In Cleared for the Option, Patrick Chovanec tells the story of his “year learning to fly.” His story, however, begins much earlier, as a child flying—or, more accurately, failing to fly—an airplane in a flight simulator on an early-generation personal computer. It turned out, unbeknownst to Chovanec at the time, to be the first step on a journey he would not return to for decades.

It took a global pandemic to kickstart that journey. And even though Chovanec’s book is not a meditation on taking to the skies while so much of the world was locked down at home, that context remains in the back of the reader’s mind and throws into stark relief the author’s accomplishment.

Earning a pilot’s license, it turns out, is no easy feat. The brilliance of Cleared for the Option is in its ability to convey the challenges of learning to fly—intellectual, mental, emotional, physical—and that, with dedication and hard work, those challenges are surmountable. Chovanec takes us from his very first flying lesson to the day he earned his pilot’s license. Chapter by chapter, he lays out a series of building blocks required to successfully tread that path. There are technical discussions of the science of flying, of meteorology, and of the math involved in successful navigation. There are also detailed descriptions of the various maneuvers a student pilot must learn, how to perform them correctly, and what could go wrong if a pilot fails to do so. There is an entire chapter on how to communicate via radio with air traffic control.

Each of these narratives is an accomplishment in and of itself. Chovanec successfully makes scientific and technical topics digestible, using helpful diagrams and layman’s terms to the extent possible to explain complex topics. For the most part, the author successfully navigates the narrow line between oversimplifying and providing too much detail, and the reader gets the sense of learning along with him. Occasionally, to really grasp the concepts at hand, re-reading a paragraph or two is necessary—but, hey, flying is not supposed to be easy, and the casual reader can move along without losing track of the story.

Beyond the technical, there are, of course, long passages and chapters devoted to the act of flying itself. This where Chovanec really shines—whether describing intimidating and at times harrowing scenarios, his first solo flight, flying at night, or his time in the air on the day he earned his license, Chovanec conveys to the reader what so many of us have wondered: what is it like to actually fly a plane? It is also in these passages that he allows his emotions to shine through. Those emotions run the gamut from fear and defeat to relief and joy to pride and a sense of triumph.

Cleared for the Option is an inspiring yet humbly told story of overcoming obstacles and realizing what, at one time, seemed a near-unthinkable goal. It will prepare the aspiring pilot for what may lay ahead, but the casual reader will find much in the book to appreciate as well.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Brand	N/A
Rating	4.8 (32 ratings)
Price	$9.99
Category	Biographies & Memoirs

Cleared for the Option: A Year Learning to Fly