #ReadersOfInstagram #HowNotToFlyAnAirplane #ShirleyMPhillips #BookRecommendation #MustReadNonFiction

This was a lovely in confusing at points memoir.

For me there didn't seem to be any logical order to the chapters, and I sometimes found it a little hard to follow.

I would liked to have understood more about her family and relationships.

An entertaining read though.

Thank you for this ARC!

The title alone made me want to read this book and I was not disappointed!

Shirley M. Phillips gives us a good look into the airline industry in the US from a female pilot's point of view and it was very interesting to read each chapter, that contains a different story.

I am an airliner myself (although ground staff), but this book is not just for people like me, involved in the aviation industry, but for everyone who is interested in this topic and wants to know more about this topic and about some things they don't tell you as a passenger.

I read a netgalley ARC of this and it was pretty cool to read her stories. I had no idea so many pilots learn and are flying on their own so young. Of course the stories of misogyny are frustrating but important to know existed and still do. I also never considered the other ways pilots can earn a living besides actually flying, she delves into it a lot here, as well as stories from her own life.

Also on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/How-Not-Fly-Airplane-Journey/dp/162720590X

This book has been described as the aviation version of Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential, (I haven’t read this as of yet but have heard good things and will definitely try and bump it up my TBR list.) so was expecting all the insider gossip, drama and HR violations galore.

This book is written in the 80s/90s when less than 2% of pilots were female. Shirley was young, petite and female. When you think about what direction this book will take, you’d be fair in assuming sexual harassment was rife, but that’s wasn’t the main theme for this book. She was belittled, second guessed, told she had to prove herself and that she represented all future female hires. She dealt with cowboys (literally) not one but two engine failures, the guilt of a previous student dying and how she eventually found the courage, agency and power to stand up for self in her career, her and her daughter’s medical treatment and how she hopes better for the aviation industry.

It was an interesting read and reminded me a lot of Karina Molloys “A Woman in Defence”. I did hope for a little snippet of the aviation industry in modern day and if they’ve overcome some of these issues, but that’s the HR girl in me (and the one that still remembers her worst interview ever with Ryanair)

How Not to Fly a Plane is out on May 20th. Thanks so much to NetGalley and Apprentice House for this early release copy.

Shirley is a true trailblazer! How Not to Fly an Airplane follows her personal journey and achievements as she explores and defines what it means to her to be a mother, a woman, and a pilot. She manages to find many bridges between her personal struggles and the lessons she's learned throughout her career. While the book includes a heavy amount of technical flight jargon that can feel overwhelming for the average reader, and the narrative occasionally jumps around, making the flow a bit uneven, Shirley’s story remains inspiring. She rises above her struggles to succeed in a male-dominated world of aviation—overcoming bullies, battling illness, and teaching others how to soar, just as she does.

𝙷𝚘𝚠 𝙽𝚘𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝙵𝚕𝚢 𝚊𝚗 𝙰𝚒𝚛𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚎: 𝙰 𝙵𝚎𝚖𝚊𝚕𝚎 𝙿𝚒𝚕𝚘𝚝'𝚜 𝙹𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚢.
4/5! ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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As a flight attendant and private pilot, I always love to read about or see females excelling in this industry. I loved reading about Shirleys road to becoming an inspiration in the aviation world. 𖹭

If you have a love for aviation or the road to becoming a pilot, definitely give this a read.

𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚔 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚘 𝙽𝚎𝚝𝙶𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚢 & 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚞𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚎-𝚊𝚛𝚌 𝚒𝚗 𝚎𝚡𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚊𝚗 𝚑𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚛𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚎𝚠.

Loved this book! Especially with the current administration and rise of anti “DEI” policies it was a very inspiring read. Aviation is 95% male, and 90% white males - women make up a tiny percentage of comercial airline pilots so I love reading about and seeing women in aviation!

Thanks to NetGalley and Mindbuck Media for the advanced reader copy.

The premise of getting to hear from not only a female pilot, but someone who's taught others (mostly men) to fly as well sounded like a slam dunk. Unfortunately, the writer's voice felt stiff and she got too much into the weeds of the jargon around flying rather than taking the reader for a narrative ride (pun intended).