FLY! details the elements of personal and corporate resilience for any person who wants to build their confidence and courage and fortify their resilience to survive the unthinkable events.
Background
During my 44 years of flying in the RAAF and Qantas, I have learned the qualities of resilience – to survive when things go wrong. My life has been one of continual learning, training and gathering the mental and physical skills to learn, adapt, stay ahead and survive in a changing, technical and risk-laden world.
Drawing by Claudia Marks
Fly has two sub-titles
FLY! – Life Lessons from the Cockpit of QF32. The QF32 incident (4 November 2010) was the greatest challenge of my life. It tested every one of my skills. And only because of of the remarkable team effort by over one thousand people – 469 passengers and crew survived without a single physical injury.
FLY! – the Elements of Resilience. In the last 8 years I have spoken about resilience to people in company boards, executives, managers and workers in just about every industry. It is the research, learning and lessons from these experiences that I have compiled into FLY!
The Elements of Resilience – by Coplu. Subscribe to Fly-TheBook.com to receive this story.
FLY! discusses the basic neuroscience of the mind, then takes a journey through the eight elements of resilience:
knowledge,
training,
experience,
teamwork,
leadership,
crisis management,
decision making and
risk
FLY! also includes a chapter about Post Traumatic Stress. I explain what PTS is, why it is a normal reaction to stress, and how we can recover and grow from trauma.
FLY! is designed to help every person find their path and ignite their passion to become tough, confident, competent, disciplined and courageous – the things that catalyse intrepid behaviours and resilience.
FLY! is also designed for teachers who are trying to instil resilience in children.
Geoffrey Thomas, Australia’s most awarded aviation journalist and author wrote:
For a 17-year-old this book is your life bible.
For a 71-year-old it is not too late to get back on course. FLY! is a must read.
If you want to be a better manager or leader, then FLY! provides lessons I have learned from military and civil cockpits and translates them into lessons, rules and checklists that you can apply to challenges and opportunities in your lives at home, in communities and at work.
Buzz Aldrin – fact checking details of the Apollo 11 lunar landing for FLY! (Melbourne November 2016)
When writing FLY!
I shared insights and techniques I’ve built up over decades in the high-pressure and unforgiving world of aviation.
I interviewed leaders from all key industries including aviation, finance, IT, legal, medicine, mining and security.
I included personal insights from pilot Sully Sullenberger, astronaut Neil Armstrong, NASA’s Gene Kranz, former Australian Prime Minister John Howard and many other leaders who have succeeded under intense pressure.
I reviewed the remarkable history and the lifecycle of resilience at NASA from the Apollo years to the Columbia disaster.
Neil Armstrong, me, my father Peter on Sydney harbour 2011
Reviews
My honour to meet and interview the NASA legend Gene Kranz (Lead Flight Director during NASA’s Apollo 13, Deputy Director of NASA Mission Operations in 1974, Director of NASA Mission Operations in 1983)
FLY! has been received well:
“It the finest book I have ever read – structure, and flow provide a PhD for leadership” ~ Gene Kranz
“Richard de Crespigny takes us on a fascinating journey through the hearts and minds of resilient leaders, revealing what it takes to overcome life’s greatest challenges” ~ Chesley ‘Sully’ Sullenberger
Sully Sullenberger (stress tested and case hardened skeptic) and me.
“I wish this book had been available as required reading back in my flight training days. The essential Flight Manual for living an empowered life!” ~ Eric Auxier, A321 International Captain for American Airlines, Airways Magazine Columnist, and Author
“In FLY! Captain de Crespigny explores the science of success and reveals techniques we all can use to enhance our performance and be ready for anything” ~ Christine Negroni author of The Crash Detectives, Investigating the World’s Most Mysterious Air Accidents
“FLY! is as much about aviation and great airmanship as it is about leadership and management under stress and strain and how our brain works in acute crisis situations.
Richard shows how good crisis management, whether in the cockpit of an aircraft or at the helm of a big company, can be learned and how it should be practised and sharpened.
Hence FLY! is a great read for leaders of all walks of life, if should be mandatory for Business colleges, military academies and, of course, Flight schools” ~ Dr. Thomas “Tom” Enders, Chief Executive of Airbus
Geoffrey Thomas, Australia’s most awarded aviation journalist and author wrote:
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