20 West

‘The canopy of stars hangs above us in an arc resembling the ceiling of an omni-theatre. In the distance, the first turquoise of dawn starts to appear, defining the curvature of the planet. The heavy Airbus A330 ripples like a serpent across the cobblestones of the meandering ribbon of the jet stream that swirls around the planet, heading east…’

Spanning six decades, from propeller-driven transport aircraft to composite, fly-by-wire and wide-body double-decker aircraft plucked from the pages of science fiction, 20 West charts the emotion, the physical experience, the joy and the anguish of flying.

It is not a blow-by-blow account of the aviation industry. Nor is it merely one person’s story of their career in aviation. Rather, it is a collection of snapshots – some humorous, some heart-breaking – of the people and the aircraft that shaped a lifelong passion for flight.

‘Flying is a way of life that wraps itself around you and enters every pore as you fall within its envelope.’